HOW TO ORDER IN A RESTAURANT IN PORTUGUESE
Here is all you need to know in order to successfully order food in a restaurant in Brazil. This lesson includes a vocabulary list, useful phrases for ordering food and some tips on being polite in Portuguese when dining out. If you need to work on your food vocabulary, see my Brazilian Portuguese food vocab list here. As always, if you have any doubts, please do not hesitate to contact me!
USEFUL PORTUGUESE PHRASES
*One very useful word is “Queria…” . Please mind the way you should pronounce it – it’s pronounced[keri-ah], but for the “r” sound, your toung should be touching the top front of your mouth if you are pronouncing it correctly. This means “I would like…” or “I’ll have…”. This word is used much more commonly to order food than the word “gostaria” which you may already be familiar with.
*So, when the waiter approaches you it will be very likely hearing him saying something like:
“Já pediu?” - Have you ordered? or
“Já pediram?” – Have you (guys) ordered?
The way you must reply is:
“Já. – “already.” You say this if you have already ordered, (you may have noticed that Brazilians rarely respond affirmatively to questions by saying “sim.”)
“Ainda não.” – “Not yet.”
“Poderia me trazer o cardápio, por favor?” – “Could you bring me a menu, please?”
“Me traz outro copo de vinho, por favor” – “Bring me another glass of wine please”
“Uma cerveja, por favor” – “Bring me a beer please”
“Mais alguma coisa?” – “Would you like anything else?”
“Não, Obrigada.” – “No thanks.”
“Fica pronto em quanto tempo?” – “How long will it take?”
“Estou com um pouco de pressa.” – “I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“Eu sou vegetariano” – “I’m a vegetarian.”
“Aquilo parece gostoso” – “That looks delicious”
“Me passa o sal, por favor” – “Please pass the salt”
“Pode trazer a conta, por favor” or just “A conta, por favor.”- “Bring the check please”
“Mal passado ou bem passado?” – “Rare or well done?”
“Bem passado, por favor.” – “Well done, please.”
“Vou querer…” – “I’ll have…”
“Cadê o banheiro?” – “Where’s the Bathroom?”
DESCRIBING THE FOOD
cheirar bem - to smell good/nice
delicioso - delicious
doce - sweet
fresco - fresh
frio -cold
quente - hot, warm
picante - spicy
saboroso - tasty, flavorful
amargo - bitter
salgado - salty
azedo - sour
aromático - aromatic; fragrant
PORTUGUESE RESTAURANT VOCAB
jantar – dinner
almoço – lunch
café da manhã – breakfast
refeição – a meal
pedido – an order
uma reserva – a reservation
preço – price
vegetariano(a) – vegetarian
o cardápio - menu
a conta, a nota (or “notinha”) - check, bill
a gorjeta – the tip
“é por conta da casa” – it’s on the house
pagar a conta – to pay the check
o prato principal - the main course
compartilhar – to share
sobremesa – dessert
garçon/garçonete – waiter/waitress (people also often use the word ”moço” to call their waiter, or moça for waitress.)
buffet – buffet (very common in Brazil)
BEING POLITE IN PORTUGUESE
-When passing someone food, say, at the dinner table, instead of asking “voce quer um pouco de salada?” (“do you want some salad“) rather you should say, “voce aceita um pouco de salada?” (“do you accept some salad?”) It may sound a bit strange, but trust me, this is the right way to ask.
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