Spanish food words: 25 words for tapas, bars and restaurants in Spain

🇪🇸 SpanishA1–A225 words

Ordering food is the Spanish you will use most. Tapas bars, menús del día and market stalls each have their own small vocabulary. This list covers dishes, drinks and the phrases you need to order and pay, as they are used in Spain.

Where you will use it: Tapas bars, restaurants, menus and food shopping in Spain.

Spanish food and tapas words — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Spanish	Meaning and example
la carta	Menu.“¿Nos trae la carta, por favor?”Could you bring us the menu, please?
el menú del día	Fixed-price daily menu.“El menú del día incluye postre.”The daily set menu includes dessert.
una caña	A small draught beer.“¿Me pone una caña, por favor?”Could I have a small draught beer, please?
la tapa	Small portion of food served with a drink.“La tapa viene con la bebida.”The tapa comes with the drink.
la ración	Portion of food, often for sharing.“Pedimos una ración para compartir.”We're ordering a portion to share.
las patatas bravas	Fried potatoes with a spicy sauce.“Estas patatas bravas pican un poco.”These patatas bravas are a little spicy.
la tortilla de patatas	Spanish potato omelette.“La tortilla de patatas lleva cebolla.”The Spanish potato omelette contains onion.
el jamón	Ham.“Este jamón está muy bueno.”This ham is very good.
el aperitivo	Pre-meal drink or snack.“Tomamos el aperitivo antes de comer.”We have a drink and snack before lunch.
la cuenta	Bill.“¿Nos trae la cuenta, por favor?”Could you bring us the bill, please?
¿Me pone…?	Could I have…? (when ordering).“¿Me pone un café con leche?”Could I have a coffee with milk?
la propina	Tip; gratuity.“Dejamos una propina en la mesa.”We leave a tip on the table.
el camarero / la camarera	Waiter / waitress (male / female).“La camarera nos trae el pan.”The waitress brings us the bread.
el pan	Bread.“¿Nos trae un poco más de pan?”Could you bring us a little more bread?
las aceitunas	Olives.“Las aceitunas están en ese plato.”The olives are on that plate.
el queso	Cheese.“Quiero probar este queso de oveja.”I'd like to try this sheep's cheese.
el gazpacho	Cold tomato and vegetable soup.“En verano tomamos gazpacho muy frío.”In summer we have very cold gazpacho.
las croquetas	Croquettes.“Estas croquetas de jamón están buenísimas.”These ham croquettes are delicious.
el bocadillo	Sandwich made with a bread roll or baguette.“Quiero un bocadillo de queso.”I'd like a cheese sandwich.
el zumo	Juice.“Para mí, un zumo de naranja.”An orange juice for me.
el vino	Wine.“¿Queréis una copa de vino tinto?”Would you like a glass of red wine?
el café con leche	Coffee with milk.“Tomo café con leche por la mañana.”I have coffee with milk in the morning.
el postre	Dessert.“De postre, quiero un flan.”For dessert, I'd like a crème caramel.
la servilleta	Napkin.“¿Me trae otra servilleta, por favor?”Could you bring me another napkin, please?
la cerveza sin alcohol	Alcohol-free beer.“¿Tenéis cerveza sin alcohol fría?”Do you have cold alcohol-free beer?

Tips for learning Spanish words

Learn the article with the nounWrite el billete or la cuenta, not just the noun: the article tells you the gender, and adjectives agree with it.
Say every example aloudSpanish is spelled almost exactly as it sounds. Play the audio, then read the example aloud — it trains your ear and your pronunciation at once.
Type the accentsIn WordNest a missing accent counts as a mistake. Typing está, mañana and también correctly from the start saves relearning them later.

Spanish as spoken in Spain

Spanish is spoken in more than twenty countries, and everyday words differ between them: a car is a coche in Spain and a carro in much of Latin America, a phone is a móvil rather than a celular. These lists follow Spain's usage — vosotros, coger el tren, el ordenador — and WordNest's examples, audio and AI corrections use the same standard. You will still be understood everywhere.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

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Questions about this list

Is this Spanish from Spain or Latin America?

Spanish as spoken in Spain. Where Latin America usually uses a different word, the list gives the Spain one — for example coche instead of carro — but every word is understood across the Spanish-speaking world.

How do I practise Spanish food and tapas words?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the Spanish word from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

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