El Big Mac
Order a full meal, flag an allergy, and settle the bill — out loud, with a waiter who talks back.
Order with a soft frame, not a bare verb: voy a pedir el pollo or quisiera la ensalada, por favor — never quiero pollo, which sounds blunt. Use usted with the waiter. Flag allergies plainly — soy alérgico a los mariscos — and check a dish with ¿qué lleva este plato?. To close, signal you're ready to pay with ¿me trae la cuenta, por favor?, not ¿cuánto es?. And when the food's hot, say la sopa está caliente — estoy caliente means something else entirely.
You've probably read the phrase lists already. Below is what to say at each stage of the meal — and how to actually say it to a waiter who answers back.
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Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| the menu | la carta | el menú |
| the bill | la nota | la cuenta |
| the change (kept as tip) | el cambio | el vuelto |
Watch out
The part no phrase list can do
Isabella
Your conversation teacher for this pack
In the El Big Mac pack, the final lesson seats you at a busy neighbourhood restaurant on a Friday night — and Isabella is your waiter: professional, warm, strictly usted, and she'll pitch the house special before she takes a single order. You run the whole visit out loud: order a starter, a main and a drink (de entrada…, de plato principal…, para tomar…), mention you're allergic to shellfish and ask for a substitution, then split the bill at the end (¿podemos pagar por separado?). And she talks back — so you have to listen and answer, not recite.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and El Big Mac is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Frame it politely rather than using a bare quiero: voy a pedir el pollo a la plancha (I'll have the grilled chicken) or quisiera la ensalada, por favor. Order by course — de entrada… (starter), de plato principal… (main), para tomar… (to drink).
Say ¿me trae la cuenta, por favor? — that's how you signal you're ready to pay. Avoid ¿cuánto es?, which sounds abrupt. To pay: voy a pagar con tarjeta (by card) and ¿está incluida la propina? (is the tip included?).
State it directly: soy alérgico a los mariscos (I'm allergic to shellfish). Check what's in a dish with ¿qué lleva este plato?, ask for changes with ¿me lo puede preparar sin cebolla?, and see options with ¿tiene opciones sin gluten?.
Ask ¿podemos pagar por separado? (can we pay separately?). If something's wrong with the order, flag it softly with creo que… — creo que esto no es lo que pedí — never an accusation.
Usted in most of Latin America — it's the respectful default with waitstaff. Get their attention with disculpe (never snap or click your fingers), and keep any complaint gentle: esta sopa está un poco fría rather than a flat "it's cold."
