The most basic of basics

If you’ve been to Spain a few times, chances are you might have mastered this phrase already:

• Una cerveza, por favor.
  A beer, please.

It’s easy to remember and universal, so you’ll be understood not just in Mallorca, but also in Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina and all the other Spanish-speaking countries around the world. But not Brazil. They speak Portuguese in Brazil; but you knew that, right?

Not a beer drinker?

Obviously if you’re not a beer drinker, it’s not that useful though. So here’s the same phrase with some other popular drinks:

• Una copa de vino tinto, por favor.
  A glass of red wine, please.
• Un Gin-tonic, por favor.
  A Gin & tonic, please.
• Un café, por favor.
  A coffee, please.
• Un agua con gas, por favor.
  A sparkling water, please.
• Una botella de vino blanco, por favor.
  A bottle of white wine, please.
• Una caña, por favor.
  A (small) glass of beer, please.

Barmen questions and phrases

Wouldn’t it be great if you could understand the barman when he speaks to you? Yes it would, Chris!  Here are our top Spanish barmen phrases:

• ¿Qué quiere tomar?
  What would you like to drink?
• ¿Quiere hielo?
  Would you like ice?
• ¿Quiere limón?
  Would you like lemon?
• ¿Dónde quieren sentarse?
  Where would you (plural) like to sit?

If the barman is a bit chummy, he may use the informal version of these phrases:

• ¿Qué quieres tomar?
• ¿Quieres hielo?
• ¿Quieres limón?
• ¿Dónde queréis sentaros?*

*This is the plural informal form!

Here are some more common questions:

• ¿Conoce este vino de la zona?
  Do you know this local wine?
• ¿Qué marca de tónica quieren?
  What brand of tonic water would you like?

Remember, this isn’t your local boozer…

• Lo siento, no tenemos Newcastle Brown Ale.
  I’m sorry, we don’t have Newcastle Brown Ale.

Spanish for restaurants

If you’re one of those sophisticated types who likes to eat out when you’re on holiday then you might want to leave us now and skip straight to our piece on Spanish for restaurants.  Otherwise, stay tuned for more bar-related phrases:

Recommendations

When Spanish-speakers give recomendations, they’ll usually use the verb ‘recomendar’. Crazy, eh?

• Le recomiendo el vino de la casa.
  I recommend the house wine.
• Le recomiendo la langosta.*
  I recommend the lobster.

*Of course they’ll recommend the lobster. It’s damn expensive! Always insist on asking the price:

• ¿Cuánto cuesta?

Time is of the essence

Here are a few time-related phrases which might come in handy:

• ¿A qué hora abren?
  What time do you open?
• ¿A qué hora cierran?
  What time do you close?
• ¿A qué hora toca la banda?
  When do the band start playing?
• ¿A qué hora empieza el DJ?
  What time does the DJ start?

The universal Spanish toilet location

Need to ask where the toilets are?

• ¿Dónde está el baño?
  Where is the bathroom?
• ¿Dónde están los servicios?
  Where are the toilets?

More Spanish for restaurants

Isn’t it great to know how to ask where the toilets are? However, I’d say it’s it’s pretty damn crucial to be able to understand the answer. We don’t want any accidents!  We cover the universal Spanish toilet location, plus loads more, in the second part of this article:

Part 2

Alternatively, visit the front page of Hablarama Spanish to see all our latest resources for Spanish learners.