Learn Spanish Online
Home / Daily lessons / Day 7

Day 7 of 90

Ordering a meal

Restaurant Spanish from sitting down to paying. About 11 minutes. Grammar: para mí, and me trae.

A restaurant is the first place most learners have to hold a real exchange with a stranger who is busy. The whole thing runs on about ten sentences.

Sitting down

The first thirty seconds, in both directions.

una mesa para dosa table for twopara is for. The number changes, nothing else does.
¿tiene una reserva?do you have a reservation?What they may ask you.
la carta, por favorthe menu, pleaseel menú often means the set meal of the day, not the list of dishes.
¿qué me recomienda?what do you recommend?Almost always answered generously, and a good way in.
Why it works this way

la carta and el menú are the trap. In most of the Spanish speaking world la carta is the list of everything available and el menú, or el menú del día, is a fixed price set meal. Asking for el menú may get you the special of the day rather than the choice you expected, which is often the better lunch anyway.

Ordering

Two shapes that carry every order you will ever place.

para mí, el pollofor me, the chickenThe most natural way to order once the table is going round.
¿me trae una cerveza?could you bring me a beer?trae is brings. The question form makes it a polite request.
sin cebolla, por favorwithout onion, pleasecon is with. Say allergies plainly, not politely.
soy vegetarianoI am vegetarianvegetariana for a woman. no como carne, I do not eat meat, is clearer in some places.
Why it works this way

para mí uses mí with an accent, which marks it as the me that follows a preposition rather than the mi meaning my. It is one of a small set of words where the accent is the only difference in meaning, alongside tú and tu, and él and el. In speech there is no difference at all, so context does the work.

Finishing

Paying is where the exchange most often goes wrong.

la cuenta, por favorthe bill, pleaseNobody will bring it unasked. Waiting quietly can last a long time.
¿está incluida la propina?is the tip included?Practice varies enormously by country. Ask.
¿podemos pagar por separado?can we pay separately?Often no, and not because of you.
estaba deliciosoit was deliciousPast tense of estar. Worth saying on the way out.
Why it works this way

In most Spanish speaking countries bringing the bill before it is asked for is rude, because it implies you should leave. So the bill will not come, and the waiter is not ignoring you, they are being polite. You have to ask, and asking is expected rather than pushy.

Meal times move

Lunch is the main meal in most of the Spanish speaking world and it runs late by British and American habits, roughly one to three in Latin America and two to four in Spain. Dinner is later still and lighter. A restaurant that looks closed at seven in the evening is usually not closed, it is early.

Carry these forward

Four lines from today that later days assume you know.

la carta, por favorthe menu, please
para mífor me
sin cebollawithout onion
la cuenta, por favorthe bill, please

Check yourself

Eight questions. Finishing them marks the day done.

Question 1 of 8

You want the list of all the dishes. You ask for

Every Spanish item on this site is waiting on a native speaker review before launch. If something here is wrong, tell us and it gets corrected.