How do you order food in Spanish?
Order with ¿Me da…? plus the dish, or Para mí… ("for me…") at a table; Quiero… ("I want…") with por favor works too and is perfectly normal. Put the number first: ¿Me da dos tacos?
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¿Me da…?Unit 4
Can I have…? (literally "Do you give me…?"; polite)
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Para mí, la sopa.Unit 4
For me, the soup.
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quererUnit 4
to want (quiero: I want; quieres: you want)
Quiero un café, por favor. is fine in Mexico; ¿Me da…? is just the most common way to ask.
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¿Qué me recomienda?Unit 4
What do you recommend? (polite)
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Es todo, gracias.Unit 4
That's all, thanks.
How do you order at a taco stand in Mexico?
At a taco stand, order with ¿Me da…? and the number first, answer ¿Con todo? (onion and cilantro) and ¿Para aquí o para llevar?, then pay at the end, when the taquero asks how many you had: ¿Cuántos fueron?
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"What can I get you?"
Taco stand · Don Chuy, the taco man
Q¿Qué le doy?
What can I get you?
Or they might say:
What will you have? Hello, what can we get you? Let me see, what will you have?You can answer
AMe da tres tacos al pastor, por favor.
Can I have three spit-roasted pork tacos (al pastor), please?
Me da… ("can I have…", literally "do you give me…") is the everyday way to order in Mexico. Say the number first: Me da tres tacos al pastor.
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"How are the tacos?"
Taco stand · Don Chuy, the taco man
Q¿Qué tal los tacos?
How are the tacos?
Or they might say:
How are they? Are they good? How are the tacos? Did you like them?You can answer
A¡Están muy ricos!
They're delicious!
Food that tastes good right now está rico: ¡Está muy rico! for one taco, ¡Están muy ricos! for the tacos. Picante is spicy; for food, caliente means hot in temperature. Never say Estoy caliente about yourself: say Tengo calor.
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Paying: "How many was that?"
Taco stand · Don Chuy, the taco man
Q¿Cuántos fueron?
How many was that?
Or they might say:
How many tacos was that? So I can ring you up, how many did you have?You can answer
ATres tacos.
Three tacos.
At a street taco stand you usually pay at the end: the taquero asks ¿Cuántos fueron? and you say how many you had. The number goes before the noun, and from two on the noun is plural: dos tacos, tres tacos. One is un taco.
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tacos al pastorUnit 4
tacos al pastor (marinated pork cut from a vertical spit)
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con todoUnit 4
with everything (on tacos, usually onion and cilantro)
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¿Para aquí o para llevar?Unit 4
For here or to go?
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¿Pica?Unit 4
Is it spicy? (literally "does it sting?")
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sin cebollaUnit 4
without onion
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con limónUnit 4
with lime (in Mexico, limón is a small green lime)
How do you order coffee in Spanish?
Say Un café americano, por favor for black coffee, add sin azúcar for no sugar, and answer ¿Algo más? with Es todo, gracias. In Mexico, pan dulce (sweet bread) is a classic thing to have with it.
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The barista: "What will you have?"
Coffee shop · Sofia, the barista
Q¿Qué va a tomar?
What will you have?
Or they might say:
What can I make you? What can we get you? What do you feel like?You can answer
AUn café americano, por favor.
A black coffee, please.
In Mexico, un café americano is black coffee, and sin azúcar is "no sugar". Order with Un café…, por favor, or Me da un café….
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"Card or cash?"
Coffee shop · Sofia, the barista
Q¿Va a pagar con tarjeta o en efectivo?
Are you paying by card or in cash?
Or they might say:
Card or cash? How are you paying?You can answer
ACon tarjeta, por favor.
By card, please.
Efectivo is cash: en efectivo. By card is con tarjeta. To ask if a place takes cards: ¿Aceptan tarjeta?
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un café americanoUnit 4
a black coffee
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sin azúcarUnit 4
without sugar
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¿Algo más?Unit 4
Anything else?
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el pan dulceUnit 4
Mexican sweet bread
How to take a food order in Spanish?
To take a food order in Spanish, ask ¿Qué le traigo? or ¿Qué va a querer? (polite, with usted), then ¿Algo más?, and for drinks ¿Y de tomar? These are also the questions you'll hear as a customer, so learn them either way: a taquero says ¿Qué le doy?, a barista ¿Qué le preparo?
