Ordering food in a Spanish-speaking country can be an exciting yet daunting experience for beginners. Knowing the right phrases and vocabulary can make your dining experience smoother and more enjoyable. This guide will introduce you to essential Spanish restaurant vocabulary and teach you how to order food in Spanish like a pro.
Don’t forget to listen to the episode so you can hear the phrases’ pronunciation and get more practice.
Spanish restaurant vocabulary
When you arrive at a restaurant, there are many situations you have to overcome – from getting a table to knowing how to order food in Spanish. We’ll give you the basic tools to be able to explain yourself in these situations. ¡Vamos!
Asking for a table
The following phrases can help you ask for a table so you can order food in Spanish.
- ¿Tiene mesa para cuatro? Do you have a table for four?
- ¿Tiene una mesa? Do you have a table?
- ¿Para cuántas personas? For how many people?
- Para cinco personas. For five people.
Dealing with busy times
Sometimes the restaurant is busy. For those moments, the following phrases may be helpful.
- Hay que esperar. We have to wait.
- ¿Cuánto hay que esperar? How long do we have to wait?
- Estamos llenos. We are full.
- No tenemos mesa. We don’t have a table.
Getting the menu
Before ordering food in Spanish we need to get a menu. To ask for one, you may use one of the following sentences.
- La carta, por favor. The menu, please.
- La carta en español. The menu in Spanish.
- La carta en inglés. The menu in English.
Placing your order
Now that you have your menu, it’s time to know how to order food in Spanish. For that, you are going to start using one of these phrases, followed by the dish you want to order.
- Quiero… I want…
- Quisiera… I would like…
- Para mí… For me…
- ¿Nos trae…? Can you bring us…?
Asking about dishes
If you are unsure about what to order, these can be helpful:
- ¿Qué lleva este plato? What does this dish have?
- ¿Qué me recomienda? What do you recommend?
That’s all for now! ¡Buen provecho!
Mastering how to order food in Spanish opens up a world of culinary delights and cultural experiences. By familiarizing yourself with the essential Spanish restaurant vocabulary and practising the phrases mentioned in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying meals with confidence in any Spanish-speaking country. Remember, practice makes perfect, so don’t hesitate to use these phrases the next time you visit a Spanish restaurant.
By following this guide, you will not only learn how to order food in Spanish but also enhance your overall dining experience in Spanish-speaking countries. Whether you’re travelling or enjoying a local Spanish restaurant, these phrases and tips will help you navigate the menu and communicate effectively with the staff.
If you want to learn more useful vocabulary, such as how to talk about allergies and navigate different situations in a restaurant in Spanish, read the article we prepared especially on this topic!
For now, happy Coffee Breaking!
20 thoughts on “How to order food in Spanish – The basics”
Interesting.
Very well explained 🙂 MUY BIEN! 🙂 Yo amor el helado! 🙂 lol This is a good website to learn some spanish 🙂
this is a very good way to learn spanish from scratch, I don´t know podcast is so effective! Just finished lesson 2 and looking forward to the next ones 🙂
this is helpful
Estimad@s Mark y Kara:
Why do you sometimes pronounce the “ll” with the English L sound?
For example, you pronounced the word bocadillo as “bodacilyo” (maybe in lesson 16) and the word sillita as “silyita”. Other times, the “ll” combination has sounded like a strong Y sound with no L.
Thanks for clarifying.
K
Karlaina, it’s been a while since your comment, but in case you’re still wondering:
the ‘ll’ sound can be pronounced both ways. It really doesn’t matter that much, if you say ‘me lyamo Lorenzo’ or ‘me yamo Lorenzo’ you’d be understood equally. The Spanish vary the double L pronunciation themselves… I guess it sounds a bit more Spanish if you can hear the ‘L’.
Yo recomiendo que tu escuches Coffee Break Espanol. 😛
me encanta apprender español con coffee break spanish. I have only been doing this a month or two and have learned so much already.
cheers
Coffee Break Spanish is very helpful!
Muchas Gracias 😉
Hello from Russia! You’ve got many really helpful lessons for learning languages, indeed. Muchas gracias.
If yo quiero is I want, why say quierAS for I would like?
Hi Jennifer. The word is ‘Quesiera’ which means ‘I would like…’. It’s a more polite, asking rather than demanding. I hope you are enjoying the podcasts as much as I am.
What does Mark say at around 2:12, there’s a really long confusing sentence there and i’ve been trying to work it out. Any helpers?
“Hay diecinueve restaurantes en esta ciudad” – making reference to the song covered in lessons 14. Hope that helps.
At 6:20, did Mark say “hemos cerrado”? Because the C sounds like T, am I correct? Or is another word?
In the type of Spanish used in Spain, the ce- sound sounds a bit like “the” as in the English word “thermometer”. Hope this helps.
I am a learner from china
“we’ve been closed” is it emos cerrado?
“Hemos cerrado” would mean “we have closed”. Hope that helps.