Food & Restaurants

Ordering Food and Drinks

Example:

Buenas tardes, una mesa para dos, por favor.

Claro, síganme.

Gracias. ¿Me puede traer el menú?

Aquí tiene. ¿Qué desean tomar?

Quisiera un agua, por favor.

Quisiera is generally the most polite and widely-safe way to order ("I would like..."), softer than the grammatically simpler quiero ("I want").

Dietary Needs and Preferences

Adjectives like vegetariano and alérgico change ending based on your gender: use -o if you're male, -a if you're female (e.g., a woman says "Soy alérgica").

Asking for Recommendations

Requesting the Check and Tipping Language

Tipping customs vary by country — 10% is a common baseline in restaurants across much of Latin America, but it's always worth checking "¿Está incluida la propina?" since some places already add a service charge.

Useful Food Vocabulary That Travels Well

Practice Suggestion

Order a full meal out loud from a Spanish-language restaurant menu (real or found online), using quisiera for each item and one dietary phrase that applies to you. Then practice asking for and closing out the check.

Next: Getting Around