Pralingo

Spanish · A1 · Vocabulary

Restaurants and cafés

You already know el bar and el restaurante, as well as many foods and drinks from "Food and drink". Here you learn the words around eating out: the menu and the set menu, the courses, the bill and the tip.

la carta: letter or menu?

In the topic "Shops and prices" you learned la carta as a letter. In a restaurant, la carta is the menu. Many Spanish words have more than one meaning – the context tells you which one is meant: Escribo una carta. (letter) – En la carta hay pescado. (menu)

la carta or el menú?

la carta lists all the restaurant's dishes, and you choose freely. el menú is a set menu with several courses at a fixed price – in Spain often at lunchtime as el menú del día (the set menu of the day): El menú del día cuesta doce euros.

The courses

A set menu usually has three courses: el primer plato (the first course, the starter), el plato principal (the main course) and el postre (the dessert). You know primer from "Introduction to ordinal numbers". With de you say what there is for which course: De primer plato, una sopa. De postre, fruta.

After the meal

la cuenta is the bill, la propina the tip: Pagamos la cuenta. Dejamos una propina.

Examples

  • En la carta hay pescado.
  • El menú del día cuesta doce euros.
  • De primer plato, una sopa.
  • De postre, fruta.
  • Pagamos la cuenta.

Exercises

A1VocabularyRestaurants and cafés

Exercise 1 of 6

At the restaurant

Find the matching pairs.

Match each picture with the correct Spanish term.

A1VocabularyRestaurants and cafés

Exercise 2 of 6

From coming in to paying

Sort each word into the right area.

Where do you eat, what do you choose from, what do you eat and what comes at the end?

el bar
la carta
el primer plato
la cuenta
el restaurante
el menú
el plato principal
la propina
el postre

The place

Choosing

The courses

At the end

Now it's about a word with two meanings: la carta is the letter from "Shops and prices" – and the menu in a restaurant. Look at the other words in the sentence: they tell you which meaning is meant.

A1VocabularyRestaurants and cafés

Exercise 3 of 6

la carta: letter or menu?

Sort each sentence into the right group.

What does la carta mean in this sentence?

Escribo una carta a mi abuela.
En la carta hay pescado y carne.
Para la carta necesito un sello.
El camarero trae la carta.
Pongo la carta en el sobre.
En la carta del restaurante hay tres postres.

letter

menu

A1VocabularyRestaurants and cafés

Exercise 4 of 6

What is el menú del día?

Choose the correct meaning.

On the door of a restaurant in Spain it says: "Menú del día: 12 euros". What does that mean?

A1VocabularyRestaurants and cafés

Exercise 5 of 6

Lunch at a restaurant

Choose the right word for each sentence.

Por la mañana tomo un café en el .
En la hay muchos platos: sopa, pescado, carne…
El del día cuesta doce euros.
De , una sopa.
De , pescado con patatas.
De , fruta.
Después de comer, pagamos la .
El camarero es muy simpático: dejamos una .
A1VocabularyRestaurants and cafés

Exercise 6 of 6

Flashcards: write the words

Read the meaning, write the Spanish word with its article and check your answer.

Write the restaurant vocabulary

the menula carta
the set menuel menú
the first courseel primer plato
the main courseel plato principal
the dessertel postre
the billla cuenta
the tipla propina