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URL: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/dine-out.3297467/

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Dine out

Chloe32

Member
Korean-Korea
Hi! I have been wondering about how to say "I ate in that restaurant" in a more natural way. If I say "I dined out in that restaurant." does that sound correct? If I say "I dined in that restaurant." is it still correct? Can you tell me how to say "I ate in that restaurant." in a more natural way?
I have one more question! Is "I have been wondering ABOUT how to say that." correct or "I have been wondering how to say that." correct?
Thank you!
I would use "at" rather than "in".

If you are thinking of a particular occasion, you can say "I ate at that restaurant (once/last week/a long time ago etc.)", but if you are just talking about having had past experience of eating there, you can say "I've eaten at that restaurant".

A: Do you know The Real Greek?
B: Yes, I ate at that restaurant last Sunday/Yes, I've eaten at that restaurant several times.

Crossposted
"I dined out in that restaurant" sounds odd. Since "dine out" usually means "eat in a restaurant (rather than at home)", where else would you dine out other than in a restaurant?

"I dined in that restaurant" is better, but it is not nearly as common or natural as "I ate in that restaurant", or "I had dinner in that restaurant."
I'd prefer:

I ate at that restaurant.

Using "at" includes eating inside the main restaurant, at a pavement table, or on the balcony overlooking the pool, for example.
Saying
Hi! I have been wondering about how to say "I ate in that restaurant" in a more natural way. If I say "I dined out in that restaurant." does that sound correct? If I say "I dined in that restaurant." is it still correct? Can you tell me how to say "I ate in that restaurant." in a more natural way?
I have one more question! Is "I have been wondering ABOUT how to say that." correct or "I have been wondering how to say that." correct?
Thank you!
I dined at that restaurant. This is the way I would say it.
I'd prefer:

I ate at that restaurant.

Using "at" includes eating inside the main restaurant, at a pavement table, or on the balcony overlooking the pool, for example.
I agree.
No doubt it's regional, but I would not say "I dined at that restaurant" (with or without "out"). It sounds vaguely pompous, like advertising prose.
Hi, may I know whether I can use dine out for lunch? or strictly to dinner only? Thank you.

e.g. I am going to dine out for lunch with my friend today.
Hi, may I know whether I can use dine out for lunch? or strictly to dinner only? Thank you.

e.g. I am going to dine out for lunch with my friend today.
It usually, if not always, means dinner. You can say, "eat out" for lunch. Or, "let's go out for lunch."
"Dine out" just wouldn't sound right though if talking about lunch.
I've never dined out in my life, for lunch dinner. Like @Hildy1 [#10], I find the verb comically pretentious.
People here in NYC dine out all the time. Some even dine out al fresco! Of course though, as you said ewie, they are usually comically pretentious people lol.

Nearly everyone I know simply says "eat out" instead. "We ate out last night." As for lunch, "We went out for lunch." If anyone I know says "dined out" then it would be in an ironic way. "We dined out last night. The lady got the Chicken McNuggets and I got the Big Mac" 👁 Big Grin :D
I think we forum members are often anecdotal - the use of idioms etc is often not homogeneous within AE or within BE, so there will be disagreement over "what is used" in AE or BE. While Ngrams don't reflect spoken words too well, the breadth of user/writer input can provide a crude tool to conclude that e.g. "eat out" is more frequently used than "dine out" and there isn't a big polarization between AE and BE on either.
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