Ordering food in Spanish,from salteñas to the bill
To order in Spanish, say what you want with quiero and add por favor: quiero una salteña de pollo. The thing plus por favor is already a polite order, as in un jugo, por favor. Me gusta says what you like, but it orders nothing. To finish, ask for la cuenta, por favor, and say para llevar if it is to take away. In Bolivia the salteña is a mid-morning thing, and street stands run on cash and small change.
Every phrase comes from the lessons. Press play to hear it.
Una salteña, por favor.A salteña, please.
Quiero una salteña de pollo.I'd like a chicken salteña.
Un jugo de fruta, por favor.A fruit juice, please.
Un café con leche, por favor.A coffee with milk, please.
¿Me trae un vaso de agua, por favor?Could you bring me a glass of water, please?
¿Me trae la cuenta, por favor?Could you bring me the bill, please?
Un jugo para llevar, por favor.A juice to take away, please.
¿Es para comer aquí o para llevar?Is it to eat here or to take away?
¿Cuánto es?How much is it?
How it works
Ordering,liking and paying
Quiero
I would like: what you want, here and now. It is what a waiter waits to hear.
por favor
Please. After the thing you want, it is already a complete order: un café, por favor.
pollo con arroz
Chicken with rice: con joins the dish and what comes with it.
Me gusta
I like it: it says what you enjoy and orders nothing. The verb follows the thing you like: me gusta la fruta.
La cuenta, por favor
The bill, please.
Es para llevar
It is to take away. Para llevar never changes shape.
The rule card of lesson 14
Spanish has states that other languages are
tener carries cold, hunger, thirst, sleepiness, age and being right: tengo frío, tengo veinte años, tienes razón.
hacer carries the weather and elapsed time: hace calor, hace dos años que vivo acá.
gustar, faltar and quedar run backwards: the thing is the subject and you are the one it happens to.
Tengo frío.Word for word I have cold. Estoy frío would say your skin is cold to the touch.
Me gusta este barrio.The neighbourhood pleases me, so the verb agrees with the neighbourhood, not with me.
In Bolivia
What the lessons tell you about doing it here.
Sucre · Lesson 13
The mid-morning salteña
In Bolivia the salteña, a filled pastry, is a mid-morning thing: stands open around nine, sell out by noon, and you will not find them at night. For many Bolivians the salteña de media mañana is an almost daily little ritual, a warm pause between breakfast and lunch.
Sucre · Lesson 14
Small change for the stand
Street stands run on cash and small change. A salteña and a juice come to about fourteen bolivianos, and a hundred-boliviano note first thing in the morning can leave the vendor unable to give you change. Carrying coins and small notes is a simple courtesy that keeps the line moving.
Short dialogues
The chat that closes each lesson: what you hear, and the reply the lesson teaches.
JDoña Juana, salteña sellerLesson 13
Buenos días. ¿Qué quiere?Good morning. What would you like?
YouBuenos días. Quiero dos salteñas de pollo, por favor.
¿Y un jugo?And a juice?
YouSí, un jugo, por favor.
Son veintidós.That's twenty-two.
YouMuchas gracias.
Gracias. Hasta mañana.Thank you. See you tomorrow.
LDoña Lidia, runs a small eateryLesson 14
Buenas tardes. Hoy hay sopa y pollo con arroz.Good afternoon. Today there's soup, and chicken with rice.
YouMe gusta mucho la sopa. Una sopa, por favor.
¿Es para llevar?Is it to take away?
YouSí, es para llevar.
Muy bien. Son quince.Very good. That's fifteen.
YouGracias. Hasta luego.
Gracias, Ana. Hasta luego.Thank you, Ana. See you later.
Practise it in a free lesson
Lessons 13 and 14 of Mi español teach exactly this, with short exercises and these dialogues.
Lesson 13 · {min} to {max} min Free account
Ordering food and drink
Name everyday food and drinks and order them politely at a table or a counter: quiero..., por favor.
