Speaking Time: Going to Restaurants

Do you like going to restaurants? What kind of restaurants do you like to go to? (small, local, fast food, self-service, family, expensive) What do you usually eat when you go out for a meal? What do you usually order for the main course (dessert)? What do you usually drink? What is a difference between a regular and a self-service restaurant? Which is generally less expensive?

Level B1/B2

Kyiv Restaurants

When visiting Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, try tasty dishes on the menus of local restaurants.

Restaurant business has been developing rapidly in Kyiv. As a rule, restaurants open at 11 a.m. and work until midnight; actually, nowadays most of them close even later – ‘when the last customer is gone’.

In Kyiv restaurants experienced masters of cuisine will offer you a wide choice of dishes to suit any taste. If you want to have dinner or supper at a certain restaurant, it is better to order a table in advance.

At your service there is also a network of Ukrainian restaurants of fast food which offer a choice of dishes from traditional Ukrainian cuisine: varenyky(dumplings filled with cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms, etc.), salads, beer and juices. The most popular fast food restaurants which serve dishes of Ukrainian cuisine are Puzata Hata (Fat House), Pechena Kartoplya (Baked Potato), Smachna Kartoplya (Delicious Potato), Kartoplyana Hata (Potato House), Dva Gusia (Two Geese), Salateira and others.

The city centre is particularly abundant in restaurants, cafes and bars. Each restaurant is particularly noted for an original interior and a distinctive cuisine: Armenian, Georgian, Italian, German, French, Japanese, Chinese, American, etc. The customers won’t leave the dining place disappointed.

At restaurants specialising in Ukrainian cuisine you will have a chance to taste the famous Ukrainian borshch – a savory red-coloured soup which has such ingredients as minced beet, carrots, potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables. Borshch is always garnished with sour cream. As a rule, borshch is eaten with pampushky, small rolls rubbed with garlic. Chicken Kyiv (“cutlet Kyiv-style”) is a dish made of chicken fillet pounded and rolled around cold butter, then coated with eggs and bread crumbs, and either fried or baked. Kulish is a dish of millet cooked in meat soup; lard, onion and garlic are added to the dish before it can be served. Pechenia is stewed pork and potatoes served in a clay pot. Coming to the sweets, you will be recommended to try cherry varenyky, an old Ukrainian dish. They are especially delicious when served with cream. As for the drinks, Ukrainian beer and nonalcocolic drinks are not worse than European brands.

Do you like going to restaurants?

I love restaurants. I never get tired of going to them. I go to the restaurants a lot. Maybe three times a week. I have my favourite restaurants , which I go to regularly. The waiters know me and I usually get very good service. But I also like trying new restaurants. It’s exciting to see what’s on the menu and how the food will taste. Most of the time a visit to a new restaurant is a great experience. But sometimes, I wonder why my friend recommended a restaurant.I’ve been to a few restaurants where the food was so bad, so tasteless, I didn’t want to pay.

My favourite restaurants are Indian. I can’t get enough of Indian food. I love the smells inside Indian restaurants, and of course the tastes.

What things are the most important in a good restaurant?

pleasant / hospitable atmosphere

live music

excellent / tasty food

good / faultless service

beautiful interior

range of beverages

fair and resonable prices

cleanliness

management skills

conveniently located

Word List Going to Restaurants

quality – якість
This restaurant will ensure high food quality standards. The chef is responsible for maintaining food quality and developing the menu. The food was of such poor quality.

fixed price – фіксована ціна
We sell the goods on fixed price. Here is a restaurant where you pay fixed price and eat ad lib. The hotel restaurant offers lunch in a buffet style with a fixed price business menu from 11. 30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

abundant – рясний, багатий
Markets in the city were booming with abundant supplies of dried, fresh, and processed foods. The restaurants are packed with people, wine is readily available, goods are in abundant supply. The rainfall is abundant in the rainy season, but in the long dry season it is extremely rare. Food was abundant. Ukrainian national cuisine has an abundant choice of delicious traditional dishes.

customer – клієнт, покупець
The customer is always right. All our customer orders are handled by computer. We aim to maintain high standards of customer care. I really believe that it is possible to both improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs.

