Restaurant reservations Part 3 (Advanced): Asking about any ongoing promotions or special menus.

🇲🇽 In Mexico, you'll see 2x1 on signs everywhere for drinks, movie tickets, and food. People read it aloud as dos por uno.

💬 cóctel carries an accent mark and stress on the first syllable: (KOHK-tel). The plural keeps that accent: cócteles.

💬 Use en to say what a deal applies to. Swap in other items: dos por uno en cervezas "two-for-one beers".

💬 The describing word goes after the noun: menú familiar, not familiar menú. The same pattern gives menú infantil "kids' menu".

💬 pensar + another verb means "to plan to", not just "to think". Pienso ir means "I plan to go", and pensaba ir means "I was planning to go".

💬 Spanish uses el where English uses "on" with days: el viernes means "on Friday". Don't add en.

🇲🇽 Ay, qué lástima is a soft, friendly way to show disappointment. It also gently invites the staff to suggest an alternative.

💬 alguno shortens to algún right before a masculine singular noun. The same thing happens in algún día "someday".

💬 Here manejar doesn't mean "to drive". It means "to offer" or "to carry", as in ¿Manejan opciones vegetarianas? "Do you have vegetarian options?"

🇲🇽 Asking with no ("don't you have...?") is a common polite way to make a request in Mexico. It sounds hopeful, not negative.

💬 On menus, tiempos means "courses", not "times". plato fuerte "main course" is usually the third or fourth tiempo.

💬 maridaje comes from marido "husband", the idea of food and wine "married" together. You'll see it on upscale menus as an add-on.

💬 Mexicans often use en for prices: lo dejo en 200 "I'll let you have it for 200". You'll hear this a lot in markets, too.

💬 Spanish drops "that" here: just suena "it sounds". The same goes for Suena bien "Sounds good".

💬 hay que + a verb means "you have to" in general, without naming who. apartar is the everyday Mexican word for "to set aside" or "to hold" something.

💬 lo attaches to the end of the verb when the verb is in its basic form: apartarlo "to reserve it". This is common with requests, as in pedirlo "to order it".

💬 al + a verb means "when" or "upon" doing something: al llegar "on arriving". Swap in other verbs: al salir "when leaving".

💬 se + a verb is the usual way to describe how things are done without saying who does them. Another example: se paga en caja "you pay at the register".

💬 cupo means "available spots" or "capacity". You'll also hear no hay cupo "it's full".

💬 cuántas matches personas, which is feminine plural. With a masculine noun, it becomes cuántos: ¿cuántos niños? "how many kids?"

💬 The "would" form sería softens the question. Staff use it to sound courteous instead of the blunter es "is".

💬 Times use las because it means las horas "the hours": a las ocho, a las tres. Only one o'clock takes la: a la una.

💬 For clock times, use a las + the hour: a las ocho "at eight". One o'clock is singular: a la una.

💬 A nombre de is how you say "under the name of" for any booking or order. It works the same way for food pickups and invoices.

💬 Spanish often uses the present for near-future promises: le guardamos "we'll hold." le here means "for you" in the polite usted form.

🇲🇽 Le agradezco is warmer and more formal than a quick gracias. It's a good way to end a phone call with staff who went out of their way to help.

💬 Unlike English, información can be used with la directly as a single thing. Don't make it plural for general info.

💬 With agradecer, the thing you're thankful for follows directly, with no word for "for": le agradezco la ayuda "thank you for the help". le is the polite "you" being thanked.

🇲🇽 Said in reply to gracias, it means "no, thank YOU." It sounds warm and a bit more gracious than de nada.

💬 sus here is the polite "your" that goes with usted, and it becomes sus rather than su because órdenes is plural. Compare su orden "your order".

🇲🇽 In Mexico you'll hear this constantly from restaurant hosts, waiters and shop staff, often as they finish helping you. It sounds warm and courteous rather than servile, and a simple gracias is a fine reply.

💬 Al contrario literally means "on the contrary", but as an answer to gracias it works like "no, thank you" or "the pleasure's mine". You can use it yourself when someone thanks you.

💬 Starting with Que plus tenga turns this into a wish, and tenga is the polite form for someone you call usted. Swap the ending to reuse it: Que tenga buen día "Have a good day" or Que tenga buena noche "Have a good night".

🇲🇽 Restaurant staff and hosts in Mexico say this warmly as you leave or end a call. A simple Igualmente "Likewise" or Gracias, igualmente is the natural reply.