RESTAURANT ENGLISH (ASKING FOR THE BILL)

Good morning and welcome back to the Daily Vitamin.

So far this week we have learned phrases for reserving or booking a table in a restaurant and ordering food. At the end of your meal, you have to pay (of course). Today we will learn some typical phrases for asking for the bill* in a restaurant.
*UK English = bill / US English = check

ASKING FOR THE BILL
In a restaurant, when you have finished your meal and you want to ask for the bill, you can say:

Option 1) I'd like the bill, please.
Option 2) Can you bring me the bill, please?
Option 3) How much is it, please?
Option 4) How much do I owe?

The waiter might say:
Option 5) I'll bring it to you right away.
Option 6) Here you are.
Option 7) The total comes to twenty-five dollars.
Option 8) That will be ten pounds.

PAYMENT METHOD
You can pay in cash (en metálico) or by credit or debit card. To ask about this last option, you can say:
Option 9) Do you take (accept) credit (debit) cards?
Option 10) Can I pay by credit (debit) card?

Example Dialogue 1:
Customer: I'd like the bill, please.
Waiter: Here you are.
Customer: Can I pay by credit card?
Waiter: No, I'm sorry. We don't accept credit cards.

Example Dialogue 2:
Customer: How much do I owe?
Waiter: The total comes to ten pounds fifty.
Customer: Do you accept debit cards?
Waiter: Yes, we do.

If you can memorise some of these expressions before your next visit to an English-speaking restaurant, you will feel more prepared to speak English.

If you would like to get some writing practice, I encourage you to write your own short dialogue and post it on one of our social media sites (Facebook or Bluesky). We will give you feedback about your dialogue as soon as we can.

Have a great day!