You and some friends ate a meal at a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, and you were very pleased with the food and service. Write a letter to the restaurant manager. In your letter: give details of your visit to the restaurant explain the reason for the celebration say what was good about the food and the service
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to express my utter satisfaction and admiration regarding the outstanding food and service we have enjoyed in your restaurant, “La-Italiano”, last Sunday. Thank you for making our event special. It was my friend's birthday, so we decided to celebrate it at your restaurant. We visited your restaurant on 29th July, at around 7.30 pm, due to its convenient location and a good reputation for delicious food. I am happy that we picked your place. Five of us went to your eatery and we enjoyed a traditional Italian cousin for dinner and a special black forest cake from your restaurant. It really did worth the money we paid because I suppose you have hired the best chef in the town! The service of the waiters was also marvellous. They were truly well-mannered, organised and skilled in serving food. On top of that, the interior design of your place is adequately stunning. We also realised how preciously you treat your customers when my friend got a chocolate box as a birthday gift on behalf of your restaurant. That truly made our day. I hope the authorities of your restaurant will always ensure this excellent service and food to all its guests. Yours faithfully, Shadia Rahman
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Overstatement Original: utter satisfaction Suggested revision: complete satisfaction Why it matters: Complete satisfaction is more natural in a formal compliment letter.
- 2. Past event Original: we have enjoyed Suggested revision: we enjoyed Why it matters: Use past simple for the completed restaurant visit last Sunday.
- 3. Preposition choice Original: in your restaurant Suggested revision: at your restaurant Why it matters: At is the more natural preposition for visiting a restaurant.
- 4. Wrong word Original: traditional Italian cousin Suggested revision: traditional Italian cuisine Why it matters: Cuisine means a style of cooking; cousin means a relative.
- 5. Verb pattern Original: It really did worth the money Suggested revision: It was really worth the money Why it matters: Worth is used with be, not did.
- 6. Article use Original: the best chef in the town Suggested revision: the best chef in town Why it matters: In town is the natural fixed expression.
- 7. Contradictory phrase Original: adequately stunning Suggested revision: absolutely stunning Why it matters: Adequately means merely sufficient, which weakens stunning.
- 8. Wrong adverb Original: how preciously you treat your customers Suggested revision: how generously you treat your customers Why it matters: Generously matches the birthday gift context.
- 9. Preposition phrase Original: on behalf of your restaurant Suggested revision: from your restaurant Why it matters: The gift was from the restaurant; on behalf of is less natural here.
- 10. Register match Original: Five of us went to your eatery Suggested revision: Five of us went to your restaurant Why it matters: Restaurant is more appropriate than eatery in a formal letter to the manager.
- 11. Natural praise Original: marvellous Suggested revision: excellent Why it matters: Excellent is a more controlled formal compliment.
- 12. Sentence rewrite Original: I am writing to express my utter satisfaction and admiration regarding the outstanding food and service we have enjoyed in your restaurant, “La-Italiano”, last Sunday. Suggested revision: I am writing to express my complete satisfaction with the outstanding food and service we enjoyed at your restaurant, La-Italiano, last Sunday. Why it matters: This fixes tense, preposition choice, and the overly heavy opening phrase.
Suggested Rewrites
- utter satisfaction complete satisfaction
- we have enjoyed we enjoyed
- in your restaurant at your restaurant
- traditional Italian cousin traditional Italian cuisine
- It really did worth the money It was really worth the money
- the best chef in the town the best chef in town
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The letter covers the visit details, reason for celebration, and positive comments about food and service. The purpose is clear and the tone is appropriately appreciative.
Keep the same coverage, but make the praise more specific and less exaggerated.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response is logically ordered, but it is presented as one long block and some transitions are basic. The sequence from reason to food to service is clear.
Use paragraph breaks after the opening thanks, after the visit details, and before the closing wish.
Lexical Resource
There is a good range of positive vocabulary, but some word choices are inaccurate, including cousin for cuisine and preciously for generously.
Prioritise accuracy over decorative vocabulary, especially for restaurant and service descriptions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammar is generally understandable, but errors in tense, verb patterns, and articles appear across the letter.
Review past-tense descriptions and fixed expressions such as it was worth and one of the best.