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¿Qué le traigo?Unit 4
What can I get you? (polite; literally "What do I bring you?")
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¿Qué va a querer?Speak
What will you have?
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¿Qué le doy?Speak
What can I get you?
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¿Qué le preparo?Speak
What can I make you?
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¿Y de tomar?
And to drink?
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¿Algo más?Unit 4
Anything else?
How do you ask what to drink in Spanish?
Ask ¿Qué va a tomar? (polite) or ¿Qué quieres tomar? (to a friend); in a Mexican restaurant you'll often just hear ¿Y de tomar? Beber also means to drink, but in Mexico people usually say tomar. You can answer with De tomar… or just name the drink: De tomar, un agua de jamaica.
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¿Qué va a tomar?Speak
What will you have?
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¿Qué quieres tomar?
What do you want to drink? (to a friend)
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tomarUnit 4
to drink; to take (tomo: I drink)
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De tomar, un agua de jamaica.Unit 4
To drink, a hibiscus water. (a cold drink made from hibiscus flowers)
Aguas frescas, cold drinks made with water, a little sugar and fruit, flowers or rice, are everywhere in Mexico: jamaica (hibiscus), horchata (rice and cinnamon), limón. Agua takes el and un in the singular: un agua de jamaica.
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Tengo sed.Unit 4
I'm thirsty. (literally "I have thirst")
How do you order at a restaurant in Spanish?
Ask for a table with Una mesa para dos, por favor, call the server with Disculpe (or joven for a waiter), ask for the menu with ¿Me trae la carta, por favor?, and order with Para mí… At lunchtime, look for la comida corrida, a set lunch.
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Una mesa para dos, por favor.Unit 4
A table for two, please.
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¿Me trae la carta, por favor?Unit 4
Could you bring me the menu, please? (polite)
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Disculpe.Unit 4
Excuse me. (polite, to get someone's attention)
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jovenUnit 4
young man; also a polite way to call a waiter in Mexico
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la comida corridaUnit 4
a set lunch (soup, rice, a main dish and a drink)
Many fondas (small, often family-run places to eat) and market stalls serve it: soup, rice or pasta, a main dish and an agua fresca.
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¿Qué hay de comer?Unit 4
What is there to eat?
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No como carne.Unit 4
I don't eat meat.
How do you ask for the check in Spanish?
Say La cuenta, por favor or ¿Me trae la cuenta? In Mexico the server usually won't bring the check until you ask, since bringing it early can feel like rushing you; in sit-down restaurants a tip (la propina) of about 10 to 15 percent is common.
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La cuenta, por favor.Unit 4
The check, please.
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¿Cuánto es?Unit 4
How much is it? (the total)
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¿Aceptan tarjeta?Unit 4
Do you take cards?
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en efectivoUnit 4
in cash
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la propinaUnit 4
the tip
How can you practice ordering out loud?
Order from someone who answers back. In CiaoSpeak's Spanish course, Unit 4 (Eating Out) teaches most of the phrases on this page, from ¿Me da…? at the taco stand to la propina, with a recording and a note for each. Then, in the Speak tab, Don Chuy asks ¿Qué le doy? and Sofía asks ¿Qué va a tomar?; you answer out loud, and the app says whether they'd understand you, with one gentle fix if not. Lessons are free; in the Speak tab, today's questions (up to five a day) are free too, and CiaoSpeak+ adds practice in any scene whenever you like.
Next: phrases for the rest of your trip to Mexico City.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say to go in Spanish?
Para llevar. At a taco stand or café they ask ¿Para aquí o para llevar? (for here or to go?), and you answer Para llevar, por favor.
Is it rude to say quiero when ordering food in Spanish?
No. Quiero… with por favor is normal in Mexico, and Quisiera… ("I'd like…") sounds a little softer. ¿Me da…? is simply the most common way to order, and it is already polite because da is the usted form.
What is the difference between la carta and la cuenta?
La carta is the menu (el menú works too) and la cuenta is the check. Ask for la carta when you sit down and la cuenta when you're done.
How much do you tip at a restaurant in Mexico?
In sit-down restaurants a tip of about 10 to 15 percent is common. The tip is la propina; you can ask ¿Aceptan tarjeta? first if you plan to pay by card.