Restaurant in Spanish

Vegetarian? Not what you ordered? No problem! After this lesson you’ll be ordering from the menu in Spanish like a pro, and impressing your Spanish-speaking friends with your Spanish language skills. Let’s get started…

Resources for further reading:

• Learn Spanish online the simple way
• The top ten "learn Spanish" hacks

At the restaurant in Spanish - Words and Phrases

Let's get started with how to say restaurant in Spanish!

It’s not common in Spain or Latin American countries to be seated by the waiter or waitress. Instead you just choose the table yourself. In some restaurants the menu will be on the table already otherwise the waiter will bring it over to you as soon as possible. Just in case you do need to ask for the menu, say…

Spanish restaurant questions

After looking at the menu, you could get asked one of the following questions…

Sometimes all you might get asked is…

How to order in Spanish

You could order in Spanish by saying one of these phrases…

Not sure what you're in the mood for? Just ask the waiter what he recommends…

Ordering tapas in Spanish

Chances are, you've heard the buzz about the "Tapas dining experience"--eating those little hot and cold dishes that are served up during cocktail hour in Spain. Here are the names of some Spanish Tapas you can order…

While in Spain you eat these enticing **tapas**… each Spanish-speaking country has it’s own distinct dish. In Mexico, for example, you’ll always have tortillas to accompany your meal.

Ordering tortillas in Spanish

So here are common Mexican tortilla dishes…

More on ordering in Spanish

In order to get the dish you want simply say…

When ordering a steak in a Spanish-speaking restaurant, you may need to specify how you want it… well done, medium done or rare.

More about the restaurant in Spanish

Now, the waiter brings your dish and you’ll hear this essential phrase…

Just in case you get the wrong dish… let’s learn how to call for the waiter:

During your meal, the waiter may come to check if everything is ok.

Asking for salt and pepper in Spanish

If you need some pepper, salt, bread... just say:

Paying the bill in Spanish

Once you finished your meal you ask for the bill…

The waiter or waitress will bring the bill to your table. If you are eating out with a group you might get asked whether you want to pay separately or together. You can answer with…

When paying the bill, you may need to ask if they accept credit cards, or travelers’ checks...

Here's a tip: it is expected that a customer tips in Spanish restaurants. It's usually 10% of the price or more if you were satisfied. Not tipping implies that you didn’t enjoy your time at the restaurant. The word for tip is:

I hope you learned a lot in this lesson!

Can’t get enough of Spanish? Here are some more free Spanish lessons to boost your Spanish:

• Learn how to describe your personality in Spanish.
• Preparing for a job interview in Spanish?
• Let's go shopping in Spanish!

Mauricio Evlampieff: Rocket Spanish