A special restaurant

A special restaurant

Listen to Jo talking about a very special restaurant she visited recently.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Transcript

Interviewer: Hi, Jo.

Jo: Hello.

Interviewer: Thank you for talking to me today. What would you like to talk about?

Jo: So, I'm going to tell you about my recent visit to, erm, a very well-known restaurant and a very special restaurant.

Interviewer: OK – great.

Jo: It's called El Celler de Can Roca and it's in Girona in Spain and, erm, it often comes in the, like, top two or three restaurants in the world.

Interviewer: Wow!

Jo: And I went last week. And, well, the first thing that was exciting for us was to even get a table 'cause, erm, we booked a year ago and we had to go, you have to go, 'cause you can book a year in advance, so you have to go online at one minute to midnight a year before you think you could go and keep refreshing, refreshing the page until places become available and just go immediately and get the table. So, we were really excited to have the table and we were kind of nervous on Friday because we waited a whole year, so expectations were really high. And it was also, by chance, boiling hot in Girona and it was in the middle of a heatwave. It was 44 degrees.

Interviewer: Oh my goodness.

Jo: So, we were just waiting in our hotel room, couldn't go outside 'cause it was too hot, erm, kind of wondering what this dinner was going to be like, er, and getting all dressed up. So, yeah, we went and, well, the place is beautiful, all … I thought it would be quite, erm, it didn't really feel formal though. The staff were all really friendly and they showed us inside the kitchen first. And it's amazing 'cause no one is stressed in the kitchen – or they did a good job of pretending that they weren't. And they were making amazing things that looked like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for adults – little olive trees with amazing, like, erm, er, olive kind of confections hanging from them. And, yeah, the whole thing was amazing – a once-in-a-lifetime experience of lots of different courses of tiny, beautiful, surprising things, erm …

Interviewer: What was the best dish that you had?

Jo: It was all amazing but I think the best thing for me was one of the desserts. I had a sheep-themed pudding …

Interviewer: Wow!

Jo: So, it was all, erm – So, it was like a woolly sheep. It was like candy floss, like, made with, erm, like, sort of white sugar like you have at the fair. Erm, and that was supposed to represent the wool, and the sound of the spoon on the bowl made the sound of the bell on the sheep in the field. And then separately I had this thing to smell that smelled of wool. So I was, like, eating this sheep wool and smelling the smell of wool at the same time which, it sounds really weird, but it was actually delicious.

Interviewer: Sounds incredible!

Jo: It really was! It really was amazing.

Interviewer: Wow. Thank you for telling us about it.

Jo: It's a pleasure.

Discussion

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Submitted by ImmaLemonnyyy on Thu, 13/01/2022 - 14:22

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When I go to a restaurant, it's usually with my family, and on special occasions with the extended one. When I do, it doesn't look as fancy as she described her experience, (well I don't have much of these in my areas), but I really enjoy since it's different than usual. We usually if not always eat home-cooked meals my mom makes, and it's great, but changing the habit some times really adds a lot to the day. I love how big the dishes are and that they have a large menu to choose from. My favorite has always been ravioli at an Italian - style restaurant, but it sometimes differs from one restaurant style to another.
Oh and btw, the desert Jo has ordered sounds out of this world. Have to give it a try one die, as someone who him and his sister love deserts.

Submitted by Stela Stoycheva on Sat, 08/01/2022 - 16:55

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Yes, before the baby I went to restaurant almost 3-4 times a month. Its not a lot of times but I can allow just that. I visit Italian restaurant in London it called Bella Italia, I love it the food. I saw it has like that restaurant in other cities in England but I don`t know is it tasty like there :)

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Submitted by mahmoud-fayez66 on Sat, 01/01/2022 - 14:19

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I didn't like to eat in restaurants.

Submitted by Aorozco on Tue, 09/11/2021 - 18:02

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Hi there !
I live in Cartgaena Colombia. I really enjoy eating out with my family. We rencently went to a Peruvian restaurant called Cuzco. Even though it is a place visited for lots of tourists and famous people, we could make a resevation a few days before.
Their food taste amazing and people can enjoy live - music. It was my first time trying peruvian food and it was a great experience.

Submitted by Lan Vo on Wed, 20/10/2021 - 05:19

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Two years ago, i lived in Ho Chi Minh City of Viet Nam, i visited Hokkaido sushi restaurant. The restaurant layed out like restaurant in Japan, it had quite space for group, you can easy communicated in there. All dishs were very delicous, but sashimi is the best dish i like, it was fresh and relly delicous. Now i move to dak lak, there's no this restaurant, I'll taste again when i go to HCM.

It is about a restaurant in Viet Nam with very delicious dishes with a lot of space. Sashim is the best dish. I won't get that fresh and delicious food again when I go to HCM

Submitted by jes.grn on Wed, 13/10/2021 - 01:18

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I used to go to restaurantes quite often before the pandemic started. The restaurant I like the most is called "Los Mex", which is a mexican food house, so the dishes are typically spicy and tasty. I really miss spending time with my friends there.

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Submitted by danisep on Mon, 07/12/2020 - 18:18

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No, I don't use to visit restaurants, I would like, I think those great restaurants not just sell delicious food they are giving a unique experience for example waching your hands on chocolate put gold in a special dish and make an comestible woolen sheep. I would like to go one of those famous restaurants without hesitate.

Submitted by senes19 on Tue, 18/08/2020 - 19:50

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For three years ago, the reply of this question was 'yes, of course, every day'. Because I was with a friend from Dubai staying in the shared house. He didn't like to prepare food in the house. Thus we were at a restaurant every day, for every meal.
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Submitted by OlaIELTS on Fri, 22/05/2020 - 01:49

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Yes. I does. My favourite restaurant is a typical modernized one.