What the song is about
The singer plans a special evening out. In the first verse he phones a restaurant to book a table for eight o'clock. In the second verse he and his partner arrive and give their name. In the bridge they ask for the menu and enjoy the cozy place. The chorus describes the moment they are shown to their table by the window.
Useful words and expressions
- to make a reservation / a booking: to arrange a table in advance. I'd like to make a reservation for tonight.
- under the name of Miller: the name the booking is saved under. People more often just say under the name Miller or under Miller.
- a table for two: the standard way to ask for a table for two people.
- Right this way: what a waiter or host says when leading guests to their table.
- near the window: a common seating request.
- if I may: a very polite way to make a request ("if that's allowed").
- The evening is young: the evening has just started and there is plenty of time left. The usual idiom is the night is young.
- a quarter to four: 3:45. Compare a quarter past four (4:15) and half past four (4:30).
- to walk in the door: to arrive or enter.
- the specials of the day: dishes that are only offered today.
- piping hot: very hot, freshly cooked.
- the atmosphere / the ambiance: the feeling or mood of a place.
- to whet someone's appetite: to make someone feel hungry or eager. Note that the verb is spelled whet, not wet.
Grammar
- Present continuous for what is happening now: I am calling to make a reservation.
- Infinitive of purpose: calling to make a reservation shows why he is calling.
- Past simple for finished actions: I called you earlier, we just walked in the door.
- Imperatives and let's: Give us the menu, let's see what you've got.
- Emphatic do: It really does whet my appetite adds emphasis, just like It really whets my appetite, but stronger.
Careful: words chosen for the rhyme
- a perfect destination is used to rhyme with reservation. People don't normally call a restaurant booking a "destination".
- the lighting is clear rhymes with here. For a cozy restaurant you would usually say the lighting is soft or dim.
- In the chorus the singer, a guest, uses the host's phrase right this way. In real life the waiter says this.
- Give us the menu, let's see what you've got is quite casual and could sound rude to a waiter. A more polite version is Could we see the menu, please?