Mi amiga decía que solo iba a mirar el menú, pero acabó pidiendo croquetas y una copa de vino.

Decía is the imperfect tense of decir, while dijo is the preterite.

Here, decía suggests background information or a repeated/ongoing idea in the past: she was saying or used to say that she was only going to look at the menu. It presents her statement as part of the situation, not as one single completed moment.

If you said Mi amiga dijo..., it would sound more like a single, definite event: My friend said...

So in this sentence, decía helps create the contrast between:

• what she was saying / claiming / intending
• and what she actually ended up doing

Iba a mirar is the imperfect of ir a + infinitive, which means was going to look.

So:

• iba = was going
• a mirar = to look

Together: was going to look

This structure is very common in Spanish for expressing:

• an intention
• a plan
• something expected in the near future

In the past, iba a + infinitive often means was going to...

So:

• Solo iba a mirar el menú = She was only going to look at the menu

It is very natural Spanish.

This is a very common contrast in Spanish.

• Imperfect (decía, iba) gives background, intentions, or ongoing past context.
• Preterite (acabó) gives the completed action that actually happened.

So the sentence works like this:

• decía = what she was saying
• iba a mirar = what she intended to do
• acabó pidiendo = what happened in the end

This contrast is one of the most important uses of the imperfect vs. preterite in Spanish.

Acabar + gerundio often means to end up doing something.

So:

• acabó pidiendo = she ended up ordering

It often suggests a result that is ironic, unexpected, or contrary to the original plan.

In this sentence, that is exactly the point:

• she said she was only going to look
• but in the end, she ordered food and wine

A close English translation is:

• but she ended up ordering...

Yes. Acabó por pedir is also correct.

Both are natural:

• acabó pidiendo
• acabó por pedir

They are very similar, and both can mean ended up ordering.

A slight nuance:

• acabó pidiendo feels very common and conversational
• acabó por pedir can sound a bit more formal or more focused on the final outcome after some hesitation or process

In everyday speech, acabó pidiendo is extremely normal.

Because Spanish normally uses que to introduce a subordinate clause after verbs like decir, pensar, creer, etc.

So:

• decía que... = she said that...

In English, that is often omitted:

• She said she was only going to look...

But in Spanish, que is usually kept:

• decía que solo iba a mirar...

Leaving it out would sound wrong here.

Modern standard Spanish usually writes solo without an accent, even when it means only.

So:

• solo = alone / only
• the meaning is understood from context

In this sentence, solo clearly means only:

• solo iba a mirar el menú = she was only going to look at the menu

You may sometimes still see sólo, especially in older texts or from writers who prefer the accent to avoid ambiguity, but current standard spelling generally prefers solo.

Mirar means to look at.

In a restaurant context, mirar el menú is very natural and means something like:

• look at the menu
• have a look at the menu
• check the menu

You could say leer el menú, but that focuses more specifically on reading it.

You could also say ver el menú in some contexts, but mirar el menú is especially natural when someone is browsing or checking it before deciding.

So mirar fits the idea very well.

Yes, menú is masculine:

• el menú
• los menús

That is simply the gender of the noun in Spanish.

Also, menú has an accent mark because the stress falls on the last syllable: me-NÚ.

So:

• singular: el menú
• plural: los menús

After verbs like pedir, Spanish often omits the article when talking about food items in a general way, especially in the plural.

So:

• pidió croquetas = she ordered croquettes
• not necessarily the croquettes, just some croquettes as a dish

But una copa de vino is a singular countable item, so una is natural:

• a glass of wine

This difference is very common:

• pedir croquetas
• pedir patatas bravas
• pedir una ensalada
• pedir un café
• pedir una copa de vino

So the sentence sounds completely natural.

In Spain, croquetas are a very common food, usually small breaded and fried rolls with a creamy filling inside.

Typical fillings include:

• ham
• chicken
• cod
• mushrooms
• cheese

They are extremely common in Spanish bars and restaurants, often as a tapa, starter, or shared dish.

So for a learner of Spanish from Spain, croquetas is a very culturally familiar food word.

Una copa de vino means a glass of wine.

• copa = glass, usually a stemmed wine glass
• vino = wine

So this is more specific than just vino.

Compare:

• pidió vino = she ordered wine
• pidió una copa de vino = she ordered a glass of wine

The second one tells you the quantity/serving more clearly.

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly.

• Mi amiga = my friend
• Una amiga mía = a friend of mine

Mi amiga sounds more direct and usually refers to a specific friend already known in the conversation.

Una amiga mía is more like introducing one friend among others.

So in this sentence:

• Mi amiga decía... = sounds like we are talking about a particular friend
• Una amiga mía decía... = sounds more like introducing an example or anecdote

Both are correct, but mi amiga fits the sentence very naturally.

Yes. Pero here is simply but.

It introduces the contrast between:

• her stated intention: solo iba a mirar el menú
• what really happened: acabó pidiendo croquetas y una copa de vino

So the structure is very directly:

• ..., but ...

Yes, it sounds very natural in everyday Spanish.

Several things make it sound conversational and authentic:

• decía que...
• iba a + infinitive
• acabó + gerundio
• ordinary restaurant vocabulary like menú, croquetas, copa de vino

A native speaker in Spain could easily say this in normal conversation.