First date dinner: Choosing dishes from the menu together

🇵🇹 Recommending a dish the place is known for is a natural way to show you know the spot. Locals often pick restaurants for one signature dish.

💬 There's no word for "it" here. Portuguese drops it, so Gosto muito alone means "I really like it".

💬 ir plus a basic verb talks about the near future, just like "going to". Swap the verb: O que vais beber? "What are you going to drink?"

💬 achar literally means "to find", but acho que is the everyday way to say "I think". Add any sentence after it: Acho que vou pedir peixe "I think I'll order fish".

💬 pedir is the verb for ordering in a restaurant. It also means "to ask for", as in pedir a conta "to ask for the bill".

💬 The final o in polvo fades to a quick "oo" sound: (POHL-voo).

🇵🇹 A classic Portuguese dish, often eaten at celebrations. Ordering it signals that you're happy to go traditional.

💬 In Portugal the verb is partilhar, not compartilhar, which is the Brazilian form.

💬 entrada means "starter" on a menu, not a main dish. It's also the word for "entrance".

🇵🇹 Sharing a starter is very common in Portugal. Suggesting it is a warm, low-pressure move on a date.

🇵🇹 Pode ser literally means "it can be". It's a relaxed, easygoing yes, very typical of Portugal, but it sounds less enthusiastic than Sim, claro! "Yes, of course!"

💬 Put a thing right after Que tal to suggest it, with no verb needed: Que tal um vinho? "How about some wine?"

💬 The ê carries the stress and the ending almost disappears: (ah-MAY-zhwush). The final s sounds like "sh".

💬 umas is "a" in plural form and works like "some". It matches the word that follows: uns camarões "some prawns".

💬 Colour words come after the noun and change to match it: vinho branco but cerveja branca "white beer".

🇵🇹 Despite the name "green wine", vinho verde means a young wine from the north. It's light, slightly fizzy and cheap, a classic pick with seafood.

💬 ficar bem com is the everyday way to say something "goes well with" something else. The same phrase works for clothes: Fica bem com a saia "It goes well with the skirt".

💬 The ending follows the speaker, not the listener. A man says obrigado and a woman says obrigada.

💬 Words ending in ão change to ões in the plural: sugestão becomes sugestões. Both endings are nasal, said through the nose.

💬 por "for" merges with "the": por + as becomes pelas. Likewise, Obrigado pelo jantar means "Thanks for the dinner".

💬 empregado looks like "employee", and it is, but in a café or restaurant it's simply the everyday word for waiter. For a waitress, swap the ending: a empregada.

💬 A plain nós "we" verb turned into a question works as "shall we…?" with no extra words needed. Try Pedimos? "Shall we order?" or Partilhamos? "Shall we share?"

🇵🇹 This is the polite way to catch a waiter's eye in Portugal, said with a small raised hand as they pass. Snapping fingers or calling out loudly comes across as rude, and staff won't usually rush you, so you'll often need to flag them down for the bill too.