Food and Drink Vocabulary

At the Restaurant

• Menu — the list of dishes available
• Starter / Appetizer — a small dish before the main course
• Main course — the largest dish of the meal
• Dessert — sweet food eaten after the main course
• Bill / Check — the document showing how much you owe

Cooking Methods

• Boil — cook in hot water (boiled eggs)
• Fry — cook in hot oil (fried chicken)
• Bake — cook in an oven (baked bread)
• Grill — cook over direct heat (grilled fish)
• Steam — cook with steam from hot water

Useful Phrases

• "Could I see the menu, please?"
• "I'd like to order..."
• "I'm allergic to nuts."
• "Is this dish vegetarian?"
• "Could we have the bill, please?"

Describing Food

• Tasty / Delicious — very good
• Bland — no flavour
• Spicy / Hot — contains chilli/pepper
• Sweet / Sour / Bitter / Salty — the four basic tastes