Order in a Spanish Café Like a Local

Video transcript

Hey there and welcome to Ablas! In today’s video, we’re going to walk through how to order in a Spanish café, like a native speaker in Madrid. Be sure to download the PDF of today’s lesson from the link in the description!

Arriving at the café

So let’s start by listening to a typical café interaction in Spanish.

Elena asked for a table to seat how many people?

1. Two

2. One

3. Three

Now that Elena has asked for a table, the waiter might ask where she and her partner want to sit. ¿Dónde os gustaría sentaros? Here are some examples of how she could respond:

• junto a la ventana (by the window).

• en la terraza (on the terrace).

• cerca de la barra (by the bar).

• adentro (inside).

• afuera (outside).

Browsing the menu

After the waiter takes them to their table, he hands them the menus – let’s see if we can translate them.

Here are some of the drinks on the café menu.

And here are some of the food items.

Let’s see what Elena and Marco are going to order.

What did Elena order with her toast?

1. Jam

2. Butter

3. Honey

What is the waiter asking here: ¿Te traigo algo de beber?

1. Can I get you something to drink?

2. Would you like something sweet?

3. Are you ready to pay?

Problems and special requests

Did you pick up on what Marco ordered there? We’ll go through the full translation a bit later, but now let’s look at how to deal with problems and special requests.

What was the problem?

1. It was the wrong order

2. The food was too cold

3. The table hadn’t been cleaned

What did Elena ask for?

1. A muffin

2. A cookie

3. A drink

What did Marco ask for?

1. Directions to the toilet

2. The bill

3. A refill on his drink

Paying the bill

And speaking of paying the bill, let’s see how to do just that as we finish the conversation.

But first, let’s cover some key vocabulary for making payments.

Let’s see how Elena and Marco are going to pay.

How did they pay for their meal?

1. By cash

2. By card

3. Contactless

Full conversation

Now let’s listen to the conversation in full, with both Spanish and English translations.

Recap

Let’s recap over the key phrases we covered in today’s lesson.

• ¿Hay mesa para uno/dos/tres? "Do you have a table for one/two/three?"

• ¿Dónde os gustaría sentaros? "Where would you like to sit?"

• ¿Me podrías dar…? "Could I have…?"

• ¿Te traigo algo de beber? "Can I bring you something to drink?"

• No pedimos esto. "We didn’t order this."

• ¿Dónde está el baño? "Where are the toilets?"

• ¿Qué tal la comida? "How was the meal?"

• ¿Pagáis en efectivo o con tarjeta? "Are you paying by cash or card?"

Your task

Well done for getting this far!

Now your task is to write a new conversation where Elena and Marco visit a restaurant for dinner. Try to make use of the phrases we covered, and have a go at reading the conversation out loud.

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