evolang.
Browse
About
Spanish · Vocabulary · A1–A2

Spanish food and drink: words and phrases for eating out

To order in Spanish you need three things: the names of foods (each with el or la), one polite request pattern, ¿me pone…? or quería…, and a sense of when people eat. In Spain lunch is the main meal, usually between 2 and 4 pm, and dinner rarely starts before 9.

  1. The day’s meals
  2. Food and drink by group
  3. Reading a menú del día
  4. Ordering phrases
  5. A restaurant conversation
  6. Words that change by country
el café la tostada el zumo 2 café 3,001 tostada 2,501 zumo 3,208,70 € la cuenta
A typical Spanish breakfast: coffee, toast with tomato, and fresh orange juice. In Spain juice is zumo; in Latin America it is jugo.

The day’s meals

Each meal has a noun and a matching verb. Comer means both “to eat” and, in Spain, “to have lunch”, because lunch is the meal. Times below are typical for Spain; most of Latin America eats an hour or two earlier.

7–9 am el desayunodesayunar · to have breakfast Light: coffee, toast, maybe a pastry. Many people have a second snack around 11.
11 am el almuerzoalmorzar · to have a snack / lunch A mid-morning snack in Spain; in much of Latin America, almuerzo is lunch itself.
2–4 pm la comidacomer · to have lunch The main meal in Spain: two courses and dessert. Many restaurants only serve lunch from 1:30.
6 pm la meriendamerendar · to have an afternoon snack A snack between lunch and a late dinner, especially for children.
9–11 pm la cenacenar · to have dinner Lighter than lunch, often tapas. Earlier, around 7–8, in most of Latin America.

Food and drink by group

Choose a group. Each word is given with its article; red articles are feminine. Press a word to hear it.

El agua is feminine despite the el: the reason is in gender and articles. Prices on a menu follow the patterns in Spanish numbers.

Ordering phrases

Spanish ordering sounds more direct than English, and that is normal politeness. ¿Me pone un café? (literally “will you put me a coffee?”) is standard in Spain; ¿Me da…? (will you give me) and Quería… (I wanted) work everywhere.

Get attention
¡Perdone!excuse-me
pehr-DOH-neh “Excuse me!”
Why: The polite usted form of perdonar. Waving and saying ¡Oiga! is also common in Spain.
Ask for a table
Unaamesatableparafordos,twoporforfavor.favour
OO-nah MEH-sah PAH-rah dohs por fah-BOR “A table for two, please.”
Why: Para gives who it is for (see por and para).
Order (Spain)
¿Meto-mepone(you) putunacafé?coffee
meh POH-neh oon kah-FEH “Can I have a coffee?”
Why: Literally “will you put me a coffee?”. The everyday bar phrase in Spain.
Order (anywhere)
Quería(I) wantedelthemenúmenudelof-thedía.day
keh-REE-ah el meh-NOO del DEE-ah “I’d like the set menu.”
Why: The imperfect of querer softens the request, like English “I was wondering”.
Ask what’s in it
¿Lleva(it) carriescarne?meat
YEH-bah KAR-neh “Does it have meat in it?”
Why: Llevar (to carry) is how Spanish says a dish “contains” something.
Say an allergy
Soy(I) amalérgicoallergicatolosthefrutosnutssecos.dry
soy ah-LEHR-hee-koh ah lohs FROO-tohs SEH-kohs “I’m allergic to nuts.”
Why: Women say alérgica. Ser, because it is a lasting fact about you.
Ask for the bill
Lathecuenta,billporforfavor.favour
lah KWEN-tah por fah-BOR “The bill, please.”
Why: In Spain the bill is rarely brought until you ask. Tipping is small: rounding up is enough.

A restaurant conversation

Two friends order the menú del día in Valencia. The waiter uses ustedes (polite “you all”).

Waiter
¿Quéwhatvan(you) goatotomar?have
“What are you going to have?”
Ir a + infinitive: the near future. Tomar (to take) is the usual verb for food and drink.
Lucía
Deasprimero,firstelthegazpacho.gazpacho
“The gazpacho as a starter.”
De primero / de segundo: “for the first / second course”.
Tom
Paraformí,melatheensalada.salad
“The salad for me.”
Para mí (for me) is the simplest way to order your own dish.
Waiter
¿Yanddeassegundo?second
“And for the main course?”
The verb is left out because it is obvious.
Lucía
Lathemerluza,hakeporforfavor.favour
“The hake, please.”
Naming the dish with la is enough.
Tom
¿Elthepollochickenllevacarriessalsa?sauce
“Does the chicken come with sauce?”
Llevar again, for what a dish contains.
Waiter
No,novagoesconwithpatatas.potatoes
“No, it comes with potatoes.”
Ir con: “to come with”, for side dishes.
Tom
Vale,OKpuesthenelthepollo.chicken
“OK, the chicken then.”
Vale is Spain’s “OK”; pues works like “well” or “then”.

Words that change by country

Food vocabulary varies more than almost any other area of Spanish. Everyone understands both forms, but using the local one marks you as someone who has paid attention.

EnglishSpainMexicoArgentina, Chile, Peru…
juiceel zumoel jugoel jugo
potatola patatala papala papa
avocadoel aguacateel aguacatela palta
strawberryla fresala fresala frutilla
beanslas judíaslos frijoleslos porotos
peachel melocotónel duraznoel durazno
the billla cuentala cuentala cuenta / la adición

Where to go next

Next guideTravelHotels, tickets and directions. Next guideNumbersPrices, the bill and the time. Next guidePor and paraUna mesa para dos, gracias por todo. Course mapSpanish hubThe full course map.