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At the Café in Spanish (pt. 2) – Lesson 47
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(Lesson summary)
The café, part 2: popular food and drinks you can order, and why in Spain the menu is la carta, not el menú.
- Food at the café
- La carta or el menú?
- Drinks at the café
- Putting it together
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(The full lesson)
At the café in Spanish: part 2
In part 1 we learned how to order coffee and tea, and the difference between para aquí and para llevar. Today: popular food and drinks you can order at a café. You’ve seen a lot of these words before, so think of this lesson as a nice bit of repetition.
Food at the café
el bocadillo the sandwich (on a baguette)
el sándwich the sandwich (sliced bread)
la ensalada the salad
la hamburguesa the hamburger
Remember the difference from the food lesson? A bocadillo is made with baguette-style bread, a sándwich with soft sliced bread. And in hamburguesa, the h is silent.
las patatas fritas the French fries (Spain)
las papas fritas the French fries (Latin America)
If you’re like me, a burger isn’t complete without fries on the side!
The menu: la carta or el menú?
la carta the menu (Spain)
el menú the menu
¿Me trae la carta, por favor? Can you bring me the menu, please?
Careful here. In Latin America, el menú is the normal word for the menu. In Spain, the menu is usually la carta. If you ask for el menú in Spain, they might think you want the menú del día: a cheap set lunch with a starter, a main course, dessert and a drink. (Honestly, often a great deal!)
Drinks at the café
la bebida the drink
el agua the water
la cerveza the beer
la copa de vino the glass of wine
el batido the smoothie / shake
el refresco / la gaseosa the soft drink
A glass of wine is una copa, not un vaso: remember from the restaurant lesson? And el agua uses el, even though it’s a feminine word, as we saw in the drinks lesson.
Putting it together
Un bocadillo y una cerveza, por favor. A sandwich and a beer, please.
Una hamburguesa con patatas fritas. A hamburger with fries.
¿Me pones una copa de vino? Can I have a glass of wine? (Spain)
Un batido de plátano para llevar. A banana smoothie to go.
(Wes’s tip)
Combine words from different lessons: batido de plátano (food part 3), para llevar (café part 1), ¿me pones…? (restaurant part 2). You can already say a lot!
Recap: at the café (part 2)
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el bocadillo / el sándwich | the sandwich |
| la ensalada | the salad |
| la hamburguesa | the hamburger |
| las patatas / papas fritas | the French fries |
| la carta / el menú | the menu |
+ 6 more words & phrases
Get all 11 words & phrases on one printable page, with examples and my tips. Free, straight to your inbox.
Get the free PDF ↓Practice: at the café
Say it out loud first, then click to check.
1. Ask for the menu in Spain.
¿Me trae la carta, por favor?
2. Order a hamburger with fries.
Una hamburguesa con patatas fritas, por favor.
3. Order a glass of red wine.
Una copa de vino tinto, por favor.
4. Order a sandwich and a water.
Un bocadillo y un agua, por favor.
5. Order a smoothie to go.
Un batido para llevar, por favor.
Quiz: at the café (part 2)
7 quick questions.
Before you go to the next lesson
A short one today, with lots of repetition, and that’s a good thing! In part 3 we’ll look at more useful words and make some helpful phrases. Grab the free reference sheet below. ¡Hasta la próxima!
(Free reference sheet)
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