LLFE-A01 · At the Bar — Ordering Drinks in English
🍹 At the Bar
⏱ 5 minutes · 📚 CELTA-informed · 🎯 Cambridge A2
📖 From the teacher’s desk: As a sommelier and bar manager at The Ivy and Merivale venues in Sydney, I took thousands of drinks orders in English every week. The language of ordering drinks is deceptively simple — but getting the polite phrasing right makes the difference between sounding natural and sounding abrupt. I’ve seen it make real confidence differences in my adult learners.
🎯 By the end of this lesson, you can: order drinks politely in English at a bar, café, or restaurant.
🔥 Warm Up (1 min)
Imagine you’re at a bar. The bartender looks at you and says: “What can I get you?”
What do you say? 🤔 Don’t think too long — just go for it!
📖 Learn It (2 min)
From rude to polite 👇
| ❌ Abrupt | ✅ Natural & Polite |
|---|---|
| “Beer.” | “Could I have a beer, please?” |
| “Wine.” | “I’ll have a glass of red wine, please.” |
| “No ice.” | “Could I get that without ice?” |
| “What’s this?” | “Could you tell me what this is?” |
Useful phrases:
🍷 “What do you recommend?”
💳 “Could I pay by card, please?”
👋 “Excuse me!” (to get attention)
✏️ Try It (2 min)
Rewrite these to sound polite:
- “Orange juice.” → _______
- “Sparkling water, no ice.” → _______
- “The bill.” → _______
🎭 Role play: Student A = bartender. Student B = customer. Order 3 drinks, ask the price, pay by card.
🗝️ Answer Key
- “Could I have an orange juice, please?” / “I’ll have an orange juice, thanks.”
- “Could I get a sparkling water without ice, please?”
- “Could I have the bill, please?” / “Can I get the bill when you’re ready?”
Cambridge CELTA course completed — 120 supervised teaching hours, 4 written assignments passed at the required standard.
Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.
✉️ Questions? sourovdeb.com