Useful questions in cafes and restaurants
Last week, I decided that I wanted to eat fish and chips for dinner. It had been ages since I had eaten that. So, I went to my local fish and chip shop to order it. The shop was really busy so I had to wait for a bit. That gave me a chance to read the menu on the wall. Finally, when it was my turn, I was suddenly unsure of what to say or ask for. I was also surprised by the questions I was asked. Let me give you the conversation:
Worker: Yes, please.
Wendy: Can I get some fish and chips, please?
Worker: How do you want the fish?
(His question was confusing to me because I wanted it cooked…but then I quickly realised he was talking about the three popular options of battered fish, crumbed fish, or grilled fish).
Wendy: Battered, please.
Worker: Do you want plain salt or chicken salt on the chips?
Wendy: Sorry, what?
Worker: Plain salt or chicken salt?
Wendy: Plain salt, please.
Worker: Dine in or take away?
Wendy: Take away, thanks.
Worker: That will be about 15 minutes. Name?
Wendy: Ok, that’s fine. Wendy. Thank you.
I was exhausted after that conversation. It was like a language test for me because after using the UBER eats app for so long, I really didn’t remember how to order food in person! This is evidence that sometimes, even native speakers, need to practise their listening and speaking skills.
Now, I remember what it was like to do that in my second language, Spanish. How stressful such a simple situation can be. I remember so many of the mistakes that I made. They are funny stories now, but at the time it was frustrating and sometimes embarrassing. When I was in Chile, I remember I ordered:
Sopa de zapato (shoe soup) instead of sopa de zapallo (pumpkin soup)
Una empanada de queso y jarbon (ham and soap empanada) instead of queso y jamón (cheese and ham).
After my adventure at the fish and chip shop, I decided to ask my niece, Kaylan about her job in a café. She kindly offered to give me a list of the questions she always asks her customers and the questions that customers often ask her. If you would like to see that list, click the link below.