Eating out in the USA

In the USA, there are many types of restaurants. Fast food restaurants are very famous, with KFC and McDonalds in many country in the world. You look at a menu above the counter and say what you'd like to eat. You pay the person who serves you. You take your food and sit down or take it away.

In top class restaurants you need a reservation and you need to arrive on time. The waiter shows you where to sit. If you have wine,he sometimes asks you to taste it. You can only refuse it if it tastes bad, not if you don't like it. When you get your bill, check it and add fifteen to twenty per cent to it as a tip. You pay the waiter. In a family restaurant the atmosphere is casual, but the waitress shows you where to sit. Often the waitress tells you her name, but you don't need to tell her yours. If you don't eat everything, your waitress gives you a doggy bag(a bag for your dog) to take your food home.

In a coffe shop you sit at the counter or at the table. You don't wait for the waitress to show you where to sit. She usually brings you coffee when you sit down. You tell her what you'd like to eat and she brings it to you. You pay the cashier as you leave. A diner is like a coffe shop, but it usually looks like a railway carriage.