Food and locals are the best things about Spain, so when you are traveling there, you need to know how to communicate with them, or at least you should know what to say when you are in a restaurant. It isn´t just about learning the words, but also about knowing the cultural norms of each situation. Today we are going to show you all the things everyone should know before ordering food in Spain and you will also find a “Ordering food in Spanish» script sentence by sentence.
Ordering food in a Spanish restaurant

Doesn´t matter if you are going to a local restaurant in a small town or a luxury one in a big city, the treat and conversations are going to be similar, so with this step-by-step guide about how to order in Spain, you should be good to go.
How to make a restaurant reservation in Spanish?

Of course, it is not required to make a reservation, but it is true that if you are visiting a touristic city, by doing it you will avoid problems and save some time. Just in case you want to go a head and do it, this is what you should say:
- Hello, I would like to make a reservation for (X) people on (date) at (time), please.
- Hola, me gustaría hacer una reserva para (X) people el (día) a las (hora), por favor.
- Could I have a name please?
- ¿A nombre de quién?
Arriving

Once you arrive to the restaurant, there will be two different type of conversations depending on whether you have made the reservation or not:
With reservation
- I have a reservation under (your name)
- Tengo una reserva a nombre de (your name)
- Follow me / Over there
- Sigueme / Por allí
Without reservation
- Hello, would it be possible to eat now?
- Hola, tenéis hueco?
- Yes, of course, how many are you?
- Si claro, cuántos sois?
- Yes, but you will have to wait a few minutes
- Si, pero tenderéis que esperar un poco.
Ordering food and drink in Spanish

Most of the times they will give you the menu right after arriving, but if they don´t, just ask for it. Ordering drinks in Spain is usually the first thing, they will come ask you what do you want to drink and a few minutes later they will ask you about the food:
- Could we have the menú please
- Podría darnos la carta/ el menú por favor
- What do you recommend us?
- Qué nos recomiendas?
- I would like to have a…
- Tráenos una…
- Yes, that´s it / No, I would also like a…
- Si, eso es todo / No, también querría un…
- Are you ready to order?
- Estáis listos?
- What would you like to drink?
- ¿Qué queréis para beber?
- Alright, and what would you like to eat?
- Perfecto y que quieren para comer?
- Will that be all?
- Eso es todo?
Serving the food:

Whenever they bring the food, if you are more than one at the table, they will sure ask who ordered what:
- That´s mine, thank you
- Eso es mio, gracias
- Who ordered (the food)?
- ¿Quién pidió (la comida)?
- Enjoy your meal
- Que aproveche
While eating
As we said, Spaniards are usually super friendly in restaurants, so don´t be surprised if they ask you how everything is going between each plate. If you need anything else, use those moments to ask them:
- Could we have the menú please
- Podría darnos la carta/ el menú por favor
- Yes, we are fine, thank you
- Si todo bien, muchas gracias.
- By the way, could we get…
- Por cierto, podría traernos…
- Más Servilletas / Pan
- More Napkins / Bread
- Is everything okay?
- ¿Todo bien?
Desserts:

It is quite common to order desserts and we totally recommend you doing it. Some of them are super good. As soon as you are done eating the second dish, the waiter will come, get the plates and ask you:
- What do you have?
- ¿Qué tenéis?
- Can I get…
- Podría traerme…
- Would you like to order any dessert?
- ¿Quieres algo de postre?
How to order the bill in spanish

Waiters are usually fast when they have to bring you the food or take the plates away, but when it is time to leave, they might take a little bit longer (unless the restaurant is super full). If this happens to you and you are in a rush, we recommend you doing the same thing every spaniard would do:
- Excuse me, can you bring us the bill? Thank you
- Perdona, nos puede traer la cuenta cuando puedas, muchas gracias
- Can I pay by credit card?
- ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?
- Cash only
- Solo en efectivo
Leaving

Once you have paid, if you want to be friendly with them, you can always tell them:
- Thank you so much, everything was delicious.
- Muchas gracias, estaba todo muy bueno
Other sayings that might help you while ordering food in Spain.

This is what a common conversation at a restaurant will look like, but of course, this is not like ordering food online, the sentences can perfectly change, and the waiters can say other things. Therefore, here you have a few others sentences that will help you while ordering food in Spain.
- To go, please
- Para llevar, por favor
- I am full
- Estoy lleno
- Where is the bathroom?
- ¿Dónde está el baño?
- Is there anything vegetarian/vegan?
- ¿Teneís comida vegetariana/vegana
- I´m allergic to…
- Soy alérgico a…
- With cheese
- Con queso
- Alcohol free
- Sin alcohol
You can start ordering food in Spain!
You should be ready to go now! We hope you have enjoyed and learned from our «How to order food in Spain like a local» guide. These are some of the most common sayings, but if you have any other words/sentences you would like to know before ordering in Spain, let us know so we can improve the article!