Breakfast in Spain
A Spanish desayuno is small: a coffee and something sweet, or una tostada — a slice of toast. The classic is toast with crushed tomato and olive oil; at home many people prefer mantequilla (butter) and mermelada (jam).
| I have a slice of toast with tomato for breakfast. | Desayuno una tostada con tomate. |
| Do you want a slice of toast with butter? | ¿Quieres una tostada con mantequilla? |
| My daughter eats toast with jam. | Mi hija come tostadas con mermelada. |
Coffee: solo, cortado or con leche
Ordering coffee in Spain is really about how much milk you want.
| you ask for | what you get |
|---|---|
| un café solo | a small black coffee (an espresso) |
| un cortado | an espresso with a dash of milk |
| un café con leche | a big cup of coffee with plenty of hot milk |
| A cortado, please. | Un cortado, por favor. |
| Can I have a cortado and a slice of toast? | ¿Me pones un cortado y una tostada? |
El almuerzo: the mid-morning snack
Breakfast is light and lunch (la comida) comes late, at two or three, so many people in Spain stop around eleven for el almuerzo — a coffee, a sandwich or a slice of tortilla. In some regions, and in more formal Spanish, el almuerzo is lunch itself, so read it in context. The afternoon snack is la merienda.
| My mid-morning snack is a sandwich. | Mi almuerzo es un bocadillo. |
| The mid-morning snack is at half past eleven. | El almuerzo es a las once y media. |
Sweet things and drinks
La galleta is a biscuit and el helado is ice cream. El chocolate is eaten, and in Spain also drunk — thick and hot. Anything you drink is una bebida.
| These chocolate biscuits are very good. | Estas galletas de chocolate son muy buenas. |
| Sometimes I have a hot chocolate. | A veces tomo un chocolate caliente. |
| Which drink do you want? | ¿Qué bebida quieres? |
Flavors with de
Where English puts one noun in front of another (orange jam, lemon ice cream), Spanish puts the main thing first and the flavor after de: mermelada de naranja, helado de limón, galletas de chocolate.
| Do you like orange jam? | ¿Te gusta la mermelada de naranja? |
| Do you want a lemon ice cream? | ¿Quieres un helado de limón? |
