The secrets of Spanish at the restaurant

Probably when you arrive in a Spanish-speaking country, especially in a large city, the local staff speaks perfect English … or almost. That’s where the problem comes in. Not everywhere they will speak good English. That is why it is better not to risk your health on your plate and know all the secrets of Spanish in the restaurant.

Great Entrance

The first thing the staff does when they meet you at the restaurant is to greet you and take you to the table.

It is very good education and, incidentally, you win the staff over if you answer in the native language.

1. Buenos días. In Spain they will greet you like this if you have not had «lunch» yet, usually at 2pm or 3pm. It is incorrect, but it is the custom, just in case you listen to it do not think he is drunk because he confuses the morning with the afternoon. In fact, the acronym A.M. comes from Latin and means ‘Ante Meridiem’, that is, ‘before noon’. The acronym P.M. in Latin means ‘Post Meridiem’, or what is the same, ‘after noon’. In the rest of the countries you usually say hello with ‘buenos dias’ before noon or 12pm.
2. Buenas tardes. In Spain, after having «lunch». In the rest of the countries it will be from 12pm. In all countries until dusk.
3. Buenas noches. When it is already dark.

If you have a booking:

• Buenas tardes (in case it is the evening), tengo una reserva a nombre de … (name and last name).

The ‘camarero’ (or ‘mozo’ or ‘mesero’, depending on the country), maître or hostess will say:

• Por favor, acompáñenme a su mesa.
• Síganme, por favor.
• Por aquí, por favor.

Once seated, they will give you the menu.

If they do not have a menu in English, and you do not understand any word in Spanish, please, we all have a mobile phone with Internet today. You should try to get into Google Translate to translate words from Spanish to your native language because normally the staff cannot use their mobile phone at work. If you do not have data, you can ask for the Wi-Fi key, which most stores have.

In the event that you are in a place without any type of Internet and do not speak a language spoken by the local staff, I hope you sign up for my classes to be prepared 😉

Tips

1. Always ask with por favor or with the conditional form of the verb. Say gracias when they serve or remove dirty glasses or dishes, or with any detail. I do not want this to look like education classes, but there are countries where it seems that the «please» or the «thank you» is not common.
2. To call the waiters use the words: ‘disculpe’ or ‘perdone’.
3. NEVER snap your fingers or say ‘psst’. It is very bad education.

Making the food order

We call the staff as I just indicated in the previous paragraph.

The waiter will ask you one of the following questions -or similar, depending on the country where you are-:

• ¿Desean pedir/ordenar?
• ¿Quieren pedir/ordenar?
• ¿Están listos para pedir/ordenar?
• ¿Les tomo nota?
• ¿Les puedo tomar nota?

You will answer:

• Sí, por favor. De beber, ¿me puede traer …? De comida/comer, quiero/deseo de primero/entrante … De segundo/principal … Gracias.

‘Quiero/deseo’ or ‘¿me puede traer…?’ are the most common options drinks or food.

If you do not ask for entree, as everywhere else, they will insist or try to convince you to ask for an entree or first. As in your own language you can tell them:

• No te preocupes. Si me quedo con hambre, te pido postre.

If they do not have desserts, that can be possible, you can say:

• No, gracias. Así está bien.

‘Odio’ when they do not have desserts :P. In fact, my wife first check the desserts and if she does not like them we do not go to that venue or we investigate if there is any place nearby with tasty desserts. We like the sweet and are sweet too 😉

Other situations

For going to the toilet:

• Perdone, ¿dónde está el baño?

If they do not have soap or paper in the toilet:

• Perdone, no tienen jabón/papel en el baño, ¿podrían reponerlo?

The paper can be: ‘papel de manos’ or ‘papel de baño or higiénico’.

To ask for condiments or anything apart from drinks or food or desserts:

• ‘Disculpe, ¿me podría traer la sal/pimienta/…?’
• For unusual things like ‘chile’ in Spain: ‘¿Tienen chile/tabasco/kétchup/mostaza/mayonesa/…?’

I mention ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise because not all locals tend to have.

If I go with a kid and needs a highchair:

• Perdone, ¿me podría traer una silla alta para el/la niño/a?

If I have anything dirty on the table and want somebody to take it away:

• Perdone, ¿me podría retirar el plato?
• Disculpe, ¿se podría llevar este vaso?

If I drop the napkin or some cutlery:

• Disculpe, ¿me podría traer otro tenedor/cuchillo/cuchara? (‘cuchara’ is a female noun, so it would be ‘otra cuchara’).
• Perdone, ¿me traería una servilleta limpia? Se me ha caído.

In ALL questions we can always add ‘por favor’ at the end, but with the conditional form of the verb it is already polite.

Important: allergens.

According to the European Union Food Information Law, the mandatory allergens to be reported are the following:

Depending on the country, the allergens will be more or less visible to the consumer depending on the type of establishment.

La cuenta, por favor

Normally if we want to pay, we do it at the table. There are places where you pay at the counter.

If we want to ask for the check, we raise our hand:

• Perdone, ¿me podría traer la cuenta, por favor?

If you need a receipt for our company:

• …y necesitaría factura también por favor.

They will ask you for your details: razón social, domicilio fiscal y C.I.F. (Código de Identificación Fiscal) by its acronyms in Spain. This last data, in the rest of the countries has another name, but it is the same thing.

Then, the ‘camarero’ will ask you:

• ¿Con tarjeta o efectivo?

La propina

‘Tips’ is a delicate issue.

There are countries where hospitality salaries are very low and the tip is essential as for example in Mexico, where it is usually 10-15%.

In other countries such as Spain, salaries are good and the tip is up to you. It is normal to leave 2-3 € per couple in a normal restaurant. If you really liked the service and the food of course you can leave 5-10€.

In Spain – or in countries where there is no rule- in a normal restaurant, I usually leave 2€ if it was normal, 3-4€ if everything was correct and fast, and if I liked the service and food 5€. If they took a long time to bring the food and they treated me badly, I leave nothing. I am talking about a meal for a couple of 40-50€, where leaving 5€ would be a 10% tip with a staff with good salary.

Obviously, the more expensive the restaurant and the more you pay, the more you tip.

And you, have you already practiced your Spanish in the restaurant? Let me know in the comments, and tell me how many smiles you get from the staff and how is their service after trying to make you understand in their language.

If you have any other questions, please ask me in the comments, so we share it with everyone.