Después de cenar, recoge la mesa, por favor.

Literally, it means after dining or after eating dinner.

In natural English, it is often translated simply as after dinner, but the Spanish structure uses the verb cenar = to have dinner / to eat dinner.

So:

• después de cenar = after eating dinner
• very natural English meaning = after dinner

Because in Spanish, after a preposition like de, you normally use the infinitive form of the verb.

So Spanish says:

• después de cenar = after eating dinner
• antes de salir = before leaving
• sin hablar = without speaking

This is different from English, which often uses -ing after words like after, before, or without.

Here, recoge is a command: the tú imperative of recoger.

So:

• recoge = clear / pick up / tidy up (you, informal)

In another context, recoge could also be the present tense:

• Él recoge la mesa = He clears the table

But in your sentence, the comma and por favor make it clear that it is a request or instruction.

Because Spanish usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

So instead of saying:

• Tú recoge la mesa

Spanish normally just says:

• Recoge la mesa

The verb form recoge already shows that the speaker is addressing tú.

In fact, adding tú in a command often sounds more emphatic, and sometimes harsher, unless there is a special reason to include it.

In Spain, recoger la mesa commonly means to clear the table after a meal.

It does not usually mean literally just pick up the table.

It can include things like:

• taking away plates
• removing glasses and cutlery
• tidying what is left on the table

So this is a normal everyday expression in Spanish.

Because recoger la mesa and limpiar la mesa are not exactly the same.

• recoger la mesa = clear the table, tidy away the dishes and things on it
• limpiar la mesa = clean the table surface

So after dinner, if someone says recoge la mesa, they usually mean take everything away and tidy up, not just wipe the table.

It is informal, because recoge is the tú command.

In Spain, the main possibilities are:

• Recoge la mesa, por favor. = informal, speaking to one person
• Recoja la mesa, por favor. = formal, speaking to one person
• Recoged la mesa, por favor. = informal plural in Spain, speaking to more than one person
• Recojan la mesa, por favor. = formal plural

So the original sentence is what you would say to one person you address as tú.

Yes, you could.

Both are natural, but there is a small difference in structure:

• después de cenar = after eating dinner
• después de la cena = after dinner / after the dinner meal

Both work well here.
The version with cenar feels a little more action-based, while la cena uses the noun dinner.

It is very common in Spain, but other regions may prefer different expressions.

For example, in some places you may also hear:

• levantar la mesa
• quitar la mesa

All of these can refer to clearing the table, depending on the country or region.

Since you are learning Spanish from Spain, recoger la mesa is a very good expression to learn.

The commas help separate parts of the sentence:

• Después de cenar, is an introductory time phrase
• por favor is a polite extra element added to the request

So the punctuation makes the sentence easier to read:

• Después de cenar, recoge la mesa, por favor.

You may sometimes see small punctuation differences in everyday writing, especially with por favor, but this version is perfectly natural and clear.

Yes. Por favor is flexible.

You can say:

• Después de cenar, recoge la mesa, por favor.
• Por favor, recoge la mesa después de cenar.
• Recoge la mesa después de cenar, por favor.

They all mean basically the same thing.
Putting por favor at the end is very common and natural.

A simple Spain pronunciation guide would be:

des-PWES de the-NAR, re-KO-he la ME-sa, por fa-BOR

A few key points:

• c before e in cenar is pronounced like the th in think in most of Spain
• g before e in recoge sounds like a strong Spanish h
• the stress falls on:
  • desPUÉS
  • ceNAR
  • reCOge
  • MEsa
  • faVOR

If you are learning Peninsular Spanish, that th sound in cenar is especially important.

Because the stress is on the last syllable: des-pués.

Without the accent mark, Spanish spelling rules would make you stress it differently. The accent shows the correct pronunciation.

So:

• después = stress on pués

This is one of those words that is worth memorizing with its accent, because the accent mark is part of the correct spelling.