Lesson 33 Vocabulary
English word English Definition English Example sentence
1 to complain to say bad things about a situation, person, or group We had to wait for three hours at the restaurant, so naturally we complained about the service.
2 to send ~ back to make the waitstaff take your meal back to the kitchen to be modified or replaced I sent my pizza back; it wasn't fully cooked, and the cheese wasn't melted.
3 to be all-you-can-eat a style of dining in which you have access to unlimited food We went to this all-you-can-eat restaurant every Saturday, so eventually I gained a lot of weight.
4 a regular a customer who comes to a business every week or every day I was a regular at my local bar in America; I went there every Friday night.
5 to be complimentary to be free, to be available at no charge If you go to a Mexican restaurant in America, the chips are complimentary, so you can eat a lot.
6 an establishment the general word for any kind of business, but usually applied to restaurants and bars I went to a fine establishment in downtown New York last year, for dinner; I forgot the name, though.
7 to dine and dash a criminal activity in which a person eats at a restaurant and then runs away quickly without paying The restaurant experienced a lot of dine and dash cases, so they began to make people pay before they ate.
8 the premises all areas owned or leased by a business or company Smoking is not allowed on the premises, except in designated areas.
9 a doggie bag a small package in which to place food you ordered but could not finish, in order to take them home My meal was too big, so I got a doggie bag and took it home with me.
10 to be appetizing to be delicious looking, to make you feel hungry The soup was so appetizing that I wanted to eat some, even though I was full.
11 a portion one serving of a food, the amount one person can eat I made six portions of potatoes because I had six guests at my dinner party.
12 a patron a customer of a restaurant or bar Many patrons in fancy clothes filled the cafe.
13 atmosphere the general feel of a place, usually dependent on the lighting, noise level, and color scheme The restaurant had a really bad atmosphere, but the food was cheap, so many people ate there.
14 decor the general word for the colors, carpets, and wall decorations in a place The decor featured lots of red and black, and a lot of chrome.
15 to get ~ to go to order food with the intention of taking it home to eat it I got a hamburger to go, then I took it home and ate it in front of the TV.
16 variety the number of different kinds of things in a given place or situation There is a lot of variety at family dining restaurants; the menu is full of about a hundred different foods.
17 a selection of ~ a specially chosen set of things, picked from a larger set of things The cheese platter features a selection of cheeses from Northern France.
18 to be upscale to be fancy and expensive It was an upscale restaurant, so a shirt and tie were required.
19 to be cramped to be small and narrow The restaurant was cramped, as it only had two tables.
20 a combo a meal that features a combination of many different menu items in smaller amounts I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I just ordered the combo.
21 to be attentive of a waiter or waitress, to be eager to please and fast with service The waiter was very attentive; whenever I ran out of water, he re-filled it immediately.