How to send food back politely in Spanish
Perdone, es que esto está un poco frío.
“Excuse me, this is a little cold.”
When: The moment you notice something is wrong
The moment
Your main course arrives cold and your friend gets a dish she never ordered. You want both sorted out without making a scene in a packed Madrid restaurant.
A2 · Unit 1 · Eating out
The lines
The 'es que' softener
'Es que' turns a complaint into an explanation: 'Perdone, es que esto está un poco frío.' In a casual bar you can say 'Perdona' and switch to tú.
Perdone, es que esto está un poco frío.
“Excuse me, this is a little cold.”
When to use it: The moment you notice something is wrong
What you’ll hear back: Ay, perdone, ahora mismo se lo cambio. (Sorry, I'll change it right away.)
Wrong dish, no blame
Open with 'creo que' so nobody is accused: 'Creo que esto no es lo que he pedido.' Then say what you actually ordered.
Creo que esto no es lo que he pedido.
“I think this isn't what I ordered.”
When to use it: When the wrong plate lands in front of you
What you’ll hear back: ¿Qué había pedido usted? (What had you ordered?)
Words for this scene
| Spanish | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Me lo puede cambiar? | meh loh PWEH-deh kam-BYAR | Could you swap it for me? |
Pedí la ternera, no el pollo. ¿Me lo puede cambiar? I ordered the beef, not the chicken. Could you swap it for me? Tip: Add 'cuando pueda' and you sound patient instead of pushy. | ||
| está un poco crudo | es-TAH oon POH-koh KROO-doh | it is a bit undercooked |
El pollo está un poco crudo por dentro. The chicken is a bit undercooked inside. Tip: 'Un poco' is the politeness dial; drop it and you sound angry. | ||
| No pasa nada, gracias. | noh PAH-sah NAH-dah GRAH-thyahs | No worries, thanks. |
No pasa nada, gracias, así está perfecto. No worries, thanks, it is perfect like this. Tip: Say it once they fix it; it closes the issue warmly. | ||
Your objective
Tell the server politely that one dish is cold and another isn’t what was ordered, and ask them to fix both.
- the cold dish
- the wrong dish
- asking them to fix it
Lines that get it done
- Perdone, es que esto está un poco frío.
- Creo que esto no es lo que he pedido.
- ¿Me lo puede cambiar? · Could you swap it for me?
In the live scene the objective stays on screen, and the Replay afterwards says whether you got it done.
Check yourself
1. Your soup arrives cold. What is the most natural, polite way to flag it?
- Perdone, es que esto está un poco frío.
- ¡Esto está frío! ¿Por qué, perdone?
- Perdone, es que yo tengo frío con esto.
- Esto no está caliente para mí, perdone.
Show the answer
Perdone, es que esto está un poco frío.
'Perdone, es que...' plus 'un poco' is the standard soft complaint in Spain.
2. The waiter brings chicken but you ordered beef. What do you say first?
- Creo que esto no es lo que he pedido.
- Esto está mal, yo he pedido otra cosa ya.
- No quiero el pollo, quiero la ternera ahora.
- ¿Por qué me trae usted el pollo?
Show the answer
Creo que esto no es lo que he pedido.
'Creo que' flags the mistake without accusing anyone of getting it wrong.
3. The waiter apologises and brings the right dish. How do you close it warmly?
- No pasa nada, gracias.
- Vale, pero la próxima vez no.
- Está bien, no importa nada.
- Bueno, ya era hora, gracias.
Show the answer
No pasa nada, gracias.
'No pasa nada' tells the waiter the problem is over and there are no hard feelings.