01 · Claim the good table
¿Nos podemos sentar afuera?
Can we sit outside?
Ask for the terraza before you're seated somewhere you didn't want.
andbefluent.com/spanish/buen-provecho
Buen Provecho
Order the meal, flag your allergies, and ask for the bill — politely, out loud.
The polite key to a Spanish-speaking restaurant is one word: quisiera (I would like) — quiero can sound demanding at the table. Ask the waiter to bring things with ¿me trae...?, and close the meal the way everyone in Mexico does: ¿me trae la cuenta, porfa? Know your region's word for the waiter too — el mesero in Mexico, el mozo in Argentina, el camarero in Spain. In the Buen Provecho lessons there are no flashcards and nothing to fill in: you learn these phrases by saying them across a table, out loud, in a real exchange.
Below: the phrases from menu to payment, what locals actually say when they order, the slip-ups that mark you as a beginner — and a way to rehearse the whole meal out loud.
The warm-up pack
The exact lines that get you seated, served, and paid up — no menu memorizing.
01 · Claim the good table
¿Nos podemos sentar afuera?
Can we sit outside?
Ask for the terraza before you're seated somewhere you didn't want.
02 · What's actually good today
¿Qué hay de especial hoy?
What's the special today?
Better than staring at the menu — this gets the waiter recommending, not just reciting.
03 · Order like a local
Va a ser un café.
I'll have a coffee. (soft, Mexican)
Softer than quiero — this is how Mexicans actually phrase an order without sounding demanding.
04 · The universal closer
¿Me trae la cuenta, porfa?
Can you bring the bill, please?
The end-of-meal phrase everyone in Mexico reaches for — porfa softens it further.
05 · Flag it before they ask
Soy alérgico al maní.
I'm allergic to peanuts.
In the Caribbean it's maní, not cacahuate — say soy alérgica if you're a woman.
06 · The gentle send-back
Está frío, ¿me lo puede calentar?
It's cold, could you heat it up?
Framed as a request, not a complaint — this is how you send something back without sounding rude.
07 · Point out the mix-up
Creo que se equivocaron con mi orden.
I think you mixed up my order.
Creo que softens it — you're flagging a mistake, not accusing anyone.
08 · Name what's missing
Disculpe, pero falta...
Excuse me, but ... is missing.
Disculpe up front does the work — say what's missing and it never sounds like a complaint.
09 · Ask before you assume
¿Aceptan tarjeta?
Do you take card?
Cash isn't always the default outside big cities — asking first saves an awkward moment at the end.
10 · Pick up the check
Va por mi cuenta.
It's on me.
The line for when you're the one offering to pay.
11 · Already covered
La propina ya va incluida.
The tip's already included.
Worth knowing before you tip twice — common on the bill in Argentina.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/buen-provechoRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| waiter | el mesero | el mozo |
| rare (steak) | rojo | jugoso |
| medium (steak) | término medio | a punto |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no menus to memorise. In the Buen Provecho lessons you talk, and Olivia runs the whole meal with you: she asks what you're having, and you order for real — quisiera..., de beber..., para mí... Then the curveballs: you're alérgico to something, the food arrives frío, and at the end you have to get the bill and pay con tarjeta. By the last lesson, ¿me trae la cuenta, porfa? comes out on its own.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Buen Provecho is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
La cuenta is the bill, and the universal end-of-meal phrase in Mexico is ¿me trae la cuenta, porfa? Before you reach for plastic, check: ¿aceptan tarjeta? — don't assume card is fine.
Quisiera. It's the polite conditional — quiero can sound demanding in a restaurant. Mexicans also soften orders with va a ser un café or even ¿me regala una coca? — regalar used politely for "bring me".
Depends where you are: el mesero is standard in Mexico, el mozo is the everyday word in Argentina and Uruguay, and el camarero is Spain — it sounds European in Latin America.
Match the ending to your gender: soy alérgico / soy alérgica, same with vegetariano/a. Ask for sin gluten directly, and mind regional words — in the Caribbean it's soy alérgico al maní, not cacahuate.
Soften it into a request: está frío, ¿me lo puede calentar? For a mixed-up order, creo que se equivocaron con mi orden; for a missing item, disculpe, pero falta... — polite, clear, and it works.