Eating Out

Spanish Basic Conversation 2

Chapter 7 · Eating Out: Restaurants, Dietary Needs & Complaints

🍽️ Eating Out — En el restaurante

In Spanish Basic Conversation 1 8 you ordered a coffee and a snack. This chapter goes further: ordering a full meal, saying what you prefer, explaining a dietary need or allergy, and politely complaining. The new grammar is direct object pronouns in orders (Lo quiero, La prefiero) and estar for the state of food (está frío, está salado). It adds preferir, traer and recomendar. Each dialog has a Hard words note; the respelling is in the tables.

① Taking the Order (formal) — ¿Qué desean?

A: Buenas noches. ¿Qué desean tomar? Good evening. What would you like to have?

B: Yo quisiera la sopa de primero y el pescado de segundo. I'd like the soup as a starter and the fish as a main course.

A: ¿Y para beber? And to drink?

B: Una botella de agua y una copa de vino blanco, por favor. A bottle of water and a glass of white wine, please.

Hard words: de primero / de segundo (as a first / main course), la botella (bottle), la copa (glass of wine), el vino blanco (white wine), ¿qué desean? (what would you like?, plural formal).

② Choosing (informal) — ¿Qué me recomiendas?

A: ¿Qué me recomiendas de la carta? What do you recommend from the menu?

B: Te recomiendo el arroz. Es la especialidad de la casa. I recommend the rice. It's the house speciality.

A: Pues lo pido. ¿Y tú? Then I'll order it. And you?

B: Yo prefiero la carne. La pido con patatas. I prefer the meat. I'll order it with potatoes.

Hard words: recomendar (to recommend; e → ie), el arroz (rice), la especialidad de la casa (house speciality), la carne (meat), las patatas (potatoes), lo pido (I'll order it).

③ A Dietary Need — Soy vegetariana

A: Perdone, soy vegetariana. ¿Tiene algún plato sin carne? Excuse me, I'm vegetarian. Do you have any dish without meat?

B: Sí, tenemos una ensalada y unas verduras a la plancha. Yes, we have a salad and some grilled vegetables.

A: Perfecto. Las verduras las tomo sin queso, por favor. Perfect. I'll have the vegetables without cheese, please.

B: Claro, sin problema. Of course, no problem.

Hard words: vegetariano/a, un plato (a dish), sin carne (without meat), las verduras (vegetables), a la plancha (grilled), el queso (cheese), sin problema (no problem).

④ An Allergy (formal) — Soy alérgico

A: Perdone, soy alérgico a los frutos secos. Excuse me, I'm allergic to nuts.

B: Gracias por avisarnos. ¿Algo más? Thank you for telling us. Anything else?

A: No. ¿Este postre lleva frutos secos? No. Does this dessert contain nuts?

B: No, no los lleva. Pero le pregunto al cocinero. No, it doesn't. But I'll ask the cook.

Hard words: alérgico/a a (allergic to), los frutos secos (nuts), el postre (dessert), llevar (here: to contain), el cocinero (cook), avisar (to warn, to let know), le pregunto (I'll ask him; set phrase for now).

⑤ A Complaint (formal) — Está frío

A: Perdone, la sopa está fría. Excuse me, the soup is cold.

B: Lo siento mucho. Se la cambio ahora mismo. I'm very sorry. I'll change it for you right away.

A: Gracias. Y el pescado está muy salado. Thank you. And the fish is very salty.

B: Entendido. Le traigo otro plato. Understood. I'll bring you another dish.

Hard words: frío/a (cold), salado/a (salty), traer (to bring), ahora mismo (right away), entendido (understood), se la cambio (I'll change it for you; set phrase for now).

⑥ With Friends (casual) — Lo prefiero sin…

A: ¿Quieres la tortilla? Do you want the omelette?

B: Sí, la quiero, pero la prefiero sin cebolla. Yes, I want it, but I prefer it without onion.

A: ¿Y el café? ¿Lo tomas solo o con leche? And coffee? Do you have it black or with milk?

B: Lo tomo con leche. Y la cuenta la pago yo. I have it with milk. And I'll pay the bill.

Hard words: la tortilla (Spanish omelette), la cebolla (onion), solo (black, without milk), la cuenta la pago yo (I'll pay the bill).

