El pulpo con un poco de nata me sorprendió; pensaba que no iba a gustarme.

In Spanish, it is very common to use the definite article with food when you are talking about a specific dish or item you ate.

So el pulpo here means something like:

• the octopus
• the octopus dish
• the octopus I had

In English, we often leave the article out in this kind of context: Octopus surprised me sounds possible in a menu/food-review style. Spanish usually prefers el pulpo.

Compare:

• Comí pulpo = I ate octopus.
• El pulpo estaba buenísimo = The octopus was delicious.

In the sentence, el pulpo con un poco de nata refers to a particular preparation of octopus.

It means with a little cream.

Breakdown:

• con = with
• un poco de = a little bit of / a little
• nata = cream

In Spain, nata usually means cream in the dairy/cooking sense. Depending on context, it can refer to:

• liquid cream for cooking
• cream used in sauces
• sometimes whipped cream if the context makes that clear, often nata montada

Here, because it is with octopus, nata is naturally understood as cooking cream or a creamy element in the dish, not dessert-style whipped cream.

Because un poco de is the normal expression for a little (of) before a noun.

So:

• un poco de nata = a little cream
• un poco de vino = a little wine
• un poco de azúcar = a little sugar

Poco/poca can sometimes be used directly as an adjective:

• Tengo poca paciencia = I have little patience.
• Queda poca nata = There is little cream left.

But when you want the idea of a little bit of, Spanish usually uses un poco de.

Me sorprendió means it surprised me.

Breakdown:

• me = me
• sorprendió = surprised

The subject is el pulpo con un poco de nata, so literally:

• El pulpo con un poco de nata me sorprendió
• The octopus with a little cream surprised me

Spanish often uses object pronouns like me, te, lo, la, nos before the verb. Here me is the person affected by the surprise.

This is a very common contrast in Spanish.

• me sorprendió (preterite) = a completed event: it surprised me
• pensaba (imperfect) = an ongoing mental state/background thought: I was thinking / I thought

So the sentence sets up:

1. the main event: the dish surprised me
2. the background expectation before that: I thought I wasn’t going to like it

This is a classic use of:

• preterite for the event that happened
• imperfect for the ongoing idea, expectation, or state in the background

If you used pensé, it would feel more like a single completed thought at a specific moment. Pensaba sounds more natural here because it describes your prior expectation.

Because pensaba que here introduces something the speaker believed or expected, so Spanish uses the indicative:

• pensaba que no iba a gustarme

That is normal after pensar que in affirmative statements.

Compare:

• Pensaba que iba a llover. = I thought it was going to rain.
• Creía que tenías razón. = I thought you were right.

The subjunctive would be more likely in sentences like:

• No pensaba que me fuera a gustar.

That version is also possible, because the negative main clause can trigger more uncertainty. But in your sentence, pensaba que no iba a gustarme is a very standard, natural way to express the idea.

Iba a gustarme means was going to please me / was going to be something I liked, which in natural English becomes I was going to like it.

Breakdown:

• iba a = was going to
• gustar = to please / to be pleasing
• me = to me

With a verb + infinitive construction like ir a + infinitive, object pronouns can often go in two places:

• before the conjugated verb: no me iba a gustar
• attached to the infinitive: no iba a gustarme

Both are correct.

So these mean the same thing:

• Pensaba que no me iba a gustar.
• Pensaba que no iba a gustarme.

The version in your sentence simply attaches me to gustar.

Because gustar works differently from English like.

In English:

• I like it

In Spanish, the structure is closer to:

• It pleases me
• Me gusta

So in your sentence:

• no iba a gustarme

literally means:

• it was not going to be pleasing to me

That is why me appears, even though in English me is not part of I was not going to like it.

This pattern is very important in Spanish:

• Me gusta el café. = I like coffee.
• No me gustó la película. = I didn’t like the film.
• Pensaba que no iba a gustarme. = I thought I wasn’t going to like it.

The understood subject is el pulpo con un poco de nata.

So the full idea is:

• Pensaba que el pulpo con un poco de nata no iba a gustarme.

Spanish often leaves out repeated subjects when they are clear from context. Since el pulpo con un poco de nata was just mentioned, it does not need to be repeated.

This kind of omission is very common and natural in Spanish.

Yes, absolutely. That is equally correct and very natural.

You have two standard options with pronouns in this structure:

• no me iba a gustar
• no iba a gustarme

Both mean the same thing.

Very roughly:

• no me iba a gustar may sound a bit more neutral or conversational
• no iba a gustarme may feel slightly more compact or stylistic

But in everyday Spanish, both are normal.

The semicolon links two closely related ideas:

• El pulpo con un poco de nata me sorprendió
• pensaba que no iba a gustarme

The second part explains the first: it surprised the speaker because they expected not to like it.

A semicolon is stronger than a comma but weaker than a full stop. It is a punctuation choice that helps show a close connection.

You could also see:

• El pulpo con un poco de nata me sorprendió, pensaba que no iba a gustarme.
• El pulpo con un poco de nata me sorprendió. Pensaba que no iba a gustarme.

The semicolon is just a neat, clear written way to connect the two clauses.

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible.

These are both correct:

• El pulpo con un poco de nata me sorprendió
• Me sorprendió el pulpo con un poco de nata

The difference is mainly emphasis.

• El pulpo con un poco de nata me sorprendió starts by naming the dish.
• Me sorprendió el pulpo con un poco de nata starts with the reaction: It surprised me...

Spanish often moves elements around for focus, rhythm, or style, while English is usually more fixed.

Nata is very common in Spain Spanish for cream.

In other Spanish-speaking regions, you may more often hear:

• crema
• crema de leche
• nata, depending on the country

So for a learner focusing on Spanish from Spain, nata is a very useful and natural word to know.

For example in Spain:

• fresas con nata = strawberries and cream
• nata para cocinar = cooking cream
• nata montada = whipped cream

Because it is part of the structure ir a + infinitive:

• iba a gustarme = was going to please me / I was going to like it

The verb that gets conjugated is ir:

• iba = I/he/she was going

Then the main action stays in the infinitive:

• gustar

This is exactly like:

• voy a comer = I am going to eat
• iba a salir = I was going to go out
• no iba a gustarme = I wasn’t going to like it

So gustar is not conjugated here because iba a already carries the tense information.