A restaurant is a business that serves prepared food and drinks to customers in exchange for money. Restaurants can be found in many different locations, including city centers, shopping malls, and along highways. They can range in size from small, casual establishments with just a few tables to large, formal establishments that can seat hundreds of people. Here, we show you some common English vocabulary words that are used in restaurants.
Restaurants Vocabulary
What is A Restaurant?
A restaurant is a place where people go to eat meals that are prepared and served by the restaurant’s staff. Restaurants can range in size from small, casual establishments with just a few tables to large, formal establishments that can seat hundreds of people. Restaurants usually have a menu that lists the dishes and drinks that are available for customers to order, and the staff typically includes servers, who take orders and serve food and drinks, and chefs, who prepare the food. Some restaurants also have a host or hostess who greets customers and seats them at a table. Restaurants can serve a variety of cuisines, including Italian, Chinese, Mexican, French, and American, to name a few.
Vocabulary for Restaurants with Meanings
Here are some common words and phrases that are used in restaurants:
- Appetizer: a small dish served before a meal to stimulate the appetite.
- Entree: the main course of a meal.
- Dessert: a sweet dish served at the end of a meal.
- Menu: a list of the dishes served at a restaurant.
- Special: a dish that is not regularly on the menu, but is available for a limited time.
- Waitstaff: the people who serve the customers in a restaurant.
- Server: another word for a waiter or waitress.
- Host/hostess: the person who greets and seats customers at the restaurant.
- Chef: the person who is in charge of preparing the food at a restaurant.
- Sous chef: the chef who assists the head chef in a kitchen.
- Busser: a person who helps the waitstaff by clearing tables and refilling drinks.
- Bartender: the person who makes and serves drinks at a bar.
- Order: the food and drinks that a customer requests from the menu.
- Bill: the amount of money that a customer owes for the food and drinks they have consumed.
- Tip: an optional extra payment that a customer gives to the waitstaff in appreciation for good service.
- Takeout: food that is purchased at a restaurant and taken to be eaten elsewhere.
- Dine-in: eating at the restaurant, rather than taking the food to go.
- Table service: a style of dining where the waitstaff brings the food to the table.
- Buffet: a meal where the food is laid out and customers serve themselves.
- A la carte: a menu with individual items that can be ordered separately, rather than a set meal.
- Happy hour: a time when a restaurant offers discounted drinks or food specials.
- BYOB: bring your own bottle/beverage – a policy where customers are allowed to bring their own alcohol to the restaurant.
List of Restaurants Vocabulary
- Chicken
- Coffee
- Drinks menu
- Cola
- Cold
- Wine
- Condiments
- Drink
- Cook (Cooking Terms)
- Spill
- Spoon
- Vegan option
- Starters
- Diner
- Dining
- Cutlery
- Steak
- Eat
- Fish eggs
- Food
- Fork fries
- Specials
- Fruit
- Glass
- Gourmand
- Gourmet
- Grilled
- Hamburger
- Pay
- Head Waiter
- Plate
- Platter
- High tea
- Hostess
- Hot
- Ice cubes
- Sugar
- Dinner
- Dish
- Dishwasher
- Doggie bag
- Well-done
- Pasta
- Waitress
- Pepper
- Rare
- Saucer
- Tomato
- Utensils
- Cashier
- Vegetables
- Ingredients
- Ketchup
- Kitchen
- Knife
- Lemonade
- Booking
- Cheeseburger
- Lunch
- Main course
- Bill
- Bistro
- Boiled
- Manager
- Meal
- Set menu
- Meat
- Mug
- Mustard
- Waiter
- Seafood
- Seared
- Server
- Side order
- Staff
- Tip
- Silverware
- Breakfast
- Brunch
- Napkin
- Reservation
- Soggy
- Order
- Roasted
- Entree
- Waitstaff
- Sous Chef
- Busser
- Takeout
- Dine-in
- Table service
- Buffet
- A la carte
- Happy hour
- BYOB
- Vegetarian option
- Salad
- Soda
- Halal
- Dessert
- Soup
- Special
- Spices
- Spicy
- Charge
- Pizza
- Kosher
- Medium
- Menu
- Table
- Milk
- Chef
- Appetizer
- Beef
- Barbeque wings
- Vinegar
- Beverage
- Bowl
- Braised
- Bread
- Party
Examples of Vocabulary for Restaurant
- I’d like a cup of coffee, please.
- The wine has a peculiar taste.
- Mother lit the gas and began to cook dinner.
- She feeds the baby with a spoon.
- We keep the cutlery in the kitchen.
- Would you like something to eat?
- There’s still lots of food on your plate.
- Try to eat plenty of fresh fruit.
- I’d like a hamburger and iced tea.
- She orders a cloudy greenish drink with ice cubes.
- They asked the waitress for the bill.
- She drank her soda through a straw.
- He shared a pizza with his son Laurence.
- The waiter brought the menu and the wine list.
- He started work as a trainee chef.
Restaurant Vocabulary | Infographic
Restaurant Vocabulary – English Vocabulary Words for Restaurants
Last Updated on January 7, 2023
It’s a fairly good, extensive list but, what is “eggs fish”? There are fish eggs, as in caviar, and there is fish roe, but I have never, ever heard of eggs fish!