🇪🇸 SpanishA1–A2

Spanish Restaurant and Café Phrases

This page focuses on the short exchanges you actually need in a café or restaurant in Spain. You'll learn how to ask for a table, place an order, make simple requests, check ingredients or allergens, deal with a problem dish, pay, and leave politely. The phrases are set up for everyday service situations with staff you do not know.

Useful in real conversations

Essential Spanish phrases

Getting a table

Useful phrases for walking in, asking about space, and saying where you'd like to sit.

¿Tienen mesa para dos?
Do you have a table for two?
¿Podemos sentarnos aquí?
Can we sit here?
¿Hay que esperar mucho?
Is the wait long?
Una mesa junto a la ventana, por favor.
A table by the window, please.
Tenemos reserva a nombre de [name].
We have a reservation under [name].

Ordering and requests

Phrases for ordering drinks or dishes and making simple requests at the table.

¿Qué nos recomienda?
What do you recommend?
¿Nos puede traer agua, por favor?
Could you bring us water, please?
¿Me pone un café con leche, por favor?
Could I have a coffee with milk, please?
Para mí, la ensalada, por favor.
I'll have the salad, please.
¿Me puede traer otra servilleta?
Could you bring me another napkin?
Sin cebolla, por favor.
No onion, please.

Dietary checks and problems

Phrases for allergens, ingredient checks, and when a dish is wrong or not what you wanted.

Soy alérgico/a a los frutos secos.
I'm allergic to nuts.
¿Este plato lleva gluten?
Does this dish contain gluten?
¿Lo puede hacer sin queso?
Can you make it without cheese?
No he pedido esto.
I didn't order this.
Está frío, ¿me lo puede cambiar?
It's cold; could you change it for me?
¿Tiene opción vegetariana?
Do you have a vegetarian option?

Paying and leaving

Phrases for asking for the bill, paying, and ending the meal politely.

La cuenta, por favor.
The bill, please.
¿Se puede pagar con tarjeta?
Can I pay by card?
¿Puede cobrarme aparte?
Can you split the bill for me?
Quédese con el cambio, gracias.
Keep the change, thank you.
Gracias, estaba todo muy rico.
Thanks, everything was very tasty.
Hasta luego.
See you later.

Example conversations

Finding a table and ordering

You arrive at a café with one other person and want a table and a drink.

You
¿Tienen mesa para dos?
Do you have a table for two?
Other person
Sí, claro. ¿Prefieren dentro o fuera?
Yes, of course. Inside or outside?
You
Una mesa junto a la ventana, por favor.
A table by the window, please.
Other person
Perfecto. ¿Qué os pongo?
Sure. What can I get you?
You
¿Qué nos recomienda?
What do you recommend?
Other person
El café con leche y la tarta de queso salen muy bien.
The coffee with milk and the cheesecake are very good.
You
¿Me pone un café con leche, por favor?
Could I have a coffee with milk, please?
Other person
Claro, ahora se lo traigo.
Of course, I'll bring it right away.

Dietary issue and paying

You are having dinner, need to check ingredients, report a problem, and pay.

You
Disculpe, soy alérgico a los frutos secos.
Excuse me, I'm allergic to nuts.
Other person
Gracias por decírmelo. Lo aviso en cocina.
Thanks for telling me. I'll tell the kitchen.
You
¿Este plato lleva gluten?
Does this dish contain gluten?
Other person
Sí, lleva gluten, pero puedo ofrecerle otra cosa.
Yes, it does, but I can offer you something else.
You
Está frío, ¿me lo puede cambiar?
It's cold; could you change it for me?
Other person
Claro, enseguida se lo cambio.
Of course, I'll change it right away.
You
La cuenta, por favor. ¿Se puede pagar con tarjeta?
The bill, please. Can I pay by card?
Other person
Sí, claro.
Yes, of course.

A few things to know

polite by default

Use polite usted forms with staff you do not know. In Spain, service staff may speak to a whole table with plural forms, but you can safely answer with the polite phrases on this page. Keep tú for places where the other person has already switched to it.

usage

Using «me pone» in Spain

In Spain, «¿Me pone un café con leche, por favor?» is a very common way to order at a bar or café. With staff, it often sounds more natural than a direct «Quiero...», which can feel abrupt.

grammar

«Nos» can mean the whole table

In «¿Nos puede traer agua, por favor?», «nos» refers to everyone at the table, even if only one person speaks. Use this pattern when you are asking for something on behalf of the group.

usage

What «la cuenta» means

Use «la cuenta» when you want the bill in a restaurant. In Spain, «factura» usually means an invoice or business receipt, not the check you pay at the table.

Try it yourself

Choose the right phrase

Pick what you would say in each situation.

Question 1 of 3

Question 1
Question 2
Question 3

You and a friend arrive at a busy restaurant and want to ask if there is a free table.

¿Tienen mesa para dos?¿Hay que esperar mucho?La cuenta, por favor.

Keep building your everyday vocabulary

Spanish Introductions: Essential PhrasesSpanish phrases for greeting someone, introducing yourself, asking basic personal questions, and closing a first conversation naturally in Spain.How to Ask for Directions in SpanishSpanish phrases for asking where a place is, understanding street directions, and checking or thanking someone who helps you find it.Spanish Hotel and Accommodation PhrasesSpanish hotel phrases for checking in, asking about services, reporting room problems, and checking out in Spain.Essential Spanish Shopping PhrasesEssential Spanish phrases for shopping in Spain: asking for help, checking price and size, trying items on, understanding basic replies, paying, and handling a simple exchange or return.Spanish Public Transport PhrasesSpanish (Spain) phrases for finding the right bus or train, buying tickets, asking about stops and times, making transfers, and handling delays or confusion.

Put the phrases in context