Learn how to attract the attention of a waiter
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Ciao tutti! Benvenuti su ItalianPod101.com. |
| Ciao! Hello and welcome back to Italian Survival Phrases brought to you by ItalianPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Italy. You'll be surprised at how far a little Italian will go. |
| Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by ItalianPod101.com, and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
| Finally, you’re at the table, at your seat. And now, it’s time to order! |
| So, in today’s lesson, we'll cover how to ask for a menu and then order your food and drinks. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Normally, to get the waiter’s attention you can just raise your hand and simply say Scusi! “Excuse me,” and then ask for a menu: Un menù per favore. “A menu, please” |
| Let’s hear the entire sentence. Scusi, un menù per favore. Scusi, un menù per favore. |
| And now, let’s break down the words by syllable: Scu-si. Scusi, which is followed by Un menù, which in English means “a menu.” Un is the masculine indefinite article. Un-me-nù. Un menù. And then, finally, we have Per favore, "please." Per fa-vo-re. Per favore. Once you have looked at the menu, you can finally call the waiter for the order. |
| Now, a typical Italian menu is composed by Antipasto, “appetizer;” Primo, “first dish,” which can be pasta or pizza; Secondo, “second dish,” which can be fish or meat; and then you have Contorno, “side dish;” and finally Dolce, “dessert”. |
| So, you will be probably asked by the waiter Cosa desidera ordinare? Cosa desidera ordinare? “What would you like to order?” |
| Cosa is the Italian for “what.” Let’s break it down by syllable: Co-sa. Cosa. It’s followed by Desidera. The third singular person of the verb Desiderare, which in English literally means “to wish.” Please note that it is used in a formal level of speech. Let’s break it down by syllable: De-si-de-ra. Desidera. Then, you have Ordinare, “to order.” Let’s break it down by syllable: Or-di-na-re. Ordinare. |
| The ideal way to answer this question would be starting with Vorrei, “I would like.” Followed by the name of the things you want to eat. Let’s break down this word and hear it one more time. Vorrei. Vor-re-i. Vorrei. |
| Now, let’s go and see some good dishes you can find on a typical Italian menu. |
| Carbonara |
| Margherita |
| Bistecca alla fiorentina |
| Frittura di pesce. |
| Let’s break down these words and hear them one more time: |
| Carbonara. Car-bo-na-ra. Carbonara. |
| Margherita. Mar-ghe-ri-ta. Margherita |
| Bistecca alla fiorentina. Bi-stec-ca al-la fio-ren-ti-na. Bistecca alla fiorentina. |
| Frittura di pesce. Frit-tu-ra di pe-sce. Frittura di pesce. |
| Let’s imagine you would like to order Margherita and Frittura di pesce. You should say to the waiter, "Vorrei una margherita e una frittura di pesce, per favore." Vorrei una margherita e una frittura di pesce, per favore. "I would like a margherita and mixed fried fish.” |
| Vorrei, as we have seen means “would like,” and it’s simply followed by the name of the food you are ordering. Please note that before Margherita and Frittura, you find the indefinite female article Una, “a,” which in Italian is very important. And, at the end of the sentence, we add Per favore, “please,” to be polite. |
| Then, the waiter will ask you about the beverages. |
| Cosa desidera da bere? Cosa desidera da bere? “What would you like to drink?” |
| Let’s break down these words and hear them one more time. Co-sa de-si-de-ra da be-re? Cosa desidera da bere? In this sentence, Cosa desidera, is followed by Da bere, "to drink." |
Outro |
|---|
| Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer. So, buona fortuna, which means “good luck” in Italian. |
| “A menu, please.” - Scusi, un menù per favore. |
| Scusi, un menù per favore. |
| Scusi, un menù per favore. |
| “What would you like to order?” - Cosa desidera ordinare? |
| Cosa desidera ordinare? |
| Cosa desidera ordinare? |
| "I would like a margherita and fried seafood.” - Vorrei una margherita e una frittura di pesce, per favore. |
| Vorrei una margherita e una frittura di pesce, per favore. |
| Vorrei una margherita e una frittura di pesce, per favore. |
| “What would you like to drink?” - Cosa desidera da bere? |
| Cosa desidera da bere? |
| Cosa desidera da bere? |
| That’s going to do it for today. Remember to stop by ItalianPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. Ciao ciao! |
Comments
HideWhat do you like to order when going to an Italian restaurant? Except PIZZA of course!
Hi Yen Chun,
In this dialogue they're using polite Italian, so you should use "Lei" instead of "tu" when addressing directly someone (both males and females) and conjugate the verbs in the 3rd person singular.
Cosa (tu) desideri? (informal)
Cosa (Lei) desidera? (formal)
Let us know if you have other questions!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Scusi,
Why "Desidera una macchina veloce o comoda?" (Would you like a fast or comfortable car?) is using "desidera" not "desideri"?
Ciao Lassi!
c’è means "there is"
che means "that, what, which,..."
I hope this helps! If you have more questions, please let us know!
Continua così! ("Keep up the good work!")
A presto e grazie,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Buon giorno!
Mi chiamo Lassi, piacere. (My name is Lassi, nice to meet you)
Perché c'è a volte "che" e talvolta "c'è"? (Why there is sometimes "che" and sometimes "c'è"?)
Per esempio: (For example:)
Si, c'è una sala fumare. (Yes, there is smoking room.)
A che ora volete prenotare? (At what time do you like to reserve?)
Grazie per questa lezione. (Thank you for this lesson.) :smile:
Mantenere il buon lavoro. (Keep up the good work.) :thumbsup:
Buon pomeriggio Anthony,
Thank you for your question.
"Menù" ends with ù and all the words that have an accent on the last syllable, in Italian, have only one form for both singular and plural.
You should say "Tre menù per favore!".
Grazie mille e a presto!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Buon pomeriggio,
In the dialog, a menu is requested. What is the plural for menu? So that I may ask,
"three menus please."
Is it:
Tre menu per favore. Is the plural of menu, menu?
Consuelo,
Grazie!
Ciao Duane,
in order to say "I would like sparkling water" you should say "vorrei dell'acqua gassata" and "water" is simply "acqua". "Vorrei dell'acqua", but don't forget to say "per favore", please.:wink:
A presto,
Consuelo
I don't drink alcohol, so how do I say "I would like Sparkling Water" or "I would like Water?"
Dear Peter,
Nice find, it was a typo.
Thank you for your feedback
Buona giornata
Io ordino sempre le bruschette!
Le adoro! Piene di pomodori e origano!:mrgreen:
I always order "bruschette"!
I adore them! Fool of tomatoes and oregano!
Do you know "bruschette"? I'm sure you do! And do you ever order them?
:wink:
C!
Cosa "verrebbe" ordinare? Typo?
Panna cotta ! :mrgreen: