Food and Restaurant Vocabulary in Spanish

Food is central to life in the Spanish-speaking world, and the vocabulary is useful.

Basics

Spanish	Meaning
el pan	bread
el queso	cheese
la carne	meat
el pescado	fish
el pollo	chicken
el arroz	rice
las verduras	vegetables
la fruta	fruit
los huevos	eggs
la sopa	soup
la ensalada	salad

Drinks

• el agua (water)
• el café (coffee)
• el té (tea)
• el zumo (juice, Spain) and el jugo (juice, Latin America)
• la cerveza (beer)
• el vino (wine)

Meals

• el desayuno, breakfast
• el almuerzo or la comida, lunch
• la cena, dinner

In Spain, lunch is often the main meal, eaten in the early afternoon, and dinner comes late in the evening.

At the restaurant

• Una mesa para dos, por favor. A table for two, please.
• La carta, por favor. The menu, please.
• Quisiera un café. I would like a coffee.
• Para mí, la sopa. I'll have the soup.
• ¿Qué recomienda? What do you recommend?
• La cuenta, por favor. The bill, please.

Dietary needs

• Soy vegetariano / vegetariana. I'm vegetarian.
• Soy alérgico / alérgica a... I'm allergic to...
• Sin gluten, gluten-free

Compliments

• Está muy rico. It's very tasty.
• Estaba delicioso. It was delicious.

Tapas

In Spain, small plates called tapas are shared with drinks. In some places, they come free with a drink, and in others they are ordered and paid for.