How to order food in Portuguese in Brazil

How do you politely order food in Portuguese?

The polite way to order in Portuguese is Eu queria… (I'd like…, literally “I wanted”) plus what you want and por favor: Eu queria um café, por favor. At a restaurant, Vou querer… (I'll have…) is just as polite; at a busy counter, the casual Me vê… (let me have…) is what you'll hear most.

How do you order at a padaria?

At a padaria (bakery), you order at the counter: say Bom dia, ask for what you want, and answer whether it's para comer aqui (to eat here) or para viagem (to go). Padarias are cafés too, so this is also where Brazilians have breakfast and a coffee. This is the whole exchange from CiaoSpeak's bakery scene in São Paulo:

What to order at a padaria:

How does a por quilo restaurant work?

At a por quilo (pay-by-weight) restaurant, you serve yourself from a buffet, your plate is weighed on a balança (scale), and you pay for the weight, plus any drinks, at the register. It's one of the most common lunch options in Brazil, and you barely need to speak until you pay:

• Take a plate and serve yourself from the buffet: rice, beans, salads, meat, whatever you like.
• Put the plate on the balança; the price is often written on a comanda, a card or slip you hand over at the register.
• At the register, you'll be asked about drinks and how you're paying.

How do you order at a restaurant in Brazil?

At a sit-down restaurant, ask for Uma mesa para dois, por favor (a table for two, please), then o cardápio (the menu), and order with Vou querer… (I'll have…). To call the waiter, raise a hand and say Por favor! or Com licença!; you'll also hear Brazilians call Moço! or Moça! (literally young man, young woman, but fine for staff of any age) or Garçom!.

Fresh juice is a big part of eating out in Brazil, and the waiter will often ask Com açúcar ou sem açúcar? (with or without sugar?), so have your answer ready.

How do you ask for the check in Portuguese?

Ask for the check with A conta, por favor (the check, please). Many restaurants add a service charge of about 10%, called os dez por cento or the taxa de serviço, which is optional, and the waiter usually brings the card machine to your table.

How do you buy food at a feira?

At a feira (street market), ask Quanto tá o quilo? (how much is a kilo?) and order by weight: meio quilo (half a kilo), um quilo, or uma dúzia (a dozen). Vendors call you over and often let you taste the fruit first:

Many feiras, especially in São Paulo, have a pastel stand, and a pastel with a glass of caldo de cana (fresh sugarcane juice) is a classic market snack.

How do you order at a beach kiosk in Brazil?

At a barraca (a beach stall on the sand that rents out chairs and umbrellas and serves food and drinks), you sit down and order from your chair: a coconut water, a drink, a snack. The person running it will ask where you'd like to sit and check that everything's good:

How do you say the food is good in Portuguese?

Say Está uma delícia! (it's delicious!) or Está muito bom! (it's really good!). At a Brazilian home, expect to be offered more, and saying yes is the best compliment:

Which Brazilian dishes should you know by name?

The Brazilian dishes worth knowing by name are feijoada, churrasco, pão de queijo, açaí, acarajé, tapioca and, for dessert, brigadeiro. All of them come up in CiaoSpeak's course: