Part 2 cue cardFood and diet

Describe a café or restaurant you like

The second bullet is where answers go flat: "they serve coffee and cake" lasts ten seconds. Describe one drink or dish properly, how it looks, tastes and is made, and the menu bullet earns vocabulary marks instead of being a list.

1 minute to prepare
Up to 2 minutes
Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
Updated 20 October 2026

Describe a café or restaurant you like.

You should say:

where it is
what kind of food or drink it serves
how often you go there
and explain why you like it

Rehearse the long turn

1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak

Sit this card with the AI examinerThen the Part 3 discussion, and a full report

A 60-second plan

where it isOld Quarter, Hanoi, third floor
what kind of food or drink it servesegg coffee; lotus tea, snacks
how often you go thereSaturdays, study group, three hours
and explain why you like itowner remembers us; never rushes us

Sample answers

233 words · about 2:02 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I'm going to talk about a small café in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where I'm from. It's not easy to find, because you have to walk through a narrow passage between two shops and then climb a dark staircase until the third floor. But when you arrive, there is a little balcony and you can see the lake from there.

The speciality of this café is egg coffee. It's a Hanoi drink, they beat the egg yolk with sugar and condensed milk until it become thick like cream, and then they put it on top of strong black coffee. It tastes a bit like a dessert, very sweet and thick. They also serve lotus tea and some snacks, but most people go for the egg coffee.

I go there almost every Saturday with my friends from university. We are a study group, so we bring our laptops and sometimes we stay there for three hours. The owner is an old lady and she never ask us to leave, even when we only order one drink each.

I like this café because it feels like a home. The furniture is old and the chairs is very small and low, but the atmosphere is very warm. Also the owner remember our orders, which make me feel special. In my opinion, it's a perfect place for doing a relax after a long week of studying.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

until the third floor should be up to the third floor
until it become thick should be until it becomes thick
she never ask us should be she never asks us
it feels like a home should be it feels like home
the chairs is very small should be the chairs are very small
the owner remember our orders should be the owner remembers our orders
which make me feel special should be which makes me feel special
doing a relax should be relaxing

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Extends every bullet and keeps going, with simple organisers ("But when you arrive", "In my opinion"). It stays at Band 6 because the last part is a list of separate reasons, each added with "Also" or "I like", rather than one idea developed with an example.
Vocabulary: Topic words are there and help ("condensed milk", "speciality", "atmosphere"), and the drink is described clearly. But "doing a relax" is not a real collocation, and "very" carries most of the description. Band 7 needs some less common, precise words.
Grammar: A fair mix of sentence types, including relative and time clauses, but third-person verbs keep slipping ("she never ask us", "the owner remember our orders") and "the chairs is" breaks agreement. Errors this regular, though they never block meaning, are Band 6.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

258 words · about 1:59 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The place I'd choose is a tiny family-run café in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, my home city. It's a bit of a hidden gem, because the entrance is just a gap between a shoe shop and a pharmacy, and you have to climb three flights of rather dark stairs to reach it. Once you're up there, though, there's a narrow balcony that looks out over the lake.

What it's known for is egg coffee, which is a Hanoi speciality. They whisk egg yolk with sugar and condensed milk until it's light and fluffy, almost like a custard, and then spoon it over a small cup of very strong coffee. You're meant to drink it slowly, and it's rich enough to count as a dessert. They do lotus tea and a couple of snacks as well, but honestly nobody goes there for the snacks.

I'm there most Saturdays with my study group from university. We take over the balcony table, spread our notes everywhere and often stay until late afternoon.

The main reason I like it is the owner, an elderly woman who's run the place for about twenty years. She's never once hurried us out, even when we've made one coffee last three hours, and she starts making our orders the moment we appear at the top of the stairs. The chairs are tiny and wobbly and the paint is peeling, but somehow that's part of the charm. Compared to the big chain cafés, it feels like being a guest in somebody's house rather than a customer.

The slips

starts making our orders should be starts making our drinks

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length and links the bullets smoothly ("Once you're up there, though", "The main reason I like it"). The third bullet is brief beside the others, and the answer closes on a comparison rather than building to it, which keeps it at Band 7.
Vocabulary: Some less common, well-collocated items: "a bit of a hidden gem", "whisk egg yolk", "light and fluffy", "part of the charm". One choice is slightly off, "starts making our orders", where drinks is the natural word. Band 8 would be precise throughout.
Grammar: Frequent error-free complex sentences: a present perfect with "never once", a relative clause with "who's run", and "rich enough to count as". Accuracy is high; Band 8 would add a wider range, such as conditionals or participle clauses, used flexibly.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

274 words · about 1:53 spoken at a Band 8 pace

There's a little café in Hanoi's Old Quarter that I'd happily spend every weekend in, and in fact I more or less do. You'd walk straight past it if you didn't know it was there: the entrance is a slit between a shoe shop and a pharmacy, and you climb three flights of gloomy, slightly crumbling stairs before it opens out onto a balcony with a view across the lake.

It's famous among locals for egg coffee, which is one of those drinks that sounds strange until you try it. They whisk egg yolk with sugar and condensed milk into a thick, pale foam, almost like a custard, and float it on top of a thimble-sized cup of fiercely strong coffee. You eat the top layer with a teaspoon before you drink the rest, and it's indulgent enough to replace dessert. There's lotus tea and the odd snack too, but they're very much a sideshow.

I go most Saturdays with three friends from my course. We commandeer the balcony table, bury it under notes and highlighters, and usually don't surface until the light starts to go.

What keeps me coming back, though, is the woman who runs it. She's had the place for about twenty years, and she's never once made us feel we'd outstayed our welcome, even when a single coffee has stretched to three hours. By the time we've reached the top of the stairs she's already got the milk going. The stools are tiny, the walls are peeling, and none of that matters, because it's the one place in the city where I feel like a regular rather than a customer.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Effortless and well paced, with the answer building to the owner as the real reason ("What keeps me coming back, though"). Each bullet gets a precise picture. Short of Band 9 only because the opening sentence is a slightly familiar way into the topic.
Vocabulary: Precise and idiomatic: "a thimble-sized cup", "very much a sideshow", "commandeer the balcony table", "outstayed our welcome". Band 9 would sustain this flexibility even in routine description, such as how the drink is made.
Grammar: A wide range used accurately: a conditional ("You'd walk straight past it if you didn't know"), present perfect for duration, a past perfect in reported feeling ("we'd outstayed our welcome"), a time clause with "By the time". No errors; occasional safe structures are the gap to Band 9.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

Rounding-off questions

Why do people enjoy eating out?: Partly it's the break from cooking and washing up, but I think it's more social than that. Eating out turns a meal into an occasion, and it gives people a neutral place to meet that isn't anyone's home.
Have eating habits changed in your country?: Quite a lot. My parents ate rice at home three times a day, whereas my generation orders food through apps and eats out far more. Breakfast on the street hasn't changed, though; a bowl of pho at six is still sacred.