Eating Out

Eating Out Vocabulary

  • Get familiar with common eating out vocabulary: restaurante (restaurant), comida (food), menú (menu), reservar una mesa (to book a table), camarero/camarera (waiter/waitress), propina (tip), etc.

Dining Preferences

  • Assert your dining preferences: Me gusta comer… (I like to eat…), Prefiero los platos de… (I prefer dishes of…), No me gusta la comida picante (I don’t like spicy food), Soy vegetariano/a (I am a vegetarian), etc.

Useful Verbs

  • Useful verbs often used: comer (to eat), beber (to drink), pedir (to order), probar (to try), saborear (to savour), pagar (to pay), invitar (to invite), disfrutar (to enjoy), etc.

Peripheral Concepts

  • Pay attention to the key concepts associated with eating out, such as: la cuenta (the bill), los servicios (the toilets), los cubiertos (cutlery), la propina (the tip), etc.

Tenses for Expressing Past Experiences

  • Tenses to express past experiences: Use the preterite tense to describe single, completed actions in the past (Ayer comí pasta en un restaurante italiano - Yesterday I ate pasta at an Italian restaurant) and imperfect tense to describe past habits or ongoing past actions (Siempre pedíamos postre - We used always order dessert).

Expressing Opinions

  • Expressing opinions: Use Creo que… (I think that…), A mi parecer… (In my opinion…), Me parece que… (It seems to me that…) to express your thoughts and ideas.

Traditional Meals in Spanish-Speaking Countries

  • Discuss meals you’d typically eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner in Spanish-speaking countries. For instance, a typical Spanish breakfast might consist of a cup of coffee with a piece of toast spread with tomato and olive oil.

Cultural Differences

  • Cultural differences: Get to know some common Spanish dishes e.g., la paella, las tapas, los churros. Remember that dinnertime in Spain is usually quite late, around 9 or 10 pm.

Restaurant Phrases and Dialogues

  • Practice phrases and dialogues typical for restaurant settings, such as ordering food, asking for the check, complaining about the service, etc.