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

🇪🇸 Staff saying ahora mismo usually means they're on it immediately. In casual speech, though, it can stretch to "in a moment".

💬 Ahora mismo means "right now". Adding mismo sharpens the time in the same way elsewhere: hoy mismo "this very day".

🇪🇸 Many Spanish restaurants change their set menu with the seasons. It's worth asking about, since it's often the best value.

💬 Setas is the everyday word in Spain, especially for wild mushrooms. You'll also see champiñones for the common button kind, and Latin Americans mostly say hongos.

🇪🇸 Autumn mushroom menus are a big tradition in Catalonia, Castile and León, and the Basque Country. Restaurants promote them proudly.

💬 Use a to give a rate or price for something: a cinco euros el kilo "at five euros a kilo".

💬 Incluido matches the noun it describes: con bebida incluida "with drink included", con postres incluidos "with desserts included".

🇪🇸 Wine is commonly included in Spanish set menus. Don't be surprised to get a whole bottle for the table.

💬 Ese means "that" for something already mentioned or near the listener. It becomes esa before feminine words: esa mesa "that table".

💬 Here tienen is the formal "you" plural, meaning the restaurant staff. Lo stands in for the menu and comes before the verb: ¿Lo sirven hoy? "Do you serve it today?".

💬 Por la noche means "in the evening" or "at night". The same pattern gives por la mañana "in the morning" and por la tarde "in the afternoon".

💬 Spanish often puts the topic first and then repeats it with lo. So Ese menú... lo tienen means "that menu, do you have it". This pattern is very natural in speech.

💬 Me temo que works just like "I'm afraid that" for softening bad news. Swap in other news: Me temo que está completo "I'm afraid it's fully booked".

💬 Servimos comes from servir, which changes its middle vowel in some forms: sirve "it serves", sirven "they serve".

💬 The pattern de ... a ... gives you any range: de nueve a cinco "from nine to five". No article is needed before the days here.

🇪🇸 Cheaper set menus in Spain are often weekday-only. Weekends tend to bring pricier options or none at all.

💬 Degustación sits right after menú with no linking word, a bit like English "tasting menu" in reverse.

💬 Despite coming from ir "to go", vaya on its own is an exclamation of mild disappointment or surprise. Think "oh dear" or "oh no".

💬 Degustación is a feminine word, but here it takes el because it's short for el menú degustación. Speakers often drop menú once it's clear what they mean.

💬 Salir usually means "to go out", but ¿cuánto sale? is a casual way to ask what something costs. ¿Cuánto cuesta? means the same.

💬 Cierto usually means "true" or "certain", but por cierto means "by the way". Use it to bring up something you've just remembered.

💬 Spanish gives group size with "we are" plus a number: somos dos "there are two of us". There's no need for "of us".

💬 Uno becomes una if the person is a woman: una es vegetariana. The describing word changes to match as well.

🇪🇸 Mention dietary needs when you book. Traditional Spanish menus lean heavily on meat and ham, so the kitchen will appreciate the warning.

💬 In Spain, the c in cinco and cuarenta sounds different depending on the next letter. Before i it's said like English th, and before u it's a k sound: (kwah-REN-tah ee THEEN-koh).

💬 Putting se before a verb states a general rule without saying who does it. Swap in another verb: se paga en caja "you pay at the till".

💬 Toda la means "the whole" and matches the noun: todo el día "the whole day".

🇪🇸 Tasting menus in Spain are usually all-or-nothing for the table. Not everyone can order à la carte while others do the tasting menu.

💬 Sin problema means "no problem" and is a handy reassurance on its own. Spaniards also say sin problemas.

💬 Quedarse con means "to go with" or "to choose" something. It works in shops too: me quedo con este "I'll take this one".

💬 degustación is normally feminine, but here it takes el because menú is understood: el menú degustación gets shortened to el degustación. Same with el del día for el menú del día "the set menu of the day".

🇪🇸 Many Spanish restaurants offer a menú degustación, a fixed series of small courses at one price. It's usually ordered by the whole table, so check whether everyone has to take it.

💬 ¿Me podría...? plus an action is a polite, reusable way to ask a stranger for something. Swap the last word: ¿Me podría traer la carta? "Could you bring me the menu?"

💬 Times use las because horas "hours" is understood, so it's a las nueve. One o'clock is the exception: a la una.

🇪🇸 Half past nine is a perfectly normal dinner booking in Spain. Many kitchens don't really get going until nine, so an eight o'clock table can feel early.

💬 Spanish keeps de in front of quién, where English sends the word to the end: "who is it under?" You can't drop it, and the same goes for ¿Con quién? "With whom?"

💬 La stands for la reserva "the reservation". Spanish uses the present tense to offer to do something: ¿Te ayudo? "Shall I help you?"

🇪🇸 Answer with your surname or first name, as in A nombre de Smith. Spell it slowly if it's unfamiliar, since staff will write it down.

💬 This is short for gracias a usted "thanks to you", the usual reply when someone thanks you first. Between friends it becomes a ti.

💬 ya here doesn't mean "already". It's a reassuring "I'll sort that now". le is the polite "for you", the form you use with someone you'd address formally.

💬 lo de plus a noun means "the matter of" or "that thing about" something already mentioned. Swap it in: lo de la terraza "the terrace thing".

🇪🇸 A standard friendly-but-polite way to sign off a call or email with a business. It's warmer than a bare adiós "goodbye" without being familiar.