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Making a Restaurant Reservation

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 259: Making a Restaurant Reservation.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast number 259. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com. You can get a Learning Guide for this episode, which contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, cultural notes and a complete transcript of this episode.

In this episode, we will be “Making a Restaurant Reservation.” Let’s get started.

[start of story]

Hostess: Thank you for calling Sakia Restaurant. How may I help you?

Randy: I’d like to make a reservation.

Hostess: For which day and for what time?

Randy: It’s for Friday, the 24th, at seven o’clock.

Hostess: How many will be in the party?

Randy: There will be seven of us.

Hostess: And the name on the reservation?

Randy: Johnson.

Hostess: And a phone number where we can reach you?

Randy: 310-555-9023.

Hostess: Okay. Let me repeat back to you the information I have. This is a reservation for the Friday after next for seven at seven p.m. Is that correct?

Randy: Yes, that’s right. Can we have a table by the window in a non-smoking section? I want to be away from the kitchen, if possible.

Hostess: Our restaurant is all non-smoking. We can’t guarantee a window table, but I’ll note your preference.

Randy: Okay, that’s fine. What’s the parking situation at the restaurant?

Hostess: We have a parking lot behind the restaurant, and we also have valet parking. Do any of the guests have special needs?

Randy: I’m glad you asked. I’ll need two high chairs and four booster seats.

Hostess: I’m sorry, but did you say two high chairs and four booster seats?

Randy: Yes, I did. I’m taking all of my nieces and nephews out to dinner.

Hostess: That sounds nice. It should be a lively evening.

Randy: You’re telling me!

[end of story]

Our dialogue is between Randy and a restaurant hostess. A hostess, “hostess,” is a woman who works at a restaurant who answers the telephone to write down reservations. She also helps people find the right table - she takes them to their table in the restaurant. A man who does this would be called a host, “host.” The hostess answers the phone by saying, “ Thank you for calling Sakia Restaurant. How may I help you?” Randy says, “I’d like to make a reservation.” A reservation, “reservation,” is a request for, in this case, a table at the restaurant. It could be a reservation for a seat on an airplane. It could be a reservation at a hotel for a room. Something that you will be using in the future is the idea. Reservation has a couple of different meanings, at least in American English. Take a look at the Learning Guide today for more explanation of that.

The hostess then asks Randy, “For which day and for what time?” Randy says, “It’s for Friday,” meaning the reservation is for Friday, “the 24th, at seven o’clock.” The hostess then asks, “How many will be in the party?” How many will be in the party, “party,” or your party, means how many people are going to be with him at the table. How many places - how many seats do they need at the table? How many will be your party? Your party is the group of people you are with. We also use that word, party, for a celebration - for having a fun time. But here, it means the people who are in your group.

Randy says, “There will be seven of us,” so seven people including Randy. The hostess then asks for a name; Randy gives the name, “Johnson.” Johnson is one of the most common names in American English; at least it used to be one of most common last names. Johnson, Jones, Smith - those are all common last names. Of course, the population of the United States has changed in the last 50 years, and so now there are other last names that might be more common.

The hostess then asks if there is a telephone number where they can reach Randy. The use of the verb reach, “reach,” here means to contact someone or to communicate with someone. “Where can I reach you” means what is the telephone number I can use to contact you.

Randy gives a telephone number - not a real telephone number. You know it is not a real telephone number because after the first three numbers, which are the area code, there are the numbers “555,” and there are no telephone numbers in the United States that use the numbers “555.” So, whenever you are watching TV or an American movie and you hear someone give a telephone number, they’ll usually give a number that has “555” in it because it’s not a real number.

The hostess then says, “Okay. Let me repeat back to you the information I have.” To repeat back, “back,” means to say what someone just told you back to them, so to repeat it to them. So, she’s going to repeat back the information to Randy to make sure that she has it correct.

