| Quisiera reservar mesa para las 9.00. | I’d like to book a table for 9 o’clock. |
| Quisiera pedir. | I'd like to order. |
| Quisiera dos cafés más, por favor. | I’d like two more coffees, please. |
| Yo quiero una tortilla. | I'd like an omelette. |
| Yo quiero gazpacho. | I'd like gazpacho. |
| Quiero el bistec muy hecho. | I'd like my steak well done. |
¿LO SABÍAS?
To a Spanish ear, you may sound unnatural, overformal and foreign if you pepper your requests with por favor the way we use please in English. So don’t overuse it, and don’t keep repeating it.
To say what you’ve chosen, you can use voy a tomar (I’ll have).
I’ll have…
| De primero voy a tomar sopa. | As a starter I'll have soup. |
| De segundo voy a tomar ternera. | For the main course I'll have veal. |
| De postre voy a tomar flan. | For dessert I’ll have crème caramel. |
| Para beber vamos a tomar vino blanco. | We'll have white wine. |
¿LO SABÍAS?
If you haven’t made up your mind what you want to eat when the waiter appears with a notebook, you’ll want to send him or her away temporarily. To do this you can say todavía no he decidido (I’m not ready to order yet) or todavía no hemos decidido (we’re not ready to order yet).
When you’re at your table, a very natural way to ask the waiter for what you want is by using ¿Me trae…? (Can I have…? or Can you bring me…?). If you’re being served at the bar, use ¿Me pone…? for Can I have?.
Can I have…?
| ¿Me trae otra ración de ensaladilla rusa? | Can I have another portion of Russian salad? |
| ¿Nos trae otra botella de vino? | Can we have another bottle of wine, please? |
| ¿Nos trae más pan? | Can we have some more bread? |
| ¿Nos trae la cuenta, por favor? | Can we have the bill, please? |
| ¿Me pone una cerveza? | Can I have a beer? |
You can also use ¿Puede…? (Can you…?) or ¿Podría…? (Could you…?) when asking for things. They are both from the verb poder (to be able). For more information on poder, see here.
Could you…?
| ¿Puede traernos la carta de vinos, por favor? | Can you bring us the wine list, please? |
| ¿Puede traerme otro tenedor? | Can you bring me another fork? |
| ¿Puedes pasarme la sal? | Can you pass me the salt? |
| ¿Podría bajar la música un poco? | Could you turn the music down a bit? |
| ¿Podrías pasarme el vino? | Could you pass me the wine? |
Would you mind…?
| ¿Le importaría cerrar la ventana? | Would you mind closing the window? |
| ¿Le importaría encender el ventilador? | Would you mind putting on the fan? |
| ¿Le importa pedirle que no fume? | Would you mind asking him not to smoke? |
SAYING WHAT YOU LIKE, DISLIKE, PREFER
When you’re eating out, you may want to talk about what you like and dislike when it comes to food. Don’t forget that the Spanish for I like works rather differently from English. You use me gusta with singular words and me gustan with plural ones. And it’s the same story with me encanta and me encantan (I love). To say what you don’t like, use no me gusta or no me gustan (I don’t like).
I like…
| Me gusta el gazpacho. | I like gazpacho. |
| Me gustan las uvas. | I like grapes. |
| Me encantan las cerezas. | I love cherries. |
| Nos encanta la paella. | We love paella. |
I don’t like…
| No me gusta el jamón. | I don't like ham. |
| No me gustan las judías verdes. | I don't like green beans. |
| No me gusta nada el pescado. | I hate fish. |
Do you like…?
| ¿Te gusta la leche? | Do you like milk? |
| ¿Te gustan las fresas? | Do you like strawberries? |
| ¿No te gusta el té? | Don't you like tea? |
¿LO SABÍAS?
Note that in Spanish when you talk about things that you like in general, you need to say the equivalent of I like the gazpacho, I don’t like the ham even though in English it’s I like gazpacho and I don’t like ham.
I’d rather…
| Prefiero beber zumo de naranja. | I'd rather have orange juice. |
| Prefiero el vino tinto. | I prefer red wine. |
| Preferimos tomar paella. | We'd rather have paella. |
If you have specific dietary requirements, you can sometimes describe them using soy (I’m).
I’m…
| Soy alérgico al marisco. | I’m allergic to shellfish. |
| Soy vegetariano. | I’m a vegetarian. |
| Soy abstemio. | I’m a teetotaller. |
You may want to make suggestions to Spanish-speaking companions. One way to do this is to use podemos and podríamos (we can and we could). podemos
