restaurants and cafes

menu

menu [menu menus]   [ˈmenjuː]   [ˈmenjuː] noun
1. a list of the food that is available at a restaurant or to be served at a meal
• to ask for/look at the menu

• What's on the menu (= for dinner) tonight?

2. (computing) a list of possible choices that are shown on a computer screen
• a pull-down menu
see also  drop-down menu  
Word Origin:
mid 19th cent.: from French, detailed list (noun use of menu ‘small, detailed’), from Latin minutus ‘very small’.  
Collocations:
Restaurants
Eating out
eat (lunch/dinner)/dine/meet at/in a restaurant
go (out)/take sb (out) for lunch/dinner/a meal
have a meal with sb
make/have a reservation (in/under the name of Yamada)
reserve/ (especially BrE) book a table for six
ask for/request a table for two/a table by the window
In the restaurant
wait to be seated
show sb to their table
sit in the corner/by the window/at the bar/at the counter
hand sb/give sb the menu/wine list
open/read/study/peruse the menu
the restaurant has a three-course set menu/a children's menu/an extensive wine list
taste/sample/try the wine
the waiter takes your order
order/choose/have the soup of the day/one of the specials/the house (BrE) speciality/(especially NAmE) specialty
serve/finish the first course/the starter/the main course/dessert/coffee
complain about the food/the service/your meal
enjoy your meal
Paying
pay/ask for (especially BrE) the bill/(NAmE) the check
pay for/treat sb to dinner/lunch/the meal
service is (not) included
give sb/leave (sb) a tip 
Example Bank:
• Chef Nigel Crowther will expand the menu to include several vegetarian options.
• Go to the topic menu in the upper right hand corner.
• Many menus now list ingredients.
• Many restaurants do a very reasonable set menu at lunchtime.
• May we have the menu?
• Passengers are offered a daily choice of menu.
• She completely changes her seasonal menus every few months.
• The chef was chalking the daily specials on the menu board.
• The menu changes daily.
• The restaurant changes its menu every six months.
• What's on the menu this evening?
• You'll find it in the topic menu.
• a menu offering many vegetarian dishes
• a ten-course tasting menu

• buttons that make it easy to navigate the on-screen menu

restaurant

res·taur·ant [restaurant restaurants]   [ˈrestrɒnt]    [ˈrestrɑːnt]    [ˈrestərɑːnt]  noun
a place where you can buy and eat a meal
• an Italian restaurant
• We had a meal in a restaurant.
• We went out to a restaurant to celebrate.
• a restaurant owner
• a self-service restaurant
compare  cafe  
Word Origin:
early 19th cent.: from French, from restaurer ‘provide food for’ (literally ‘restore to a former state’).  
Collocations:
Restaurants
Eating out
eat (lunch/dinner)/dine/meet at/in a restaurant
go (out)/take sb (out) for lunch/dinner/a meal
have a meal with sb
make/have a reservation (in/under the name of Yamada)
reserve/ (especially BrE) book a table for six
ask for/request a table for two/a table by the window
In the restaurant
wait to be seated
show sb to their table
sit in the corner/by the window/at the bar/at the counter
hand sb/give sb the menu/wine list
open/read/study/peruse the menu
the restaurant has a three-course set menu/a children's menu/an extensive wine list
taste/sample/try the wine
the waiter takes your order
order/choose/have the soup of the day/one of the specials/the house (BrE) speciality/(especially NAmE) specialty
serve/finish the first course/the starter/the main course/dessert/coffee
complain about the food/the service/your meal
enjoy your meal
Paying
pay/ask for (especially BrE) the bill/(NAmE) the check
pay for/treat sb to dinner/lunch/the meal
service is (not) included
give sb/leave (sb) a tip 
Example Bank:
• If you're too tired to cook, let's go to a restaurant.
• It operates 79 restaurants in 26 states.
• Restaurant workers are often badly paid.
• She decided to open her own restaurant.
• She eats at the hotel restaurant when she travels on business.
• She frequented the restaurant on almost a weekly basis.
• She runs a family fish restaurant on the seafront.
• The hotel restaurant serves a buffet breakfast.
• They argued the whole time we were at the restaurant.
• They walked out of the restaurant without paying.
• We don't do a lot of restaurant dining.
• We had a quick meal in a small local restaurant.
• We would recommend this restaurant to anyone.
• We're going to try this Italian restaurant that just opened.
• a little restaurant I know in Paris
• a restaurant offering a wide variety of local specialities
• an Asian restaurant specializing in Thai cuisine
• hygiene standards in the restaurant industry
• some of the hottest restaurants in New York
• the country's most successful chain restaurants
• the few local shops and restaurants catering to summer visitors

• the increasing cost of restaurant meals