The ultimate guide to ordering food in a Spanish restaurant
If you found yourself in a restaurant in Spain, would you know how to order food in Spanish, the second most spoken language in the world? Today we will take a bite from the most practical phrases and expressions for making ourselves understood in this context. Learn how to ask for specific dishes, allergies, dietary choices, and many other useful questions that will make our lives much easier and let us communicate in Spanish like a true native. This is all you need to know about ordering food and beverages in a Spanish restaurant.
First things first! We do not want to get hungry or thirsty at a restaurant just because we are not confident about our language skills. These are some of the most common ways of ordering food and drinks in Spanish. It is always important to be polite, so dropping a por favor (“please”) here and there is advisable. You can replace ‘X’ with whatever you want to order.
However, before making a choice we will need a basic knowledge of the dishes and ingredients we will find in a Spanish menu. Here you have some useful vocabulary for everyday use:
When it comes to beverages, you might want to know the words for these ones:
When we travel abroad, especially if we are visiting a country where they speak a language we are not totally familiar with, the language barrier might be a problem when it comes to dietary restrictions and allergies. What if we fail to successfully communicate our needs, they do not understand what we are asking for or they have a different understanding of the topic? If you are worried about any of that, you can trust that these questions will definitely help you make yourself understood, no matter which part of Spain you are in.
We have successfully enjoyed a delicious meal and now it is time to leave. But before that, we have to ask for the bill. These are two ways to do so:
After that, we will probably have to decide whether we want to pay by cash or by card. You can approach this conversation with the following sentences:
We have seen the most common expressions people normally use in restaurants, but there are other words and phrases we might need to use throughout the process. Take notes and you will be able to effectively communicate with any native speaker in a Spanish restaurant.
