Intermediate Listening Practice

Nicole: Andre, I need to tell you about last night.

Andre: What happened?

Nicole: Okay, so Marcus and I went to that new Italian place on Fifth Street. The one that just opened.

Andre: Oh yeah, I saw that. It looks nice from the outside.

Nicole: It does. That's what fooled us. We walked in and it was packed, which I thought was a good sign. We had a reservation for seven thirty and they still made us wait fifteen minutes, which, fine, it's busy, I get it.

Andre: That's not too bad.

Nicole: That was the best part of the evening. It went downhill from there. We sat down, the server brought menus, and then she just disappeared. We were sitting there for twenty minutes before she came back to take our order.

Andre: Twenty minutes?

Nicole: At least. I'm not exaggerating. I timed it on my phone after the first ten because I was getting annoyed. When she finally came back, she didn't apologize. She just said, "Ready?"

Andre: Just "ready?"

Nicole: Just "ready." So we ordered. I got the mushroom pasta and Marcus got the chicken. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. An hour and ten minutes.

Andre: For pasta?

Nicole: For pasta. I was so hungry by then that I ate all the bread and both our side salads before the food even came. And when it finally arrived, they gave me the chicken and Marcus the pasta. They mixed up the order.

Andre: What did you do?

Nicole: I told the server. Very politely, by the way. I said, "I think these are the wrong way around." And she looked at the plates, looked at us, and said, "Are you sure? Because the ticket says this is correct."

Andre: She said that to you?

Nicole: She did. And I wanted to say, "Yes, I'm sure, because I know what I ordered." But I stayed calm. Marcus switched the plates himself, and she just walked away.

Andre: Wow. Did you talk to a manager?

Nicole: I thought about it. I really did. But the restaurant was full, every table had people waiting, and I just didn't have the energy for it. I knew it would turn into a whole thing and I just wanted to eat and go home.

Andre: I would have said something.

Nicole: I know you would have. And maybe I should have. But in the moment, I just wanted it to be over.

Andre: So the food was at least good?

Nicole: The pasta was fine. Not amazing. Not worth waiting over an hour for. Marcus said his chicken was dry, which after everything else felt almost funny. Like, of course it was dry.

Andre: Did you leave a tip?

Nicole: A small one. Smaller than I normally would. I felt weird about it because I know servers depend on tips, but the service was genuinely bad. It wasn't just slow, it was rude.

Andre: What did Marcus think?

Nicole: He was quieter about it than I was. He said he thought the food was okay and that maybe they were just having a bad night because they're new. Which is generous of him.

Andre: It is generous.

Nicole: I left a review online when I got home. Two stars. I said the food was average, the wait was unacceptable, and the server was dismissive. I wasn't mean about it, but I was honest.

Andre: That's fair. Are you going back?

Nicole: Not any time soon. Maybe in six months, when they've figured things out. Or maybe never. There are too many good restaurants to waste another evening on a bad one.

Andre: You're being very dramatic about pasta, Nicole.

Nicole: I am not being dramatic. I waited over an hour.

Andre: You are a little dramatic.

Nicole: Whose side are you on?

Andre: Yours. Always yours. But you're still a little dramatic.