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English for hospitalityBeginner

English for the Restaurant and Bar

Ten lessons of the English a waiter really uses: from the door to the bill

English for the Restaurant and Bar

About this course

A working course for waiters, hosts, bartenders and runners who serve guests in English. Level A2-B1: short sentences, no grammar theory. You learn the phrases you say fifty times a shift — meeting a guest at the door, finding the booking, seating a family with a child, handing over the menu, describing a dish to someone who has never seen it before, taking an order and reading it back, apologising for a late plate, bringing the bill and splitting it.

One block of the course is about allergies and dietary requirements, and it is the most important one. A mistake there is not a language mistake — it can send a guest to hospital. The rule the course insists on is simple: never guess what is in a dish, never answer probably not, and always check with the kitchen. Every lesson has a table of phrases, a full dialogue with audio, and a short list of the mistakes people make in that exact situation. Each module ends with a test, and the course ends with a final one.

Course curriculum

  1. Meeting and seating the guest

    The first two minutes: the greeting, the booking, the number of people, the table, the wait and the menu.

    • 1.Greeting the guest and finding the reservation11 min
    • 2.How many people, which table, how long to wait12 min
    • 3.The menu, the first drink and the word would10 min

  2. The menu and recommendations

    Describing a dish in simple words, cooking methods, honest recommendations, portions, steak and drinks.

    • 1.Describing a dish in simple words13 min
    • 2.Recommending, portions and how the steak is cooked12 min
    • 3.Drinks, wine and the bar11 min

  3. Allergies and dietary requirements

    The part of the job where a mistake is not about language: asking, checking with the kitchen and never guessing.

    • 1.Asking about allergies and checking with the kitchen14 min
    • 2.Vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free12 min

  4. The order, the service and the bill

    Taking an order and reading it back, late dishes, serving, complaints, the bill, payment and tips.

    • 1.Taking the order, reading it back, and late dishes14 min
    • 2.Complaints, the bill, payment and tips13 min