Describing food and drink preferences in Spanish

• Adjectives are useful for giving more information on your opinion of different types of food and drink.

• Adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

• Use adjectives with opinion phrases to give more information.

• This guide contains a video comprehension and reading practice.

Useful vocabulary to use when talking about meals includes:

Useful nouns for food and drink include:

For example:

Para el desayuno tomo huevos y pan y bebo café. – For breakfast I have eggs and bread and I drink coffee.

Mi bebida favorita es la limonada pero sé que el agua es más sana. – My favourite drink is lemonade but I know that water is healthier.

Para la cena normalmente tomo el pescado o la carne con verduras. – For the evening meal I normally have fish or meat with vegetables.

En España se come tradicionalemente las tapas en los bares – el jamón, las patatas bravas y las gambas son populares. – In Spain one traditionally eats tapas in bars – ham, Spanish-style potatoes and prawns are popular.

Use adjectives to describe food or food preferences, such as saying someone is vegetarian.

In Spanish, adjectives usually go after the noun. For example:

La paella es muy rica. - Paella is very tasty.

Las tapas son tradicionales. - Tapas are traditional.

In Spanish, adjectives must agree with the noun. For regular adjectives, change the o to a when using it with a feminine noun, and add s with a plural noun.

For example:

Elena es vegetariana. – Elena is vegetarian.

Las patatas bravas son deliciosas. – Patatas bravas (Spanish-style potatoes) are delicious.

Adjectives that end in e or a consonant do not change if the noun is masculine or feminine.

Add es to the end of the adjective when used with a plural noun.

For example:

La carne es bastante caliente. – The meat is quite hot.

El azúcar es muy dulce. – Sugar is very sweet.

Find out more about making adjectives agree in the Adjectives in Spanish guide.

Watch the video then answer the questions below.

Useful verbs for talking about food and meals include:

For example:

Cuando tengo sed bebo un vaso de agua. - When I’m thirsty I drink a glass of water.

Ayer probé un plato de pollo piquante. Fue muy rico. - Yesterday I tried a dish of spicy chicken. It was very tasty.

Useful adjectives to describe food include:

For example:

Me gusta comer verduras y fruta porque soy vegana. – I like eating fruit and vegetables because I’m vegan.

La ensalada fresca es deliciosa y sana. – Fresh salad is delicious and healthy.

All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Useful simple opinions in Spanish include:

Me gusta - I like

No me gusta - I don’t like

Me encanta - I love

Using these opinion phrases with plural nouns

These three opinion phrases change their ending depending on whether the item you are describing is singular or plural.

Add n to the end of gusta and encanta when talking about a plural noun.

For example:

Me gustan las patatas fritas. – I like chips.

Me encantan los pasteles. – I love cakes.

Other opinion phrases include:

For example:

Odio las verduras. - I hate vegetables.

Prefiero la comida española. - I prefer Spanish food.

Carlos prefiere el pescado. - Carlos prefers the fish.

Preferimos la comida vegana. - We prefer vegan food.

You can also use the verb preferer followed by comer (to eat) or beber (to drink) in the infinitive.

For example:

Prefiero comer el arroz. - I prefer eating rice.

María prefiere beber el agua. - Maria prefers drinking water.

Adding an adjective to an opinion phrase

Favorito/a (favourite) is an adjective that can be used to describe your favourite food and drink.

Remember that it needs to agree with the word it describes.

For example:

Mi comida favorita es las hamburguesas con patatas fritas. - My favourite food is burgers with chips.

Mi bebida favorita es el café porque es caliente y rico. - My favourite drink is coffee because it’s warm and tasty.

More complex opinion phrases include:

For example:

Me parece que la fruta y las verduras son sanas. – It seems to me that fruit and vegetables are healthy.

Complete the following sentences in Spanish.

Read the two restaurant reviews and answer the questions below.

Review 1

Un restaurante agradable, el camarero fue muy bueno y la comida es riquísima.

Tomé el pescado, que recomendó el camarero y estaba fresco y delicioso.

Calidad y precio muy buenos en mi opinión. Sin duda volveré.

Review 2

Los camareros son simpáticos pero muy lentos y tardaron en traer las bebidas.

En general la comida no estaba mala pero la verdad es que el restaurante se tiene que modernizar.

Las mesas y las sillas no son muy buenas.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when talking about eating out.

For example:

Ayer probé un plato de pollo picante. Estaba muy rico. – Yesterday I tried a dish of spicy chicken. It was very tasty.

All vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Useful opinion phrases include:

Vale la pena de – It’s worth it (to)

Por un lado, por otro lado – On one hand, on the other hand

For example:

Vale la pena probar la paella. – It’s worth trying the paella.

Por un lado el carne es muy rica pero por otro lado cuesta demasiado en mi opinión. – On one hand the meat is very tasty but on the other hand it costs too much in my opinion.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful Higher Tier vocabulary to use when talking about eating out.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about eating out, why not have a look at the Describing accomodation in Spanish guide?