She says, “This is a reservation for the Friday after next for seven” - seven people - “at seven p.m.” The expression, “the Friday after next,” “next,” means not this Friday - not the closest Friday - but the Friday one week later. For example, if it is Thursday, you could say, “Let’s meet a week from Friday,” or “the Friday after next.” That means you would be not meeting the next day, but a whole week later. We use that expression for days; you can use that for weeks. You can say, “the week after next,” you can say, “the month after next.” Randy then asks for “a table by the window.” A table by the window means a table that is close to the window - the outside of the restaurant. Usually those are tables that people want because you have a better view - you’re better able to see things going on outside.

Randy also asks for a table “in a non-smoking section,” a part of the restaurant where you are not allowed to smoke. In many states, all restaurants are non smoking - the entire restaurant. In California this is true, and it is true in many cities in states, where you cannot smoke at all in a restaurant - you have to go outside of the restaurant.

Randy says he wants “to be away from the kitchen, if possible.” To be away from something means not to be near something - to be far away - not to be close to something. Randy doesn’t want to be close to the kitchen so he doesn’t have to hear the noise of the kitchen.

The hostess says that the “restaurant is all non-smoking,” meaning all of the tables are non-smoking. She says that they cannot “guarantee a window table, but” they will “note” his “preference.” To guarantee, “guarantee,” means to promise that something will happen. So, the hostess is saying we can’t promise you a window table, but we will note, “note,” your preference, “preference.” To note something usually means to write something down quickly so that you don’t forget it later on. There are also other uses of this verb to note; take a look at the Learning Guide for more explanation of that. Preference means your choice - something that you want, usually something that you like more than another thing.

Randy says, “Okay, that’s fine.” Then he asks, “What’s the parking situation at the restaurant?” The parking situation means the availability of parking. Randy is asking if it’s easy or difficult to find a place to park near the restaurant.

The hostess says, “We have a parking lot” - a place where you can park your car - “behind the restaurant, and we also have valet parking.” Valet, “valet,” parking is a service offered by many restaurants and hotels, especially here in Los Angeles, where because it is difficult to find a place to park near the restaurant, you can leave your car with someone - we call that person a valet - and the valet will park your car and then bring it back to you. Of course, you have to pay extra money for this service. It may be four or five dollars; it could be 15 or 20 dollars if it’s a very expensive restaurant. Hotels often offer valet service as well.

The hostess asks if Randy or any of his guests have any “special needs.” In a restaurant, when someone asks for “special needs,” they’re referring to something that isn’t usual, often because of a physical problem.

The answer that Randy gives is yes, “I’ll need two high chairs, and four booster seats.” A high chair, “high,” chair, is a special chair - a tall chair - for babies and young children so they can sit next to the adult, but they have their own little seat. A booster seat, “booster,” seat is a, usually, plastic seat that you put on top of a chair so that slightly older children, who are too big for a high chair, can sit at the table and still be able to reach the table - be tall enough for the table. So, a booster seat boosts you or makes you higher so that it’s easier for you to eat.

The hostess says, “I’m sorry, but did you say two high chairs and four booster seats?” She can’t quite believe that Randy needs so many high chairs and booster seats.

Randy says, “Yes,” that he’s “taking all of” his “nieces and nephews out to dinner.” So, the nieces and nephews are the daughters and sons of his brothers and sisters, therefore they’re probably, in this case, young children, so he needs the high chairs and the booster seats.

The hostess says, “It should be a lively evening.” The word lively, “lively,” means busy - interesting - full of lots of energy, we might say, because of course, with six children, there’ll be lots of excitement.

Randy says at the end, “You’re telling me!” The expression “you’re telling me” means I agree with you completely because I have had a similar experience. For example, you go to the dentist and the next day you talk to your friend, and you say, “Oh, I went to the dentist and it was terrible,” and your friend says, “You’re telling me. I also went to the dentist and it was terrible.” So, they have had a similar experience, and they agree with you completely. Well, listening to ESL Podcast is not as bad as going to the dentist, I hope, for you!

Now let’s listen to the dialogue again, at a normal speed.