At the bar in Spanish: ordering drinks, rounds, snacks and the tab in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina
Ordering one beer is easy. You find the bar harder at the second one, when someone buys a round, the barman asks a question you did not expect, and a plate of something arrives that you did not order. Below are the drinks and their regional names, the snacks that come with them, the money, the toasts and the ways to turn down another drink, with the version for Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina.
Beer
One drink, four words, and inside each country a second word for the size.
| You want | Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A beer (the plain word) | una cerveza | una cerveza | una cerveza | una cerveza |
| A beer (what people say) | una chela, una cheve | una caña (small draught) | una pola | una birra |
| Draught | de barril, un tarro (mug) | una caña, un doble (bigger glass) | de barril | un chop or un chopp |
| Bottle | una botella, una lata (can) | un tercio (the standard small bottle), un botellín (smaller still) | una botella | un porrón (small bottle), un litro (the big one) |
| Big shared bottle | una caguama, un litro | una litrona | not usual | un litro |
| Light, dark | clara, oscura | rubia, negra or tostada | clara, oscura | rubia, negra |
| Beer with lemon soda | not usual | una clara, una caña con limón | not usual | not usual |
| Beer with lime and salt | una chelada; with sauces and spices, una michelada | not usual | una michelada is on some menus | not usual |
A caña is a size, not a brand. In Spain, una caña is a small glass of draught beer, roughly a third of a pint, and it is the default order. Ask for una cerveza and you will often be asked back: ¿Caña o botellín? Note that clara means a light beer in Mexico and Colombia and a shandy in Spain.
Chop in Argentina is the draught glass. Written chop or chopp. Un chop de rubia is a glass of lager.
Pola is Colombian and affectionate. ¿Nos tomamos unas polas? is the invitation to go for a few beers. It is informal, and you can use it everywhere in the country.
Caguama is the big shared bottle in Mexico, poured into small glasses and passed round the table.
Wine, spirits and everything else
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A glass of red wine | una copa de vino tinto | In Spain un tinto on its own means red wine. In Colombia un tinto is a black coffee, so say un vino tinto there |
| White, rosé | un blanco, un rosado | |
| A bottle of wine | una botella de vino | |
| House wine | el vino de la casa | |
| Red wine with lemon soda | un tinto de verano | Spain, in summer, and the everyday alternative to sangría |
| Vermouth | un vermú (Spain), un vermut (Argentina) | The Spanish Sunday aperitif, and common again in Buenos Aires |
| Rum and coke | una cuba (Mexico), un cubata (Spain), un ron con Coca-Cola (Colombia) | Cuba libre is the full name |
| Fernet and coke | un fernet con coca | Argentina’s own drink, especially Córdoba |
| Gin and tonic | un gin-tonic | Spain serves it in a balloon glass with ceremony |
| Tequila, mezcal | un tequila, un mezcal, un caballito (the shot glass) | con sangrita is the sweet-spicy chaser in Mexico, not a mixer |
| Aguardiente | un aguardiente, un guaro, una media (the half bottle) | Colombia’s aniseed spirit, drunk in shots at a table |
| A shot | un chupito (Spain), un caballito or un shot (Mexico), un shot or un trago (Colombia), un shot (Argentina) | |
| A spirit, generally | un trago (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina), una copa (Spain) | Vamos por unos tragos, let’s go for drinks |
| Neat, on the rocks | solo, con hielo, en las rocas (Mexico) | |
| Soft drink | un refresco (Mexico, Spain), una gaseosa (Colombia, Argentina) | |
| Sparkling water | agua mineral (Mexico), agua con gas (Spain, Colombia, Argentina) | |
| Still water | agua natural (Mexico), agua sin gas (Spain, Colombia, Argentina) | |
| Tap water | agua del grifo (Spain), agua de la llave (Mexico, Colombia), agua de la canilla (Argentina) | Free and normal in Spain and Buenos Aires. Do not drink it from the tap in Mexico City |
| No alcohol | sin alcohol | una cerveza sin is the Spanish shorthand for an alcohol-free beer |
| Ice, no ice | con hielo, sin hielo | |
| A straw | un popote (Mexico), una pajita (Spain), un pitillo (Colombia), un sorbete (Argentina) |
What comes with the drink
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The word | la botana | la tapa, el pincho (Basque Country, Navarre), la ración (a full plate) | el pasabocas, la picada (a shared platter) | la picada (cured meats, cheese, olives) |
| Free with the drink? | In a cantina, often yes, and it keeps coming | In Granada, Jaén, Almería and León, yes. In Madrid and Barcelona, usually a small bowl of olives or crisps and the rest costs money | Peanuts or crisps, sometimes | Bread, olives or nuts, sometimes |
| How to ask | ¿Tienen botana? | ¿La caña lleva tapa? | ¿Hay pasabocas? | ¿Nos traés una picada para dos? |
Free tapas are regional. Granada is famous for them and a drink there arrives with real food. In Madrid you can drink all evening on olives. Asking whether the drink comes with a tapa is normal and not rude.
Cantinas in Mexico run on botanas. Order rounds and small plates arrive unbidden, one after another. In some places the food is included in the price of the drinks.
Picada in Argentina is ordered by the number of people. For una picada para tres you get a board of salami, cheese, olives and bread. Colombia’s picada is different: a platter of fried meats, potato and plantain, meant for the table.
