leave room for dessert

Meaning

To 'leave room for dessert' means to avoid eating so much main course food that you are too full to eat sweet dishes at the end of the meal. It is a friendly, conversational phrase used by hosts, friends, or waiters during dining. It encourages people to pace themselves during a delicious meal.

Examples

• Don't eat too much pasta; make sure to leave room for dessert.

  Don't eat too much pasta; make sure to leave room for dessert.

• I hope you left room for dessert because I made a chocolate cake.

  I hope you left room for dessert because I made a chocolate cake.

• The steak was huge, so I couldn't leave room for dessert.

  The steak was huge, so I couldn't leave room for dessert.

• Our waiter reminded us to leave room for dessert.

  Our waiter reminded us to leave room for dessert.

• I always leave room for dessert, no matter how full I am.

  I always leave room for dessert, no matter how full I am.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I need to save space for desert.

  ✓ I need to leave room for dessert.

  While 'save space' is sometimes understood, 'leave room' is the idiomatic standard. Also, 'desert' (one 's') is a dry sandy place; 'dessert' (two 's's) is the sweet food.

• ✗ Leave room to dessert.

  ✓ Leave room for dessert.

  The correct preposition here is 'for', indicating the purpose of the empty space in your stomach.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The main course looks amazing, but I need to ___.

  💡 Don't get too full before the sweet course.

  Show answer

  leave room for dessert

• Make sure you ___ because my mom made her famous apple pie!

  💡 Save some appetite for the final sweet dish.

  Show answer

  leave room for dessert