📘 Part 3: Eating out

This episode's vocabulary

Ambience (noun) - the character of a place or the quality it seems to have.

Hustle and bustle - noise and activity.

Demure (adj.) - (especially of women) quiet and well-behaved.

Eatery (noun) - a restaurant.

Substantial (adj.) - large in size, value, or importance.

Affair (noun) - an event.

To cater to someone/something (phrasal verb) - to satisfy a need or to provide what is wanted or needed by a particular person or group.

Clientele (noun) - all the customers of a business when they are considered as a group.

Subculture (noun) - the way of life, customs, and ideas of a particular group of people within a society that are different from the rest of that society.

Decor (noun) - the colour, style, and arrangement of the objects in a room.

Supply and demand (idiom) - the idea that the price of goods and services depends on how much of something is being sold and how many people want to buy it.

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Questions and Answers

M: What are the differences between a cafe and a restaurant?

R: Well, as near as I'm aware, it's about opening times and ambience. By that I mean cafes open earlier, and there tends to be more hustle and bustle compared to restaurants, which are typically more demure and quieter with more set meals.

M: Which is more popular among people when they meet? A cafe or a restaurant?

R: Well, I'm hardly an expert in the statistics of eateries. But if I were to guess I'd say cafes fit better with the fast living of today. You can go in, have your meeting and be out in as long as it takes to drink whatever it is you ordered. If it's a more substantial affair, requiring more commitment then dinner should be ideal. But I don't think that's so common these days.

M: What kinds of people like to go to cafes?

R: Given the variety of them that cater to all manner of clientele, it might be easier to talk about the kinds of people who don't like to go to cafes. There are places for people who are very into coffee and coffee culture and distinct subcultures. Well, like the goth community, in as much as such a thing exists. So it seems like cafes are for everyone really.

M: What things can improve the environment of a cafe or a restaurant?

R: I imagine that will depend entirely on the clientele. I'll stick with my goth example to make my point. You would need decor and atmosphere and the stuff that fits with that kind of subculture to draw in the kind of customer you want in that environment. Again, there would also need to be music to suit the tastes as well.

M: Is it expensive to eat out in your country?

R: I have absolutely no idea. Although from the way people go on about the cost of living crisis here, I would say it might be relatively more expensive compared to the past. There are problems with supply chains and other aspects of logistics that definitely support that idea. It's simple supply and demand.

M: And do you think in the future, it's going to be more expensive to eat out in general?

R: In the immediate future? Probably. If everything that I'm reading is to be believed. I don't know about the distant future. I couldn't say.

M: Why do many people like to study in a cafe?

R: Well, they probably like the idea of being seen to study in a cafe than the actual experience itself. I mean, think about it, in order to effectively take in information about something you need minimal distractions, so you can focus. I'm not sure why anyone would think sitting in a cafe is going to accomplish anything close to that. It would be good for brainstorming and sharing ideas, since the atmosphere lends itself to that, though.

M: But why do you think people do it anyway? And many people just go and work or study in a cafe?

R: Might be for the social experience, or they don't know what it's like, and it's their first time experiencing it. And they're already regretting the decision they've made? I honestly don't know.

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