Portuguese for restaurants: ordering, paying and small talk
This covers Brazilian Portuguese, the variety most English speakers learn first. From getting a table to reading the bill, plus the words that look friendly in English and mean something else in Portuguese.
Getting a table
Uma mesa para dois, por favor.
A table for two, please.
Vocês têm mesa lá fora?
Do you have a table outside?
Tem fila de espera?
Is there a wait?
Podemos sentar no balcão?
Could we sit at the counter?
balcão is the counter, not a balcony.
Essa mesa está livre?
Is this table free?
Ordering
Posso ver o cardápio, por favor?
Could I see the menu, please?
O que você recomenda?
What do you recommend?
Vou querer esse aqui.
I'll have this one.
Isso vem com arroz?
Does this come with rice?
Pretendo pedir o peixe.
I intend to order the fish.
pretender means to intend, not to pretend.
Sem cebola, por favor.
No onions, please.
É picante?
Is it spicy?
Paying and wrapping up
A conta, por favor.
The check, please.
O serviço já está incluído?
Is the service charge included?
Dá para dividir a conta?
Can we split the bill?
Esse prato é meio esquisito.
This dish is a bit strange.
esquisito means weird or odd, not exquisite.
O garçom foi bem simpático.
The waiter was really nice.
simpático means friendly, not sympathetic.
Posso pagar no cartão?
Can I pay by card?
False friend traps
pretender looks like pretend, but means to intend, to plan to
Pretendo viajar means I intend to travel. To pretend, as in faking something, is fingir.
esquisito looks like exquisite, but means weird, strange
Save exquisite for describing something odd, not elegant. Delicious and elegant is delicioso or requintado.
simpático looks like sympathetic, but means nice, friendly, likeable
Ele é muito simpático just means he's a nice guy. Sympathetic, in the comforting sense, is compreensivo.
balcão looks like balcony, but means counter, bar top
Sentar no balcão means sitting at the counter. A balcony is varanda or sacada.
costume looks like costume, but means habit, custom
Não é costume dele means it's not his habit. A costume you wear is fantasia.
FAQ
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask most about this situation.
Do I need to tip in Brazil?
A 10% service charge (serviço) is usually already added to the bill at restaurants, and paying it isn't mandatory if service was bad. Extra tipping beyond that is appreciated but not expected the way it is in the US.
What does a la carte mean on a Brazilian menu?
Dishes ordered individually, as opposed to rodízio, the all-you-can-eat format common at steakhouses (churrascarias) where servers bring meat continuously until you turn your table card to the red side.
How formal is Brazilian Portuguese with waiters?
Casual and warm. Você is the standard way to say you, and waiters are often addressed simply as moço or mocinha (young man, young woman) rather than by a formal title.
What if I don't understand the menu?
Just ask: O que você recomenda? (What do you recommend?), or point at another table's dish and ask Aquilo ali, o que é? (What is that over there?). Staff are used to explaining dishes to tourists.