customary – звичайний, звичний
Is it customary to tip waiters in your country? It is customary to offer a drink or a snack to guests. Barbara answered with her customary enthusiasm.

distinctive – відмінний, розпізнавальний, характерний
Beer has a very distinctive smell. White poppy seeds have a distinctive nutty flavour. Cooking with the lid on gives the food that distinctive smoky flavour. As soon as I opened the front door I smelled the distinctive aroma of fresh coffee.

garnished – прикрашений
The salmon was brought to the table whole, garnished with parsley and slices of tomato and cucumber. Remove from the oven and serve warm, garnished with fresh basil leaves. Serve in the little dishes garnished with whipped cream and passion fruit.

inferior – гірший, поганий
These products are inferior to those we bought last year. His work is inferior to mine. They sell inferior goods at that store. He refused to accept a job of inferior status. Not inferior to Fanta or Sprite are Ukrainian nonalcoholic drinks like Zhyvchyk.

interior – інтер’єр, внутрішній
They do interior and exterior design. The interior of the shop still retains a nineteenth-century atmosphere. The interior is spare(sentencedict.com), almost minimalist. The restaurant’s interior neat and cozy, with friendly service. The restaurant’s interior is warm and inviting, with red leather chairs in the main dining room. The restaurant’s interior is contemporary cool.

minced – фарш
It is made with fresh minced meat, cooked with onion and a rich tomato sauce. Add the garlic and minced beef and fry for several minutes.Use crumbled veggie burgers or veggie mince instead of ground beef.

venue – місце зустрічі
This restaurant is a popular venue among guests and local residents thus you always need to make a table reservation several days beforehand. He said all that remained was to agree to a time and venue.

rapidly – швидко
Fast food business is rapidly developing in our country. The probability is that prices will rise rapidly. The disease spread rapidly throughout Europe.

dressing – одягання; приправа
A salad dressing is a mixture of oil, vinegar, and herbs or flavourings which you pour over salad. This salad dressing has a sharp taste. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Children love dressing up as Batman so the costumes are a great choice.

reservation – бронювання
I’ll call the restaurant and make a reservation. Is reservation necessary at that restaurant? I’m sorry, but I have to cancel my reservation. I’d like to make a reservation for eight people at six o’clock tonight.

veggie – овочевий; вегетаріанець
My boyfriend is a veggie so we only go to veggie restaurants. I have veggie burger for every meal. Concentrate on a high protein, veggie, fruit diet and you will see remarkable improvements. Fill your freezer with healthy choices, such as frozen fruits and vegetables, veggie burgers, fish, and meatless meatballs.

sophisticated – витончений; позбавлений простоти
Honeybees use one of the most sophisticated communication systems of any insect. Consumers are getting more sophisticated and more demanding. Sophisticated cuisine, top-notch service and original interior are distinctive features of this restaurant.

undercooked – недоварений
Undercooked potatoes taste unpleasant and can be harmful. People can become infected after eating raw or undercooked meat. You should beware of undercooked food when staying in hot countries.

nutritions – харчування
Broccoli and cauliflower are among the most nutritions nutritious vegetables. The trees can pass water and nutritions to each other.

nutritious food -поживна їжа
There is a wide range of nutritious foods in the world. We need good, nutritious food to stay healthy. Eat nutritious food and see a change in your life. Milk is a very nutritious food, containing protein, vitamins and minerals.

nutritives – поживні речовини
Every healthy diet means a balanced rational nutrition consisting of foods enriched with all essential nutritives, vitamins and minerals. Watermelon seeds contain highly nutritive oil.

eatery – їдальня, харчевня
We met in a little eatery just off the main road. This type of small eatery has popped up across the country like mushrooms after spring rain. For decades, the building behind the statue has housed an eatery named Stork.

enthusiastic – захоплений, завзятий
He could be wildly enthusiastic about a project. You don’t seem very enthusiastic about the party – don’t you want to go tonight? She remains an enthusiastic piano teacher.

relatively – відносно
He’s a relatively good squash player. These people are living on relatively low incomes. These beautiful old towns have remained relatively untouched by tourism. There is a new bistro downtown with a varied menu and relatively low prices.

passion – пристрасть
Politics and philosophy were his lifelong passions. She has never had a passion for oriental cuisine until she was once asked to dine out in a new Japanese restaurant.