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Quiero reservar una mesa en ese restaurante para mi familia.

Quiero reservar una mesa en ese restaurante para mi familia.
I want to reserve a table at that restaurant for my family.
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Questions & Answers about Quiero reservar una mesa en ese restaurante para mi familia.

Why is it quiero reservar and not something like quiero a reservar or quiero para reservar?

In Spanish, when one verb follows another (like quiero + another verb), the second verb normally goes in the infinitive form without any preposition.

  • Quiero reservar = I want to reserve
  • Pattern: querer + infinitive (no a, no para)

Other common patterns like this:

  • Puedo ayudar (I can help)
  • Necesito hablar (I need to speak)
  • Voy a reservar (here a is part of ir a + infinitive, a different construction)

So quiero reservar is the standard structure; quiero a reservar or quiero para reservar is incorrect here.

Is quiero too direct or rude for making a booking in Spain? Should I use quisiera or me gustaría instead?

In everyday life in Spain:

  • Quiero reservar una mesa… is perfectly normal and not rude, especially if your tone is polite and you add expressions like por favor.
  • However, if you want to sound softer or more formal, you can use:
    • Quisiera reservar una mesa… (more polite, a bit formal)
    • Me gustaría reservar una mesa… (also softer, sounds like “I would like to…”)

All three are used in Spain. Rough guide:

  • Phone call to a restaurant:
    • Quisiera reservar una mesa para esta noche.
    • Me gustaría reservar una mesa para cuatro.
  • Informal situation / quick request:
    • Quiero reservar una mesa para las nueve, por favor.

None are inherently rude; politeness comes more from tone, please (por favor), and adding buenas tardes, etc.

Why is it una mesa and not un mesa or la mesa?

Two separate points: gender and definiteness.

  1. Gender

    • Mesa is a feminine noun in Spanish.
    • Feminine singular nouns take una, la, esta, etc.
    • So:
      • una mesa (a table)
      • la mesa (the table)
    • Un mesa is wrong because un is the masculine form.

  2. Indefinite vs definite

    • Una mesa = a table, any table (not a specific one).
    • La mesa = the table, a specific table you already both know about.
    • When booking at a restaurant, you normally want some table that fits your needs, so una mesa is the natural choice:
      • Quiero reservar una mesa en ese restaurante…
Why is it en ese restaurante and not a ese restaurante or para ese restaurante?

The preposition depends on the idea:

  • en = in / at (location)

    • en ese restaurante = at that restaurant
    • You are making a booking at that venue.

  • a is generally about movement towards something:

    • Voy a ese restaurante = I’m going to that restaurant.

  • para is about purpose or destination/recipient:

    • Este regalo es para mi familia. (The gift is for my family.)

In your sentence, you’re not talking about going somewhere (movement), nor that the restaurant is the recipient of something; you’re saying where the table will be reserved (location). So en ese restaurante is the correct choice.

What’s the nuance of ese restaurante compared with este restaurante and aquel restaurante?

These are the three basic demonstratives:

  • este restaurante = this restaurant (close to the speaker, physically or in context)
  • ese restaurante = that restaurant (a bit further away, or not “mine”)
  • aquel restaurante = that restaurant over there, farther away (often more distant, or less involved in the conversation)

In practice in Spain:

  • ese is very common for a place you both know but that is not right next to you:

    • Quiero reservar una mesa en ese restaurante de la esquina.

  • este restaurante might be used if you’re at or right by the restaurant, or talking about “our” restaurant:

    • (Restaurant owner speaking) En este restaurante damos menú del día.

  • aquel restaurante sounds more distant or descriptive, or can point to something far away:

    • ¿Te acuerdas de aquel restaurante donde cenamos el año pasado?

In your sentence, ese restaurante works well for “that restaurant we both know about (but aren’t necessarily in right now).”

Why is it para mi familia and not por mi familia?

Para and por both mean for in English, but they’re used differently.

Here, para is correct because your family is the intended beneficiary of the reservation:

  • para mi familia = intended for my family (they will use the table)

General rules:

  • Use para for:

    • recipient/beneficiary:
      • Este regalo es para ti. (This gift is for you.)
    • purpose:
      • Trabaja para ganar dinero. (He works to earn money.)

  • Use por for:

    • cause/reason:
      • Lo hice por ti. (I did it because of you / on your behalf.)
    • duration / through / by:
      • Caminamos por el parque. (We walked through the park.)

If you said Quiero reservar una mesa en ese restaurante por mi familia, it would sound like:

  • because of my family (e.g., they made you do it)
    rather than for my family to use it.
Why don’t we need the personal a before mi familia, even though it refers to people?

The personal a is normally used when a person (or pet) is the direct object of the verb:

  • Veo a mi familia. (I see my family.)
  • Llamo a mi madre. (I call my mother.)

In your sentence, mi familia is not a direct object of the verb reservar. It is the object of the preposition para:

  • Verb: reservar
  • Direct object: una mesa
  • Prepositional phrase: para mi familia (for my family)

Because mi familia comes after para, it is part of a prepositional phrase, and the personal a is not used there.

Can I change the order and say Quiero reservar una mesa para mi familia en ese restaurante? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the order, and the meaning stays essentially the same.

Both are correct:

  1. Quiero reservar una mesa en ese restaurante para mi familia.
  2. Quiero reservar una mesa para mi familia en ese restaurante.

Differences are very subtle:

  • Spanish word order is flexible. Both versions are natural.
  • Sometimes speakers put para mi familia earlier or later depending on what they want to highlight or what feels more natural in context.

In everyday conversation, you’ll hear both orders. For a learner, you can treat them as interchangeable here.

Is mi familia treated as singular or plural in Spanish? Do I need to think of it as “they” or “it”?

Grammatically, familia is singular in Spanish.

  • Mi familia es grande. (My family is big.) – verb in singular.
  • Mi familia vive en Madrid. (My family lives in Madrid.) – vive, not viven.

So when you refer back to mi familia, you normally use:

  • Singular verbs: es, vive, está…
  • Singular adjectives: mi, nuestra, orgullosa, etc.

However, logically familia refers to more than one person, so in meaning it is plural (like “family” in English). But grammatically you treat it as singular in Spanish.

Is there another common way to say this in Spain, like using hacer una reserva instead of reservar una mesa?

Yes, there are a few very common alternatives in Spain. For example:

  • Quiero hacer una reserva en ese restaurante para mi familia.
    = I want to make a reservation…

  • Quisiera hacer una reserva para mi familia en ese restaurante.
    (more polite)

Differences:

  • reservar una mesa focuses on the table.
  • hacer una reserva focuses on the act of making a reservation.

Both are completely natural in Spain for restaurant bookings. You can use either; they’re near-equivalent in everyday speech.