🗣️ Key Phrases — Frases clave

English	Formal (usted)	Informal (tú)
What do you recommend?	¿Qué me recomienda? keh meh reh-koh-MYEHN-dah	¿Qué me recomiendas? keh meh reh-koh-MYEHN-dahs
I'd like… / I'll have…	Quisiera… / Tomo… / Voy a tomar… kee-SYEH-rah / TOH-moh / boy ah toh-MAR
I'm vegetarian.	Soy vegetariano (m) / vegetariana (f). soy beh-kheh-tah-RYAH-noh / beh-kheh-tah-RYAH-nah
I'm allergic to…	Soy alérgico (m) / alérgica (f) a… soy ah-LEHR-khee-koh / ah-LEHR-khee-kah ah
Without…	Lo prefiero sin cebolla. loh preh-FYEH-roh seen theh-BOH-yah
The bill, please.	La cuenta, por favor. lah KWEHN-tah por fah-BOR

🥘 On the Menu — La carta

Starters and mains	Drinks and desserts	Ways of cooking
la sopa lah SOH-pah (soup) la ensalada (salad) el pescado ehl pehs-KAH-doh (fish) la carne lah KAR-neh (meat) el arroz ehl ah-RROHTH (rice) la tortilla lah tor-TEE-yah (omelette)	el agua (water) el vino tinto / blanco ehl BEE-noh TEEN-toh / BLAHN-koh (red / white wine) la cerveza lah thehr-BEH-thah (beer) el postre ehl POHS-treh (dessert) el helado ehl eh-LAH-doh (ice cream)	a la plancha ah lah PLAHN-chah (grilled) frito FREE-toh (fried) al horno ahl OR-noh (baked) poco hecho / muy hecho POH-koh EH-choh / mwee EH-choh (rare / well done)

🔁 Lo, La, Los, Las in Orders

Question	Answer with a pronoun	English
¿Quieres el pescado?	Sí, lo quiero. see, loh KYEH-roh	Yes, I want it.
¿Quieres la tortilla?	Sí, la quiero. see, lah KYEH-roh	Yes, I want it.
¿Quieres los postres?	Sí, los quiero. see, lohs KYEH-roh	Yes, I want them.
¿Quieres las patatas?	No, no las quiero. noh, noh lahs KYEH-roh	No, I don't want them.

The Pronoun Matches the Food Lo / la / los / las stand for the food already mentioned and match its gender and number: el pescado → lo, la sopa → la, los postres → los, las patatas → las. In the negative the pronoun stays right before the verb: No lo quiero. With preferir, pedir and tomar it works the same: Lo prefiero sin sal, La pido con patatas, Las tomo sin queso. You met the idea in Spanish Basic Conversation 2 5; the full system is in Spanish Grammar 2 9.

🌡️ Estar for the State of the Food

Spanish	Say it	English
La sopa está fría.	lah SOH-pah ehs-TAH FREE-ah	The soup is cold.
El café está muy caliente.	ehl kah-FEH ehs-TAH mwee kah-LYEHN-teh	The coffee is very hot.
El pescado está muy salado.	ehl pehs-KAH-doh ehs-TAH mwee sah-LAH-doh	The fish is very salty.
La carne está cruda.	lah KAR-neh ehs-TAH KROO-dah	The meat is raw (underdone).
¡Está riquísimo!	ehs-TAH ree-KEE-see-moh	It's delicious! (riquísimo = very tasty; a set word for now)

Está = How It Tastes Now Use estar for how a dish is on this occasion: está frío, está salado, está muy bueno. Use ser for its lasting nature: La tortilla es un plato típico de España, El gazpacho es frío (it is a cold soup by nature). A polite complaint starts with Perdone, names the dish and the problem, and does not need to be long: Perdone, la sopa está fría. Compare Spanish Basic Conversation 2 4.

🔤 Verbs — Preferir, traer, recomendar

Preferir ("to prefer") and recomendar ("to recommend") change e → ie in every form except nosotros and vosotros. Traer ("to bring") is regular except yo traigo.

	preferir (to prefer)	traer (to bring)	recomendar (to recommend)
yo (I)	prefiero preh-FYEH-roh	traigo TRAY-goh	recomiendo reh-koh-MYEHN-doh
tú (you, informal)	prefieres preh-FYEH-rehs	traes TRAH-ehs	recomiendas reh-koh-MYEHN-dahs
él, ella, usted	prefiere preh-FYEH-reh	trae TRAH-eh	recomienda reh-koh-MYEHN-dah
nosotros (we)	preferimos preh-feh-REE-mohs	traemos trah-EH-mohs	recomendamos reh-koh-mehn-DAH-mohs
vosotros (Spain)	preferís preh-feh-REES	traéis trah-AYS	recomendáis reh-koh-mehn-DAHYS
ellos, ellas, ustedes	prefieren preh-FYEH-rehn	traen TRAH-ehn	recomiendan reh-koh-MYEHN-dahn

📖 Vocabulary — Vocabulario

20 key words. Read the Spanish first, then check the respelling (CAPITALS = the stressed syllable).

