El romero combina bien con el pollo, pero el tomillo me gusta más con las patatas.

Because in Spanish, gustar works differently from English to like.

In el tomillo me gusta más con las patatas, the thing being liked is el tomillo, so el tomillo is the grammatical subject.
Me means to me.

So the structure is closer to:

• El tomillo me gusta = Thyme is pleasing to me / I like thyme

That is why Spanish uses gusta here, not gusto.

• gusta = singular, because el tomillo is singular
• gustan would be used with a plural thing: Las patatas me gustan

Me is the indirect object pronoun meaning to me.

In el tomillo me gusta más con las patatas, it tells you who likes the thyme.

• me = to me
• te = to you
• le = to him/her/you formal
• nos = to us

So:

• Me gusta = I like it
• literally: It is pleasing to me

Without me, the sentence would be incomplete or would mean something different.

Spanish often uses the definite article much more than English, especially when talking about things in general, such as foods, herbs, and ingredients.

So:

• el romero = rosemary
• el pollo = chicken
• el tomillo = thyme
• las patatas = potatoes

In English, we often drop the article in this kind of general statement:

• Rosemary goes well with chicken
• Thyme I like better with potatoes

But in Spanish, keeping the article sounds natural.

Also, the article must match the noun:

• el romero: masculine singular
• el pollo: masculine singular
• el tomillo: masculine singular
• las patatas: feminine plural

Because the subject is el romero, which is singular.

• El romero combina bien con el pollo
• subject = el romero
• verb = combina → third person singular

If the subject were plural, then you would use combinan:

• Las hierbas combinan bien con el pollo = Herbs go well with chicken

Combinar con means to go with, to match, or to pair with.

In the context of food, combina bien con means something like:

• goes well with
• pairs well with
• works well with

So:

• El romero combina bien con el pollo = Rosemary goes well with chicken

You can also use combinar con for clothes, colours, furniture, and so on:

• Esta camisa combina con esos pantalones = This shirt goes with those trousers

Because only a + el and de + el contract in standard Spanish:

• a + el = al
• de + el = del

But con + el does not contract.

So:

• con el pollo is correct
• combina bien con el pollo is completely normal

This is mostly about how these foods are commonly spoken about.

• el pollo often refers to chicken as a food in a general or mass-food sense
• las patatas often refers to potatoes as individual items or as a dish in plural

Both are natural here.

Spanish often uses singular for meats in general:

• el pollo
• el cerdo
• el cordero

And plural is very common for things like:

• las patatas
• las verduras
• las aceitunas

You could find other possible wordings in different contexts, but this sentence sounds natural as it is.

Because más is modifying the whole preference: the speaker likes thyme more when it is with potatoes.

So:

• el tomillo me gusta más con las patatas

means that, for the speaker, thyme is preferred more in combination with potatoes.

Spanish word order is often flexible, but this order sounds very natural. It keeps the sentence flowing well:

1. topic: el tomillo
2. reaction: me gusta más
3. context: con las patatas

You may also hear slightly different word orders, but this one is standard and idiomatic.

Yes, you could. It is grammatical, but it changes the emphasis a bit.

• El tomillo me gusta más con las patatas sounds neutral and natural.
• A mí me gusta más el tomillo con las patatas puts more emphasis on to me.

That version might be used if you are contrasting your opinion with someone else’s:

• A Juan le gusta más con el pollo, pero a mí me gusta más el tomillo con las patatas.

So a mí is optional here unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Because this sentence is in Spanish from Spain, where patatas is the usual word.

In many parts of Latin America, people commonly say papas instead.

So both can be correct depending on region:

• Spain: patatas
• much of Latin America: papas

A learner focusing on Spain Spanish should definitely know that patatas is the expected form there.

Sometimes, yes, especially in recipes, lists, labels, or very compressed language. But in a normal full sentence like this one, the article sounds most natural.

So in this sentence:

• El romero combina bien con el pollo
• el tomillo me gusta más con las patatas

the articles are the normal choice.

You might see article-less forms in contexts like:

• Ingredientes: romero, tomillo, ajo
• Añadir tomillo al final

But for general statements, Spanish usually prefers the article.

Not necessarily in a strict grammatical sense, but that is the likely idea from the context.

The sentence says:

• Rosemary goes well with chicken, but thyme I like more with potatoes.

So the comparison is really about the speaker’s preference for how thyme works best. It suggests a contrast between two herb-and-food pairings:

• rosemary + chicken
• thyme + potatoes

The word pero helps create that contrast.

In most of Spain:

• pollo: the ll is usually pronounced like a y sound, roughly PO-yo
• tomillo: roughly to-MI-yo

And:

• romero: ro-ME-ro
• patatas: pa-TA-tas

Pronunciation varies a bit by region, but for most learners of Spain Spanish, thinking of ll here as a y sound is a good starting point.

Yes. A few common alternatives are:

• va bien con = goes well with
• queda bien con = goes well with / works well with
• pega con = goes with, matches with

For food, combina bien con is a very good and natural choice.

Examples:

• El romero va bien con el pollo
• El romero combina bien con el pollo

Both are fine, but combina bien con sounds especially clear and natural when talking about flavour pairings.