Ordering in a restaurant: me gustaría, o quisiera o quiero?

Question

I am using Memrise (and SpanishDict, of course!) which is currently teaching me "Me gustaría..." to order food or drink in a restaurant. Recently I watched a Butterfly Spanish video on YouTube in which the young vibrant instructor teaches "quiero..." to order food, saying never use "me gustaría...". And then there's "quisiera".

I have searched Q&A and understand their meanings are similar but have subtle differences. What I'm seeking is the most common or best way to order food or drink in a restaurant without sounding rude or offensive or giving myself away as a gringo trying to learn Spanish

Check this out -.http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/200319/ordering-at-the-elegant-restaurant-an-interactive-excercise#q200319 - ray76, Mar 15, 2016

I have reposted it for you it is now on page 1. - ray76, Mar 15, 2016

Excelente! Muchas gracias! It answers my questions. - AuntieJenny, Mar 15, 2016

Answer 1

Mmmm

Me gustaría( is very rare to hear that in fact) ---> I'd like ....

Quisiera (polite) ---> I'd like ...

Quiero(less polite) ----> I want ...

But if you are not going to a super fancy restaurant there's no need to say "Quisiera", you can just say the name of the dish and a "por favor" and they'll get it.

Ejemplos:

Un bisteck, por favor

Para mí, un bisteck (por favor)

Yo quiero un bisteck (this is what I say when I'm eating with someone else and I'm telling them that I want to eat that)

Always good to hear a native speakers advice. Thank you. - Jubilado, Mar 15, 2016

Thank you. This also helps clear things up. - AuntieJenny, Mar 15, 2016

Answer 2

There is no "quisiero." The word is quisiera and it is the first or third person singular, imperfect subjunctive of querer which is used colloquially to express "I would like."

In real life until you can comfortably have a conversation in Spanish with a stranger, I would advise you to use quisiera with tomar. It is respectful and never out of line. Don't be ashamed of being a gringa learning Spanish. It's a lot worse being a gringo(a) expecting "them" to speak English.

Thank you for correcting me; I said "quisiera" in the subject but goofed in the body of the message, and I have corrected it. - AuntieJenny, Mar 15, 2016

Why do you advise using "quisiera" with "tomar" at my level? - AuntieJenny, Mar 15, 2016

I'll edit my response to reflect your edit. Thank you for not misinterpreting my help as being rude - I get that sometimes! - Jubilado, Mar 15, 2016

Because I use it at my level and I don't want to give you advise that I don't know about. Many of us are learners but we have a few experts. - Jubilado, Mar 15, 2016

Don't worry about being a gringo trying to speak Spanish(we're kind(not all of course) with people who are trying to learn how to speak our language) but if you were a latino/spanish who doesn't know how to roll the r's haha we can be rude xd. - fernand2017, Mar 15, 2016

Jubilado, I've hung around internet forums long enough to know you were not being rude. I appreciate your intentions and your help. :-) - AuntieJenny, Mar 15, 2016

Gracias, fernand2017. I am a freckle-faced gringa and I can roll my r's! :-) If I were native Spanish speaker, I would feel honored that someone wants to learn my language; that means he/she wants to communicate with me or others like me. - AuntieJenny, Mar 15, 2016

Auntue, they want to learn Englsish to get better jobs, or jobs at all, at least in Spain. It has no personal relevance. - annierats, Mar 15, 2016

I have never heard anative say ' qusiera'. Yet. I'm waiting, very excitedly. - annierats, Mar 15, 2016

I will ask my sister-in-law (originally from from Mexico City) what she would say. - AuntieJenny, Mar 16, 2016

Answer 3

Southern Spain: No verb is used.

Dos cafés con leche. Una cerveza.

Una botella de vino blanco. Media porción de pollo, para compartir. ( Here we share everything, you can order a tapita, to share).' Por favor' is not used in restaurants or bars, except by foreigners, especially English foreigners.

Annie, the message I'm getting from you in this and the "por" post is that politeness in not expected or appreciated in Spain. Perhaps it's not even recognized. - Jubilado, Mar 15, 2016

Jubilado, from my experience of travelling and staying in parts of both northern and southern Spain,politeness may not be expected but it is still appreciated :) - FELIZ77, Mar 15, 2016

Answer 4

Since Memrise is teaching me "me gustaría..." using multiple repetitions of that phrase, it makes me wonder what else it teaches that's not really how most natives speak. I love it for many reasons but I am constantly wondering "Is this really how they speak???" I also use Duolingo (I started with that), and a study book (Easy Spanish Step by Step - excellent) and supplement that with complementary lessons at SpanishDict.com and StudySpanish.com (along with videos/radio/TV to listen) and I practice speaking aloud. The book was recommended by la maestra (a native speaker) of my Meetup group for Spanish students. I'm always refining my core study plan to make the best use of my time. (NOTE: This is not a criticism of Memrise; I love their system, and I realize that many/most on-line/textbook lessons tend to teach formal speech, which is then later refined when natives tell us "we say it like this...".)

Thanks for sharing your experience and methods. I think you ought to upgrade your Spanish level given all the information about yourself in this post. - Jubilado, Mar 15, 2016

That's the problem when learning a language but I shouldn't worry about that, for example when a latino of a country meets someone from another they may feel like they were talking another language. - fernand2017, Mar 15, 2016

If you go to a Spanisb speaking country you will get the slang but until that, you got the basics. You should see FLAMA videos on youtube. They talk about word that means something in one country and is a bad word on another - fernand2017, Mar 15, 2016

Jubilado, I started studying in late January. I study every day but I would not consider myself intermediate. - AuntieJenny, Mar 15, 2016

I also use "memrise" but have learned to use it as a method of memorising vocabulary , but not as a grammar teacher. - ray76, Mar 16, 2016

Answer 5

Here in Baja "me gustaría" is very common. But "quisiera" even more so.