How to Order Food in English Easy Restaurant Conversation for Beginners (A1-A2)

Hi there, and welcome to Speakeasy English, the podcast that helps you learn real English for real life, in a simple and natural way. I'm Ava, and I'm so glad you're here. In today's episode, we're going to help you with a very useful skill, how to order food in English. If you ever go to a restaurant, a cafe, or even a fast food place, this episode is for you. You'll hear a full conversation between two people at a restaurant. Their names are Jamie and John. They'll talk to the waiter, order food and drinks, ask for small changes, and pay the bill. All in very clear and simple English. After the conversation, I'll come back and explain all the useful words and phrases they used. So you can remember them and use them with confidence. And if you enjoy this episode, don't forget to subscribe to Speak Easy English so you never miss a lesson. New episodes every week. Now let's go to the restaurant and listen to Jamie and John. Hey Jamie! Hey John, great to see you. Let's sit down. Thanks, this place looks nice. Yeah, it's my first time here too. The menu looks good. Look here comes the waiter. Hi there. Welcome. Would you like something to drink? Yes, I'll have a lemonade please. Just water for me, thanks. Sure, I'll be right back. So what are you thinking of ordering? Um, I'm not sure. Everything looks good. The pasta sounds nice. I was looking at the chicken wrap. It says it comes with fries. Oh, that's a good one. I think I'll get the veggie burger. It comes with a salad. That sounds healthy. Are you still doing your no sugar diet? Trying to, but I might get dessert after this. Here you go. One lemonade and one water. Are you ready to order? Yes, I'll have the chicken wrap please. Would you like fries or salad with that? Fries please. And for you. I'll have the veggie burger please. Can I have it without onions? Of course, and would you like fries or salad? Salad please. And no dressing on the salad. Got it. Anything else. That's all. Thank you. Your food will be ready soon. This lemonade looks good. Yeah, it's fresh. Not too sweet. Just right. You know, I always get nervous ordering in new places. Why? I don't know. Sometimes I worry I'll say something wrong or the waiter won't understand. You did great today. Just speak clearly and politely. That's all you need. True. And please and thank you go a long way. Oh, look the waiter is here. Here you go. One chicken wrap with fries and one veggie burger without onions. Salad with no dressing. Enjoy. Thank you. Thank you. This is good. The burger is soft and the salad is fresh. My wrap is great. The fries are hot and crispy. Do you want to try a bite? Sure, let's swap a little. You're right. Those fries are really good. And your burger is tasty. I might order that next time. Would you like any dessert? What do you have? We have chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and apple pie. Let's share the apple pie. Good idea. One apple pie please. One apple pie. I'll bring it soon. Here's your pie. Would you like the bill now or later? Now please. Sure. One moment. Should we split it? Yeah. Let's pay half and half. Sounds good. Thank you both. Have a great afternoon. You too. Thanks. The food was great. Now let's look at the conversation together. I'll help you understand the most useful words and phrases. Let's begin at the start. When the waiter says, "Would you like something to drink?" This is a polite question. He is asking, "Do you want a drink?" Jamie answers. I'll have a lemonade. This phrase, "I'll have," is very good for ordering food or drinks. It means, "I want," but it sounds polite and natural. John says, "Just water for me." That's also polite and clear. Later when the waiter asks if they are ready to order food, John says, "I'll have the chicken wrap." Again, we see that same sentence. "I'll have," it's perfect. Then the waiter asks, "Fries are salad." Many meals come with a side. You usually get to choose. Just say, "Fries please." Or, "Salad please." Jamie says, "Can I have it without onions?" This is a great sentence. If you don't want something in your meal, say, "Without please." She also says, "No dressing on the salad." That means she wants the salad plain. No sauce on top. Now later when the waiter offers dessert, Jamie asks, "What do you have?" The waiter lists a few desserts and John says, "Let's share the apple pie." "Let's share" means they both eat one thing together. At the end, they ask for the bill by saying, "Now please." You can also say, "Can we have the bill please?" Finally, they say, "Should we split it?" That means they both pay half. This is common between friends. As you can see, this full conversation is full of simple and real English. These are the kinds of phrases you can use right now. Even if you're a beginner, you don't need perfect grammar. You just need short, clear, polite phrases. Practice them out loud or with a friend. Let's listen to the conversation one more time for better understanding. Hey, Jamie. Hey, John. Great to see you. Let's sit down. Thanks. This place looks nice. The menu looks good. Look, here comes the waiter. Hi there. Welcome. Yes. I'll have a lemonade, please. Sure. I'll be right back. Um, I'm not sure. That sounds healthy. Are you still doing your no-sugar diet? Here you go. Yes. I'll have the chicken wrap, please. Fries, please. And for you? I'll have the veggie burger, please. Of course. And would you like fries or salad? Salad, please. Got it. Anything else? That's all. Thank you. Yeah. It's fresh. Not too sweet. Just right. Why? I don't know. You did great today. That's all you need. True. Here you go. Enjoy. Thank you. Thank you. This is good. My wrap is great. Sure. Let's swap a little. You're right. Um. What do you have? Good idea. One apple pie. I'll bring it soon. Here's your pie. Now please. Sure. One moment. Should we split it? Yeah. Sounds good. Thank you both. You too. Thanks. The food was great. And that brings us to the end of today's episode. We hope this helped you feel more confident about ordering food in English. If you ever go to a restaurant or cafe, now you know exactly what to say. You can come back and listen to this episode as many times as you like. Repeat the phrases. Practice them with someone. Or just speak them out loud. And don't forget. Subscribe to Speak Easy English so you never miss a new episode. We're here every week with useful English for real life. Thank you so much for listening. I'm Ava and I'll see you next time on Speak Easy English. Bye for now.