Restaurant phrases

How to order food in Portuguese: 33 restaurant phrases

To order food in Portuguese, say "Queria…, por favor" (I'd like…, please), call the waiter with "Se faz favor!" and ask for "A conta, por favor" (the bill, please) at the end. Below are 33 phrases for every stage of a meal in Portugal, with Brazilian words where they differ, plus the customs worth knowing, from the couvert on your table to the tax-number question at the till.

Updated 8 October 2026

About the script

Portuguese uses the Latin alphabet with accents. Ã and õ are nasal, ç sounds like "s", lh like the "lli" in "million" and nh like the "ny" in "canyon". European Portuguese swallows many unstressed vowels, so it sounds quite different from Brazilian Portuguese, although most written words are the same. These phrases follow Portugal's usage and the polite form used with waiters. Where a word changes with the speaker's gender, both forms are shown: obrigado (said by a man) / obrigada (said by a woman).

Arriving

Phrase	Meaning	Note
Boa noite!	Good evening!	Bom dia in the morning, boa tarde in the afternoon.
Uma mesa para dois, por favor.	A table for two, please.
Temos uma reserva para as oito.	We have a reservation for eight o'clock.
Podemos ficar na esplanada?	Can we sit on the terrace?	Esplanada is Portugal's word for an outdoor café or restaurant terrace.
Tem a ementa em inglês?	Do you have the menu in English?	In Brazil the menu is the cardápio. In Portugal you'll also see menu and carta.

Ordering

Phrase	Meaning	Note
A ementa, por favor.	The menu, please.
O que recomenda?	What do you recommend?
Qual é o prato do dia?	What's the dish of the day?
O que é isto?	What is this?
Queria isto, por favor.	I'd like this, please.	Queria (I would like) is the usual polite way to order in Portugal.
Há meia dose?	Is there a half portion?	Many menus list a dose (full portion) and a meia dose (half portion).
Não queremos o couvert, obrigado / obrigada.	We don't want the couvert, thank you.	The bread, olives and spreads brought before you order are charged only if you eat them.
Uma garrafa de água sem gás / com gás, por favor.	A bottle of still / sparkling water, please.	You may be asked fresca ou natural? (chilled or room temperature?).
Um copo de vinho tinto da casa, por favor.	A glass of the house red wine, please.
Um fino, por favor.	A small draught beer, please.	In Porto and the north. In Lisbon and the south, ask for uma imperial.
Um café, por favor.	A coffee, please.	An espresso. In Lisbon you'll also hear uma bica; a galão is milky coffee in a glass.

Dietary needs & allergies

Phrase	Meaning	Note
Sou vegetariano / vegetariana.	I'm vegetarian.
Não como carne nem peixe.	I don't eat meat or fish.
Sou alérgico / alérgica a amendoins.	I'm allergic to peanuts.
Sou alérgico / alérgica a frutos de casca rija.	I'm allergic to tree nuts.	Frutos de casca rija is the term on allergen lists. In everyday speech people say frutos secos, which can also cover peanuts and dried fruit, so naming the nuts helps: nozes, amêndoas, avelãs, cajus.
Sou alérgico / alérgica a marisco.	I'm allergic to shellfish.	In Brazil: frutos do mar.
Sou celíaco / celíaca, não posso comer glúten.	I'm coeliac: I can't eat gluten.
Tem leite?	Does it have milk in it?
Tem carne de porco?	Is there pork in it?	Worth asking: pork turns up in unexpected places, even with clams in carne de porco à alentejana.
Sem cebola, por favor.	Without onion, please.

During the meal

Phrase	Meaning	Note
Se faz favor!	Excuse me!	The usual way to call a waiter in Portugal. In Brazil: Por favor!
Obrigado! / Obrigada!	Thank you!	Men say obrigado, women say obrigada.
Estava delicioso!	It was delicious!

Paying

Phrase	Meaning	Note
A conta, por favor.	The bill, please.
Posso pagar com cartão?	Can I pay by card?
Podemos pagar em separado?	Can we pay separately?
Sem contribuinte, obrigado / obrigada.	No tax number, thank you.	The answer when you're asked "Contribuinte?", i.e. whether to put a tax number on the receipt.
Fique com o troco.	Keep the change.

Etiquette

Bread, olives, butter, cheese or pâté may arrive before you order. This couvert is charged only if you eat it, so send it back if you don't want it.
Call the waiter with "Se faz favor!" and eye contact.
Lunch usually runs from about 12:30 to 15:00 and dinner starts around 19:30; many restaurants close in between.
Portions are often generous. A meia dose (half portion) is enough for many people, and sharing a dose between two is common.
Tipping isn't obligatory. Rounding up or leaving a few euros for good service is appreciated.
When you pay you'll often be asked "Contribuinte?", whether you want your tax number on the receipt. Visitors can simply say no.
Coffee means an espresso unless you say otherwise: um café, or uma bica in Lisbon. For milky coffee in a glass, order um galão.
In a pastelaria (pastry shop) you usually order and pay at the counter.

Let your phone say the order

If you'd rather not attempt the dish names yourself, scan the menu with MenuGuide, add the dishes you want to your order and tap Speak My Order: the app reads your whole order aloud in Portuguese. You can also show the order on screen in Portuguese or share it. It speaks the full order rather than single words, so the phrases above still help with everything else, from the couvert to the bill.

MenuGuide also flags dishes that may contain the allergens you've chosen. Allergen and calorie details are AI estimates based on the menu and typical recipes. They can be incomplete — if you have a serious allergy, always check with the staff.

Before you go, read our guide to Portuguese menus to know what petiscos, pratos do dia and doses will look like on the page.

Frequently asked questions

How do you order food in Portuguese?

In Portugal, say "Queria…" (I would like…) followed by the dish and "por favor", for example "Queria o prato do dia, por favor." Ask "O que recomenda?" if you can't decide, and "Há meia dose?" for a half portion. Finish with "obrigado" if you're a man or "obrigada" if you're a woman.

What is the couvert in a Portuguese restaurant?

The couvert is the bread, butter, olives, cheese or pâté that often arrive at the table before you order. It isn't free, but you're charged only for what you eat. If you don't want it, say "Não queremos o couvert, obrigado" or simply ask the waiter to take it away, and it won't appear on the bill.

How do you ask for the bill in Portuguese?

Say "A conta, por favor" (the bill, please). When you pay you'll often be asked "Contribuinte?", meaning whether you want your Portuguese tax number on the receipt; as a visitor, you can answer "Não, obrigado" or "Sem contribuinte". Card payment is widely accepted, though some small tascas prefer cash.

How do you say I'm allergic in Portuguese?

A man says "Sou alérgico" and a woman "Sou alérgica", followed by the allergen: a amendoins (peanuts), a frutos de casca rija (tree nuts), a marisco (shellfish) or ao leite (milk). For coeliac disease, say "Sou celíaco" or "Sou celíaca". Restaurants in Portugal must be able to tell you the allergens in each dish.

Are menus in Portugal different from menus in Brazil?

The language is the same, but several food words differ. A menu is an ementa in Portugal and a cardápio in Brazil; juice is sumo in Portugal and suco in Brazil; breakfast is pequeno-almoço versus café da manhã; and a draught beer is a fino or imperial in Portugal but a chope in Brazil.