Top 50 phrases to get by Mexico (Advanced): Dining out

💬 agua is a feminine word but takes el: el agua. This happens with feminine words that start with a stressed a sound.

🇲🇽 Locals don't drink tap water either. Restaurants serve purified water, and agua natural "plain water" is how you ask for still water rather than mineral water.

🇲🇽 Served from big glass jars at markets and fondas. Popular flavours are jamaica "hibiscus", horchata "sweet rice-cinnamon drink" and tamarindo "tamarind".

💬 In Mexico both c before e and z sound like an English s: (sehr-VEH-sah), never with a th sound.

💬 The h is always silent, so hielo sounds like (YEH-loh). Same in harina and huevo "egg".

🇲🇽 Restaurant ice is almost always made from purified water, often the tube-shaped kind. Skipping it is mainly a habit worth keeping at street stalls.

💬 pica comes from picar "to sting". Saying the same word with a rising tone turns it into a question, so no extra words are needed.

🇲🇽 If the answer is poquito "a little", expect it to be properly hot for most visitors.

🇲🇽 "Not very spicy" by local standards can still burn, so ask for the salsa on the side: la salsa aparte "the sauce separately".

💬 ll sounds like an English y: (tor-TEE-yahs). Same in pollo (POH-yoh).

💬 de plus an ingredient says what something is made of. Same pattern: agua de jamaica "hibiscus water".

🇲🇽 Corn is the default in central and southern Mexico. Flour tortillas are standard in the north, so you'll be asked this more there.

💬 You'll often see carne de res on menus. carne "meat" on its own usually means beef too.

💬 Mexican menus and taquerías often say puerco for pork instead of cerdo.

💬 Women say vegetariana. The ending changes to match the speaker.

🇲🇽 Beans, rice and soups are often cooked with lard or chicken stock. Ask ¿tiene carne? "does it have meat?" and mention caldo de pollo "chicken broth" if it matters.

💬 Women say soy alérgica. Use soy here, not estoy, because it describes a lasting condition.

💬 cacahuate is the Mexican word. Elsewhere you'll hear maní, which may not be understood here.

💬 al is a + el squeezed together, and Spanish always does this. Same with de + el becoming del.

🇲🇽 At a taco stand this usually means cebolla "onion" and cilantro. Say sin cebolla "without onion" to leave one out.

💬 Keep me gustaría and swap the end to order anything: me gustaría un café, me gustaría agua fresca.

💬 trae is the polite form you use with a waiter, the same one you'd use with usted. The me in front means "to me".

🇲🇽 To get a waiter's attention, Mexicans say disculpe "excuse me" or joven "young man" (used for any male waiter, whatever his age), or señorita "miss" for a female waiter.

💬 recomienda is the usted form, used with someone you're addressing politely. Same pattern: ¿Qué me sugiere?

💬 Before es, Spanish uses cuál rather than qué to ask "what is…" about a specific thing. ¿Cuál es tu nombre? "What's your name?" follows the same pattern.

💬 In Mexico a prepared dish is a platillo. plato usually means the physical plate.

🇲🇽 This is a cheap fixed-price meal served at small family places in the afternoon, usually soup, rice, a main dish and a drink. comida here means the big midday meal, eaten around 2–4 pm.

💬 Say otra for words ending in a, like otra cerveza "another beer". Never put un in front: un otro is wrong.

💬 Disculpe is the polite form you use with a stranger. Say disculpa only with a friend.

🇲🇽 Calling the waiter joven is normal in Mexico, even if he's clearly older. For a waitress, use señorita "miss".

💬 For plural things, está becomes están: ¿dónde están los taxis? "where are the taxis?"

🇲🇽 In many places, especially smaller restaurants, toilet paper goes in the bin, not the toilet, because the plumbing can't handle it. Look for a sign or a bin beside the toilet.

🇲🇽 In many places the toilet paper goes in the bin, not the toilet, because the plumbing can't handle it. Public restrooms often charge a few pesos.

🇲🇽 In Mexico, baño is the normal everyday word for a restroom. You can also ask for el sanitario, which may sound a bit more public-place or official.

💬 With food, rico means tasty, not rich. Está rico praises the dish in front of you, and it's what Mexicans say far more often than delicioso.

💬 Llevar "to take or carry" makes this literally "for taking." Use the same pattern to ask for leftovers: ¿Me lo pone para llevar? "Can you pack it to go?"

🇲🇽 At taquerías and counters, staff will often ask ¿Para aquí o para llevar? before you finish ordering. Just answer with one of the two.

🇲🇽 Mexican waiters won't bring the check until you ask, since rushing you would be rude. Say La cuenta, por favor "The check, please" when you're ready.

🇲🇽 Waiters won't bring the check until you ask, since rushing you would be rude. A tip of 10–15% is customary.

💬 Incluida ends in -a to match la propina. Asking about something masculine changes it to incluido, as in ¿Está incluido el servicio? "Is service included?"

🇲🇽 Tipping 10–15% at sit-down restaurants is standard in Mexico. Waiters rely on it as a large part of their pay.

🇲🇽 The tip usually isn't on the bill, but some tourist-area restaurants add it as servicio "service." Asking first helps you avoid tipping twice.

💬 aceptan is the "you all" form, used when asking a business rather than one person.

💬 Spanish often uses the plain present tense for something you're about to do, so pago works as "I'll pay." Swap in the card option: Pago con tarjeta "I'll pay by card."