Common phrases:
To break off: stop, give up
To bring up: point out
To call on: drop by, ask
To care for: like, have interest in, take care of
To check out (of/from) a library
To check out
To check out (of)
To check up (on): investigate
To close in (on): get close
To come along with: accompany
To count on =to depend on= to rely on
To come down with: have a disease
To away with= get rid of
To draw up = to draft
To drop out of = to withdraw from
To figure out:
To find out:
To get by: survive
To get through with: end
To get through to: communicate something to somebody, call someone, explain
To get up: organize
To give up: to get rid of
To go along with: agree with
To hold on to: hold fast to something, maintain
To keep on doing something
To look after
To look into: pore into, scrutinize
To pass out = to faint
To pick out
To put off: postpone, delay

9. Barbeque Southern style of cooking over a grill The barbeque wings are you specialty
10. Bartender
11. Beverage Drink Can I bring you some beverages
while you look at the menus?
12. Bill, cheque, check The slip of paper that tells the customer how much
to pay
Table 3 would like you to bring them
their cheque
13. Black coffee
(adj + noun)
Coffer without any milk May I have a glass of black coffee,
please?
14. Boil A method of making food in hot water
15. Book off Mark a day you can not work I need to book off the first week of
May
16. Booster seat A plastic unit that fits on top of a chair to help
small children reach the table
Will your child be needing a booster
seat?
17. Booth/ bench Type of seating in which people sit side by side on
a cushioned area
We’d prefer a booth if you have one
available
18. Booze Alcohol You’ve been into the booze already
19. Bottle opener The device used for opening beer bottles that don’t
twist off
20. Bread basket Slices of bread and butter served before and with a
meal
21. Breaded Rolled and cooked in bread crumbs The shrimp is breaded in our
homemade batter

corkscrew before you start bartending
35. Counter Flat area often used for placing dishes on or
preparing food
36. Coupon A slip of paper that offers the customers a
discounted rate
Your coupon is only valid for food not
for alcoholic drinks
37.
Complimentary Free of charge The desserts are complimentary
because the dinner took so long
38. Creamer Small plastic container of cream for coffee Will you need more than two
creamers for you coffee?
39. Customer service Treatment of guests Our restaurant got the award for
having the best customer service this
year
40. Cutlery, silverware,
utensil
Tools for eating with (fork, knife, spoon) In a fine dinning restaurant the staff
has to polish the silverware
41. Cut off Stop serving a customer any more alcohol I cut off the man with the beard
because he’d had too much drink
42. Debit (n) Use bank card to pay directly from bank account Can we pay by debit here or do you
only take credit cards?
43. Deep fried Cooked in a large pot of oil Most of the appentizers on our menu
are deep fried
44. Defrost, thaw Remove frozen food from the freezer to prepare Don’t forget to defrost some pies for
tomorrow
45. Delivery Food brought to the home Do you have delivery or do we have
to come in to eat?
46. Designated driver

60. Fine dining A very expensive eating establishment The waiters wear bowties because
this is a fine dining restaurant
61. Float Small amount of cash used to make change at the
beginning of a server or bartender’s shift
I need a rood of quarters for my float
62. Free refills Beverages that can be filled again without any cost Have all of the soda you want; it’s
free refills here
63. Fry Cook over an element in oil
64. Garnish Food that is added to a plate for appearance or
colour (i.e parley or fruit)
65. Glassware Group of drinking glasses Make sure the glassware does not
have any spots
66. Gratuity/ tip Extra money given as a thank you for service When we have a large party we’re
allowed to add a 15% gratuity to the
bill
67. Grill Cooking over iron slats that allow for oil and fat to
drop down
68. Hairnet A covering worn on the head while preparing
food
Don’t forget to wear the hairnet
before preparing food
69. Happy hour Short amount of time when alcoholic drinks are on
sale
Happy hour is about to start in 30
minute
70. Highball Alcohol served with soda I need two glasses of highball for me
and my friend
71.
Highchair A tall chair with a plastic tray designed for a baby
72. Hold Leave off/ without I will take the hamburger, hold the

stay until 2 am
87. Non alcoholic
beverage
A drink that resembles a certain drink without the
alcohol
Can I order a non alcoholic beer?
88. Notepad Paper that a server uses to write down orders Just let me grap my notepad and I’ll
take your order.
89. On the rocks
Prep+noun
On ice I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks.
90. On the side
Prep+noun
Request for food item to not be put on top of
another food item
Fro the nachos, can we have the sour
cream on the side?
91. Order Make a request to a server
A request for food/ drink
Is everyone ready to order lunch
now?
92. Over charge Give a customer a bill that is too high (by mistake) I think you over charged us for our
drinks; we only had one each.
93. Pack up Put in a take-out container for the customer to
bring home
Would you like me to pack up the rest
of that pizza?
94. Party Group of people at or waiting for a table A party of twelve just walked in
without a reservation.
95. Patio Outdoor seating We closed the patio because it looks

106. Reservation A request to have a table saved from a certain
amount of people
We don’t have a reservation
107. Roll-up A set of cutlery wrapped in a napkin Before we punch out we have to
prepare enough roll-ups for the night
shift.
108. Rush A large amount of customers arriving at the same
time
We always have a rush after church
on Sunday.
109. Rush Prepare quickly for a certain reason Can you put a rush after church on
this spaghetti; I forgot to punch it in.
110. Sauce Liquid flavouring added to food What kind of sauce would you like on
yor ice scream butterscotch of
chocolate?
111. Schedule (n,v) A notice of the time and dte each staff member has
to work in a certain period of time
If you want to book off a day, let me
know before I make the schedule
112. Seasoning Dry flavouring added to food He wants the chicken plain without
any seasoning.
113. Self-sever The customers bring their own food items to the
table and do not pay for service
We have a buffet on. So it’s self-serve
for lunch.
114. Senior’s discount A reduced price for people over a certain age (i.e.
over 65)
We have a senior’s discount of 25%
off on Monday.
115. Separate cheques

specialty
126. Spicy Hot flavour Any item with 3 chilli beside it means
that the dish is very spicy
127. Stay Te eat in the restaurant Are these coffees to go or to stay?
128. Stir, mix Spin round and round Stir the soup for a few minutes before
you serve it.
129. Straw Long hollow plastic stick for drinking out of Can I please get a straw for my ice
tea?
130. Straight up Alcoholic drink without any mix or ice He always has a straight up glass of
rum after meal
131. Substitute Replace one item for another Can I substitute the carrots for corn?
132. Supervisor Staff member in charge of watching over thing
and dealing with problems
When I am not here Bill will be your
supervisor
133. Sweet Taste with a lot of sugar This cake is too sweet to eat
134. Take-out
(adj, v)
Food that is packed up and eaten at home You can either eat in order food to
take-out
135. Two-minute check A visit to a table approximately two minutes after
the food has been served to check for satisfaction
Don’t forget to do your two-minute
check to make sure the steak is
cooked properly
136. Terminal Computer system for punching in food orders There’s one terminal in the kitchen
and one on the bar.
137. Till Drawer of a cash register that money is kept in You need a key to open the till and
make change
138. To go To take out of the restaurant We’re just going to order a pizza to