20 phrases
Spanish for restaurants
A restaurant is the first place most learners have to hold a real conversation with a stranger who is busy. This page runs in the order the evening actually happens.
Getting a table
Reading the menu
Ordering
During the meal
Paying
Three things worth knowing
la carta is the list of everything the kitchen makes. el menú, or el menú del día, is usually a fixed price set meal. Asking for the wrong one gets you a perfectly good lunch that is not the one you meant to choose.
In most Spanish speaking countries, bringing the bill before it is asked for implies the table should leave. The waiter is not ignoring you. Ask, and asking is expected.
Politeness has no place here. soy alérgico a, or no puedo comer, said flatly and repeated, is safer than a softened sentence that gets lost in a busy kitchen.
This comes up in the course too
Day 7 of the free ninety day course covers this material with a quiz and carry over lines.