I'm eating at/in the restaurant right now

[krazaz]

Are these two sentences correct?

I'm eating in the/a restaurant right now
or
I'm eating at the/a restaurant right now

 

[perpend]

I'm eating in the restaurant right now.
I'm eating in a restaurant right now.
I'm eating at the restaurant right now.
I'm eating at a restaurant right now.

All are correct. What's the context?

 

[krazaz]

I'm eating in the restaurant right now.
I'm eating in a restaurant right now.
I'm eating at the restaurant right now.
I'm eating at a restaurant right now.

All are correct. What's the context?

Well actually, the action is happening at the moment: I'm talking on the phone and I'm telling my friend that "I'm eating at/in a restaurant right now", would be correct?

How about if a kid asks me, "what is the girl doing in the picture?" can I say, "Oh, the girl is eating in/at the restaurant" would the meaning be the same?

 

[perpend]

I perceive no difference between in/at in your contexts, in American English. You have my blessing to use both.

 

[krazaz]

Thanks. Does it also apply to all(or some) places such as bank, mall, grocery store, etc....

ex. I'm in/at the (bank, mall, grocery store) now.

 

[RM1(SS)]

"I'm in the bank" means that you are inside the bank.

"I'm at the bank" can mean that you are inside the bank, or that you are just outside the bank and are using it as a reference point.

This of course applies to any other building.

 

[krazaz]

One last thing.
What do Americans/British/Canadians prefer using most commonly, in or at?

 

[Myridon]

The choice is related to the context. It's not a randomly chosen personal preference. Do we want to emphasize that we are at the location of the restaurant or that we are inside the restaurant? The situation in which we want to tell someone our location is probably more common. I'm eating at the restaurant, not shopping at the store. I'm eating in the restaurant, not outside on the patio.

 

[AntiScam]

The choice is related to the context. It's not a randomly chosen personal preference. Do we want to emphasize that we are at the location of the restaurant or that we are inside the restaurant? The situation in which we want to tell someone our location is probably more common. I'm eating at the restaurant, not shopping at the store. I'm eating in the restaurant, not outside on the patio.

Thanks for this clear answer. Some other posts are quite good too.