Cambridge Proficiency Exam Writing - Article

A Restaurant for People with a Cold

When we think of restaurant visits, it usually doesn't cross our minds that a customer could be offered anything more than foods and drinks, or that excellent customer service could include something else other than friendliness, food expertise and fast waitering. But a visit to a German restaurant in unexpected foul weather changed my mind and my whole way of thinking about restuarants.

 
Last May, a friend of mine invited me to a new restaurant in her home town, Frankfurt. At that time, I was based in Munich, and so I took a day off from work in order to visit my friend. Usually, the weather is sunny and rather warm in Germany in May, but on that day, it was snowing!

Huge flakes were flying through the air in the strong wind and blowing against our faces by the wind, as we were walking towards the old part of the city, wearing only light spring clothing and feeling our socks getting wet while walking in the 10-cm-layer of sleet on the streets.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were cold, tired and feeling quite disappointed by the weather god, and I must admit that I showed quite a grumpy face to the waiter who welcomed us to the restaurant. However, he remained extremely polite and placed us at a free table. I noticed that all the customers were sitting far away from the door, where the cold breeze could not intrude on/disturb their culinary experience.

It was warm in the restaurant, but it had been so cold outside earlier that I didn't want to take my jacket off any time soon. We sat down and decided to order a large cup of hot tea to warm up. To our great surprise, the waiter brought us a special winter menu: it included items such as warm socks, Norwegian wollen pullovers, blankets and heating pads - all that can be borrowed free of charge!

In addition, there were warm drinks with extra vitamin C on the list, and it was even possible to order (a can of) freshly - made a chicken broth to be delivered to your home doorsteps without (any)additional cost.

Thinking back to that experience, I always wish there were a restaurant like this in my home town too. Getting sick would be a lot less annoying then!