Pedir con cortesía en bares y restaurantes (A2)

Comparación de fórmulas de cortesía para pedir en restaurantes; elige la opción más natural.

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Dannis

2 min reading time

Food and cooking Work: kitchen and cooking Modal verbs Moods

Keywords:

Quería Querría Me pones ¿Nos trae...?por favor

At the bar: direct but friendly. The waiter says: "¿Qué te pongo?" (literally: "What shall I get you?"). Answer: "Ponme/Me pones un café, por favor." Very natural in bars and markets.

"Quería…" sounds soft and polite: "Quería una tortilla, por favor." Useful in restaurants. This is like saying in English "I was wondering if I could have…" – it sounds gentle.

"Me pones/ponme + producto, por favor" is colloquial and very natural at the bar. E.g.: "Me pones una caña, por favor." It matches the style of "¿Qué te pongo?" that you’ll hear very often.

At the table (restaurant): "¿Nos trae…?" sounds polite. E.g.: "¿Nos trae la carta/el agua/la cuenta, por favor?"

To pay: "¿Me cobras (cuando puedas), por favor?" is very typical in Spain. Also: "¿Cuánto es?" or "¿Qué te debo?"

Cultural tip: el tapeo = ordering small tapas dishes to share. These expressions help you sound local at the bar and on terraces.

Comprehension check:

Completa la frase en barra: ___ una caña, por favor.

Me pones

Querría

Traiga

The best choice for a bar is "Me pones…". It’s a natural, colloquial expression in Spain; you’ll hear it together with "¿Qué te pongo?" at the counter. Forms with "Querría" sound more formal.

Think of the style of "¿Qué te pongo?" at the bar counter.

At the table, to ask for the bill politely: ¿___ la cuenta, por favor?

Nos trae

Me pones

Quieres traer

"¿Nos trae…?" sounds polite and clear for table service. "Me pones…" is more of a bar expression.

You’re asking the waiter to bring something to the table (a la mesa).

Which one sounds more formal/less common in a normal bar in Spain?

Quería

Querría

Ponme

"Querría…" is a conditional form, more formal and less typical in a bar situation. In everyday speech you more often hear "Quería…" or "Ponme/Me pones…".

Think about the conditional form versus the softer imperfect used for politeness.