01 · Book ahead
Quisiera reservar una mesa para dos.
I'd like to book a table for two.
Quisiera softens it into a request — the same shape works whether you're booking for two or wording it for four.
andbefluent.com/spanish/el-big-mac
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.
The warm-up pack
The phrases that actually get said over the menu and the bill — and how to say them back.
01 · Book ahead
Quisiera reservar una mesa para dos.
I'd like to book a table for two.
Quisiera softens it into a request — the same shape works whether you're booking for two or wording it for four.
02 · Walk in and ask
¿Hay mesa para cuatro personas?
Is there a table for four?
No reservation, no problem — this is the version for showing up and asking straight.
03 · What you'll actually say first
¿Me trae la carta, por favor?
Can you bring me the menu, please?
The opener that gets you settled before you have to decide anything.
04 · Order like a regular
¿Cuál es la especialidad de la casa?
What's the house specialty?
Asking this instead of scanning the whole menu is what locals actually do — and it buys you a recommendation instead of a decision.
05 · Check before you commit
¿Qué lleva este plato? ¿Es muy picante?
What's in this dish? Is it very spicy?
Two short questions, and you've covered ingredients and heat before the plate ever arrives.
06 · The order itself
De entrada, voy a pedir una ensalada. De plato principal, quisiera el pollo a la plancha.
For a starter, I'll have a salad. For the main, I'd like the grilled chicken.
Voy a pedir or quisiera — either works, and both sound far more natural than a bare quiero pollo.
07 · Say it plainly
Soy alérgico a los mariscos.
I'm allergic to shellfish.
State it directly, early, before you order — there's nothing to soften here, this is exactly how it's said.
08 · Make it yours
¿Me lo puede preparar sin cebolla?
Can you prepare it without onion?
Swap sin cebolla for whatever you need left out — the request holds its shape.
09 · The recovery line
Creo que esto no es lo que pedí.
I think this isn't what I ordered.
Creo que keeps it soft and non-accusatory — that's the register a kitchen mistake gets, not a complaint.
10 · Closing it out
¿Me trae la cuenta, por favor? ¿Podemos pagar por separado?
Can you bring me the bill, please? Can we split it?
Signal you're ready with la cuenta, not ¿cuánto es? — that's what actually tells a waiter you're done.
11 · Leave well
Muchas gracias, estuvo todo excelente.
Thanks so much, everything was excellent.
A warm, specific close — this is the line that makes a waiter remember you next time.
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/el-big-macRegional 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."