I can get a table at a Portuguese restaurant, order for two, turn down or take the couvert, ask for what's missing on the table, understand the check, and pay by card.
No café e no restaurante
No café e no restaurante
A restaurant visit has three steps: a table, the order, the check. Speak to the waiter formally, in the third person; among yourselves, as usual.
Ask for a table like this: “Uma mesa para dois, se faz favor.” The waiter answers “Faça favor”: “this way, please”.
On a ementa (the menu), dishes come in order: a entrada, then o prato do dia or fish and meat, then a sobremesa. To ask about today's soup: “Que sopa é que há hoje?”
Order for each person separately: “Para mim, um peixe. Para ela, uma sopa.” Then the waiter asks: “E para beber?”
Ask for what's missing with the familiar “Pode trazer…?”: o copo, o garfo, a faca, a colher, o guardanapo.
Two sounds of the lesson: in colher, lh is one sound [ʎ]; in arroz, the double r is the throaty [ʁ], not the tapped single r of prato.
O couvert is bread and starters brought before you order. They aren't free and go on the check, but you can say no: “Não queremos couvert, obrigado.”
A gorjeta (the tip) isn't on the check and isn't required: people leave some change. Cards work almost everywhere: “Pode ser multibanco?”
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Queria sopa” → “Queria uma sopa.”: order with the article.
• NOT “O peixe é muito bom hoje” → “O peixe está muito bom hoje.”: how it is right now takes estar.
• NOT “Eu quero a conta” → in a restaurant, ask politely.
• NOT “dois pão” → “dois pães”: the plural of -ão.
The waiter speaks, you answer
On the left is what you'll hear; on the right, a short answer that will do.
| Waiter | You | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Faça favor. | Boa noite. Somos dois. | Go ahead, come in. — Good evening. There are two of us. |
| Já querem pedir? | Sim. Para ela, peixe. | Ready to order? — Yes. The fish for her. |
| É tudo? | É tudo, obrigado. | Is that everything? — That's all, thank you. |
What's on the check
The tip is never a line on the check: you leave it separately.
| Line on the check | What it is |
|---|---|
| couvert | bread, olives, or cheese for the table — you pay for it |
| prato do dia | today's special: what's cooked today |
| entrada | appetizer before the main course |
| sobremesa | dessert |
| multibanco | paying by bank card at the terminal |
| gorjeta | tip: it's not on the check; you leave it yourself |
Lesson notes
No café e no restaurante
A restaurant visit has three steps: a table, the order, the check. Speak to the waiter formally, in the third person; among yourselves, as usual.
Ask for a table like this: “Uma mesa para dois, se faz favor.” The waiter answers “Faça favor”: “this way, please”.
On a ementa (the menu), dishes come in order: a entrada, then o prato do dia or fish and meat, then a sobremesa. To ask about today's soup: “Que sopa é que há hoje?”
Order for each person separately: “Para mim, um peixe. Para ela, uma sopa.” Then the waiter asks: “E para beber?”
Ask for what's missing with the familiar “Pode trazer…?”: o copo, o garfo, a faca, a colher, o guardanapo.
Two sounds of the lesson: in colher, lh is one sound [ʎ]; in arroz, the double r is the throaty [ʁ], not the tapped single r of prato.
O couvert is bread and starters brought before you order. They aren't free and go on the check, but you can say no: “Não queremos couvert, obrigado.”
A gorjeta (the tip) isn't on the check and isn't required: people leave some change. Cards work almost everywhere: “Pode ser multibanco?”
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Queria sopa” → “Queria uma sopa.”: order with the article.
• NOT “O peixe é muito bom hoje” → “O peixe está muito bom hoje.”: how it is right now takes estar.
• NOT “Eu quero a conta” → in a restaurant, ask politely.
• NOT “dois pão” → “dois pães”: the plural of -ão.