There are some common situations such as getting around the airport, ordering a lunch menu at a restaurant or shopping at the supermarket where you might find handy to learn very basic Spanish vocabulary or standard conversation.
In this section I want to give you some tips. I hope you find them useful!
At the restaurant.
These are some of the most popular dishes you would find in a Spanish bar-restaurant menu:
Tapas:
- Patatas bravas (Deep fried potatoes topped with a spicy red chilli and tomato sauce)
- Boquerones (Anchovy fillets marinated in a seasoned olive oil dressing)
- Mejillones a la Marinera (Steamed green lip mussels in a cream, white wine, lemon and garlic sauce)
- Pan de Ajo (V, Homemade garlic bread slices)
- Tortilla Espanola (V, Traditional Spanish omelette filled with potatoes, peppers and onion)
Primer Plato:
- Ensalada con tomate (tomato salad)
- Sopa de ajo con bacon (garlic soup with bacon)
- Ensalada de lechuga y cebolla (lettuce and onion salad)
- Aceitunas (Olives)
Segundo Plato:
- Pollo con verduras ( Chicken with vegetables)
- Pollo con patatas fritas y huevo frito ( Chicken with chips and a fried egg)
- Macarrones con salsa de tomate y ternera ( Pasta with beef on tomato sauce)
Postres (Puddings):
- Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding w/Crackle Glaze)
- Tarta de Chocolates (Chocolate cake)
- Tarta de Santiago (Traditional Almond Cake that the pilgrims received on their journey to Santiago de Compostela)
- Crema catalana (The original “Crème Brûlèe,” a creamy-style Custard topped with caramelized sugar)
- Churros con chocolate (Sweet Spanish Fritters with thick Spanish Hot Chocolate).
- Fruta fresca (Fresh fruit)
- Yogur (Youghurt)
Bebidas (Drinks):
- Agua (water)
- Cerveza (beer)
- Vino (Wine): Blanco (White), Tinto (Red), Rosado (Rosé)
- Zumo de piña o naranja ( Pinapple or orange juice)
If you speak very basic Spanish you may want to have a look at the following conversation example:
Customer: ¡Oiga camarero! Me pordría traer el menú, por favor! (Waiter, could you please bring me the menu)Camarero: Ahora mismo ( Rigth now) ¿Qué van a tomar? (What would you like to eat?)Customer: De primer plato, sopa de ajo con bacon y de segundo, pescado con patatas ( I would like garlic and bacon soup for first dish and fish with chips as second dish).Camarero: ¿Qué va a beber? ( Anything to drink? )Customer: Una cerveza, por favor. ( A beer, please!)Customer: ¿Me podría traer la cuenta?Camarero: Son 50 euros (It´s 50 euros)Customer: ¿ Puedo pagar con tarjeta? ( Can I pay by card?)Camarero: Por supuesto….. Introduzca su número PIN. ( Of course. Could you type you PIN number?) Aquí tine su recibo. Muchas gracias por su visita. ( This is your ticket. Thanks!)
It´s a very basic one but it´ll help you with your order.
After reading the conversation translation you might realize that is very hard to translate a sentence “word by word”. It´s almost impossible most of the time, but don´t worry because if you practice long enough you get used to the Spanish expressions.
Don´t hesitate to post any comments or doubts you might have. I´ll be happy to help!