#	Spanish	Say it	English	Type
1	el restaurante	ehl rehs-tow-RAHN-teh	restaurant	noun
2	el plato	ehl PLAH-toh	dish; plate	noun
3	el primero / el segundo	ehl pree-MEH-roh / seh-GOON-doh	first course / main course	noun
4	el postre	ehl POHS-treh	dessert	noun
5	la carne	lah KAR-neh	meat	noun
6	el pescado	ehl pehs-KAH-doh	fish	noun
7	las verduras	lahs behr-DOO-rahs	vegetables	noun
8	el queso	ehl KEH-soh	cheese	noun
9	la botella / la copa	lah boh-TEH-yah / lah KOH-pah	bottle / glass (of wine)	noun
10	la alergia	lah ah-LEHR-khyah	allergy	noun
11	vegetariano	beh-kheh-tah-RYAH-noh	vegetarian	adj
12	alérgico a	ah-LEHR-khee-koh ah	allergic to	adj
13	frío / caliente	FREE-oh / kah-LYEHN-teh	cold / hot	adj
14	salado	sah-LAH-doh	salty	adj
15	preferir	preh-feh-REER	to prefer	verb
16	traer	trah-EHR	to bring	verb
17	recomendar	reh-koh-mehn-DAR	to recommend	verb
18	sin / con	seen / kohn	without / with	prep
19	¿Qué desean?	keh deh-SEH-ahn	What would you like? (plural)	phrase
20	ahora mismo	ah-OH-rah MEES-moh	right away	phrase

Telling the Restaurant About an Allergy State it clearly at the start, before you order: Soy alérgico a los frutos secos or Soy celiaco, no puedo comer gluten. It is also worth asking directly whether a dish contains the ingredient (¿Lleva…?). Do not assume that a dish is safe from its name; ingredients vary, so always ask. This chapter teaches the language, not medical advice.

The Menú del Día and the Order of a Meal A typical Spanish menu is organised into primeros (starters), segundos (main courses) and postres (desserts). The menú del día (Spanish Basic Conversation 1 8) is a fixed-price lunch built this way. To complain politely, stay calm, say Perdone and describe the problem in one short sentence; staff will usually change the dish.

Latin America Note Menu words vary across countries: patatas (potatoes) in Spain is papas in the Canary Islands and much of Latin America, and zumo is often jugo. A "waiter" is camarero in Spain, and other words such as mesero or mozo are used in some other countries. ¿Qué desean? (to several people) is used in both; in Spain the informal plural ¿Qué queréis? is also common.

Grammar Pointer Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las) are explained in Spanish Grammar 2 9, stem-changing verbs such as preferir and recomendar in Spanish Grammar 2 5, and ser against estar in Spanish Grammar 2 3. Use them as a reference after this chapter.

✍️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Order a soup as a starter and fish as a main course, with a glass of white wine.

Show answer

Quisiera la sopa de primero y el pescado de segundo, y una copa de vino blanco, por favor.

2. Tell the waiter you are vegetarian and ask whether there is a dish without meat.

Show answer

Perdone, soy vegetariano (vegetariana). ¿Tiene algún plato sin carne?

3. Replace the food with lo, la, los or las: "Prefiero el pescado." · "Pido la tortilla." · "Tomo los postres." · "Quiero las patatas."

Show answer

Lo prefiero. · La pido. · Los tomo. · Las quiero.

4. Politely complain: the soup is cold and the fish is very salty.

Show answer

Perdone, la sopa está fría y el pescado está muy salado.

5. Complete: "Yo ___ la carne." (preferir) · "Tú ___ el arroz." (recomendar) · "El camarero ___ la cuenta." (traer) · "Nosotros ___ el pescado." (preferir)

Show answer

prefiero · recomiendas · trae · preferimos. (e → ie except nosotros and vosotros.)

6. Say that you are allergic to nuts and ask whether the dessert contains them.

Show answer

Soy alérgico (alérgica) a los frutos secos. ¿Este postre lleva frutos secos?

Coming Up in Chapter 8 At the doctor and the pharmacy: me duele la cabeza, el centro de salud, la farmacia de guardia, la receta, doler, indirect object pronouns, and the Spanish health system in outline.