Restaurant menu?
Is it common for restaurants in Spain to have a English version of their menu?
3 Answers
I would imagine that it would depend on what types of food that the restaurant serves and how large their English speaking clientele was. Or maybe the size of the city and how many English speaking tourists it has. A restaurant on the Spanish/French border would more likely has a French alternative menu. One on the Portuguese border....
Some must, because here is a site listing restaurants in Madrid that have English menus available.
I agree with Mary that it does depend on the area where you are staying or having a meal. If you are staying in a tourist hotspot like Benidorm or Majorca then yes the menu would probably be offered to you in English first if the waiter knows that you and your family are English. It does depend on the frequency of English speaking people/tourists passing through their area. If the restaurants in that area cater for tourists and it is also part of the tourist season (April - September) there is a good chance that an English copy of the menu willl be available
In Barcelona I usually have to ask for the menu in Spanish for myself and an English copy for a friend or friends who are with me.(In Spanish of course)
The Spanish word for menu is la carta el menú is also used but from what I understand and have experienced it normally refers to a set menu of the day whereas La carta is the usual word and includes what is known as 'A la carte' (French) which allows you much more choice You can choose from a wide range of what is on offer.
If you are eating as a small group and would like to pay your bills/settle your accounts separately you need to ask the waiter if that is okay before you order the meal. I know from experience in Barcelona that it is too late when you come to ask for the bill! lol
I hope this helps 
It does depend on the restaurant. If it is an area which has a lot of English speaking visitors then it is likely that the menu will be translated. A lot of small café type places have pictorial munus which are very useful.
The restaurant/bar I went to in a new shopping outlet near my sisters home gave us a menu in Catalan and Russian! They get a lot of rich Russians shopping there apparently. Luckily my sister could interpret the Catalan for me.
