Collins Dictionaries - Easy Learning Spanish Conversation

If you haven’t already got a reservation at the restaurant where you’re planning to eat, you’ll need to ask if there’s a table you can have. ¿Tienen…?is the right verb form to use whenever asking if something is available in hotels, restaurants and shops. It is from the verb tener. For more information on tener, see here.

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Of course if you have made a reservation, instead of asking if there’s a table free, you’ll be able to say he reservado una mesa para dos a nombre de…( I’ve booked a table for two in the name of… ).

To say what you’d like or what you want, you can use either quisieraor quiero( I’d like ). They are both from the verb querer. For more information on querer, see here. To attract the waiter’s attention, you just need to say ¿ Puede venir, por favor? ( Can you come over? ) or ¡Oiga, por favor! ( Excuse me, please! ).

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To a Spanish ear, you may sound unnatural, overformal and foreign if you pepper your requests with por favorthe way we use please in English. So don’t overuse it, and don’t keep repeating it.

To say what you’ve chosen, you can use voy a tomar( I’ll have ).

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If you haven’t made up your mind what you want to eat when the waiter appears with a notebook, you’ll want to send him or her away temporarily. To do this you can say todavía no he decidido( I’m not ready to order yet ) or todavía no hemos decidido( we’re not ready to order yet ).

When you’re at your table, a very natural way to ask the waiter for what you want is by using ¿Me trae…?( Can I have …? or Can you bring me…?) . If you’re being served at the bar, use ¿Me pone…?for Can I have? .

You can also use ¿ Puede…? ( Can you…? ) or ¿ Podría…? ( Could you…? ) when asking for things. They are both from the verb poder( to be able ). For more information on poder, see here.

When you’re eating out, you may want to talk about what you like and dislike when it comes to food. Don’t forget that the Spanish for I like works rather differently from English. You use me gustawith singular words and me gustanwith plural ones. And it’s the same story with me encantaand me encantan( I love ). To say what you don’t like, use no me gustaor no me gustan( I don’t like ).

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