# Describe a restaurant you enjoyed going to: IELTS Speaking sample answers

Speaking Part 2 - Food

Describe a restaurant you enjoyed going to.

You should say:
- where it is
- what kind of food it serves
- who you went there with
- and explain why you enjoyed going there

Source: Sample answers and examiner notes are written by Testmigo.

## Band 7 sample

The restaurant I'd like to talk about is a small noodle restaurant near my old university. It's on a side street close from the main campus, so it's easy to miss if you don't know about it, and it's been there for more than twenty years, I think.

It serves mainly hand-pulled noodles in soup, and you can choose different toppings like beef, chicken or vegetables. What's special is that you can actually watch the cook making the noodles in the open kitchen. He takes a big piece of dough, stretches it and folds it again and again until it becomes very thin noodles, and it only takes about a minute. They also have dumplings and some cold side dishes, like cucumber salad, which are really good too.

I went there mostly with my classmates, at least once a week when I was a student, usually after our afternoon lectures. It was kind of our meeting point. We'd sit at the same table in the corner, talk about our assignments or just complain about exams. Sometimes, when my parents visited me, I took them there too, and my dad liked it so much that he still asks about it.

Why did I enjoy it? Well, firstly the food was delicious and the portions were huge, but it was also very cheap, which is important when you're a student. Secondly, the owners were really friendly. After a while they remembered our names and our usual orders, so it felt like home. And thirdly, it has a lot of good memories for me, so whenever I go back to that city, I always try to eat there.

**Examiner notes.** This Band 7 answer gives clear, relevant detail about the food and the setting, and the open kitchen description is a nice concrete touch. Vocabulary such as "hand-pulled noodles", "toppings", "side dishes" and "meeting point" is used appropriately. The reasons are listed with "firstly ... secondly ... thirdly", and errors remain: "close from the main campus" (rather than "close to") and the collocation "it has a lot of good memories for me" (rather than "it holds a lot of good memories for me"). For Band 8, the speaker would use more evocative, idiomatic language and link ideas more fluidly.

The Band 8 sample is free with an account on the [topic page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/speaking/topics/describe-a-restaurant-you-enjoyed).

## Common questions

### How long should an IELTS Speaking Part 2 answer be?

You get one minute to prepare and then speak for up to two minutes; the examiner stops you at two. Aim to keep talking for the full time, which is usually 220 to 300 words.

### Can I use these sample answers in my test?

No. Examiners are trained to spot memorised answers, and a learned script is marked down. Use the samples to see what each band does, then answer in your own words.