Rounds, and who pays
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| This round’s on me | Esta ronda la pago yo. | Everywhere |
| My treat | Yo invito. / Te invito. | The standard offer. Invitar means to pay, not to invite |
| It’s on the house | Es cortesía de la casa. / Invita la casa. | What you hear when it is free |
| Let’s split it | Vamos a medias. / Pagamos a escote. (Spain) / Cada uno lo suyo. | |
| Separately, please | Por separado, por favor. | |
| All together | Todo junto. | |
| Another round | Otra ronda. / La misma otra vez. | |
| Same again | Lo mismo, por favor. | |
| One more | Una más. / Otra. | |
| Can we open a tab? | ¿Podemos dejar la cuenta abierta? | Common in Mexico City and Buenos Aires bars, less so in a Spanish neighbourhood bar where they keep it in their head |
Rounds are taken seriously in Spain. Whoever gets the round buys for everyone, and refusing to take your turn is worse than being slow to it. Nobody counts exactly, and over an evening it comes out even.
In Mexico and Colombia, the person who invited often pays for everything. When someone says yo te invito at the start of the night, they mean it. Offering to split can be waved away twice before it is accepted, so offer twice.
In Argentina the bill is usually split by the table. Lo dividimos is the normal end of the evening, and the arithmetic is done out loud.
Asking for the tab
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The bill, please | ¿Me da la cuenta, por favor? | ¿Me cobras? or La cuenta, por favor. | ¿Me regala la cuenta? | ¿Me traés la cuenta? |
| What do I owe you? | ¿Cuánto le debo? | ¿Qué te debo? | ¿Cuánto le debo? | ¿Cuánto te debo? |
| Can I pay by card? | ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? | ¿Se puede con tarjeta? | ¿Recibe tarjeta? | ¿Aceptan tarjeta? |
| Cash | en efectivo | en efectivo | en efectivo | en efectivo |
| Tip | la propina | la propina | la propina | la propina |
Tipping at a bar: in Spain, coins on the counter or nothing at all, and nobody minds. In Mexico, ten percent at a table, and you choose it on the card machine. In Colombia the waiter will ask ¿Le incluyo el servicio?, shall I include the service, and ten percent is normal. In Argentina, ten percent left in cash.
In Spain you pay at the end and the barman remembers what you had. If you walk up to pay after every drink, people know you are not local. The verb is cobrar, to charge: ¿Me cobras, por favor? is the most natural sentence in a Spanish bar.
What the bartender says
| What you hear | What it means |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué te pongo? / ¿Qué va a ser? | What can I get you? (Spain) |
| ¿Qué le sirvo? / ¿Qué va a tomar? | What can I get you? (Mexico, Colombia) |
| ¿Qué te sirvo? / ¿Qué van a tomar? | What can I get you? (Argentina) |
| ¿Caña o botellín? | Draught or bottle? (Spain) |
| ¿En vaso o en botella? | Glass or bottle? |
| ¿Con hielo? | With ice? |
| ¿Otra? / ¿Repetimos? | Another one? |
| ¿Les traigo algo de comer? | Something to eat? |
| ¿Van a querer algo más? | Anything else? |
| ¿Todo junto o por separado? | One bill or separate? |
| Ya vamos cerrando. | We’re closing up |
| Es la última. | This is the last one |
| Aquí tienes. / Ahí va. | Here you go |
Closing time, and the shape of the night
Spaniards start late and finish later. Dinner at ten, bars until two or three, clubs after that. Nobody calls last orders. The staff start stacking chairs and say vamos cerrando.
Argentines start latest of all. La previa is drinks at someone’s flat before going out, and going out means one in the morning. Dinner at ten is early there.
Mexico City bars generally close around two or three, earlier in some states and some neighbourhoods, and cantinas have their own hours. On election days there is la ley seca, a dry law, in most states, and bars and shops stop selling alcohol. Colombia has the same rule on election days, and city governments sometimes declare it for other reasons.
Bogotá’s nightlife is called la rumba, and rumbear is the verb for going out. People in Medellín and Cali use the same words.
Saying no to another drink
The polite refusals, in order of how firm they are.
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I’m fine for now | Así estoy bien, gracias. | Softest |
| Not for me, thanks | Yo paso, gracias. | |
| This is my last one | Esta es la última. | |
| I’ve had enough | Ya no, gracias. Ya tomé bastante. | |
| I’m driving | Estoy conduciendo. (Spain) / Estoy manejando. (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina) | Ends the conversation everywhere |
| I have work tomorrow | Mañana trabajo temprano. | |
| I don’t drink | No tomo. / No bebo alcohol. | Tomar is the everyday verb for drinking alcohol in Latin America |
| Just a water for me | Para mí solo agua. |
Nobody in any of the four countries takes offence at a refusal, though in Mexico and Colombia you may be offered again out of hospitality. Repeat the same phrase with a smile and it stops.
Toasts
Salud is the toast everywhere, glasses raised, eye contact. Chin chin is the clink, used in Spain and Argentina. Mexico has the table chant arriba, abajo, al centro, adentro, glass up, down, in and drunk. In Colombia the aguardiente bottle stays on the table and every glass is filled again for each toast.
Por ti, to you, and por nosotros, to us, are the short personal versions. At a birthday, por el cumpleañero.
Ten sentences you can say tomorrow
- Una caña y una tapa de tortilla, por favor. A small beer and a portion of tortilla, please. (Spain)
- ¿Nos trae dos chelas y una botana? Two beers and some snacks, please. (Mexico)
- ¿Nos tomamos unas polas? Shall we go for a few beers? (Colombia)
- Un fernet con coca y una picada para dos. A fernet and coke and a platter of cured meats for two. (Argentina)
- Lo mismo otra vez, por favor. Same again, please.
- Esta ronda la pago yo. This round’s on me.
- ¿Me cobras, por favor? Can I pay, please? (Spain)
- Una cerveza sin alcohol y un agua con gas. An alcohol-free beer and a sparkling water.
- Así estoy bien, gracias. Estoy manejando. I’m fine, thanks. I’m driving.
- ¡Salud! Por nosotros. Cheers! To us.
Questions people ask
What do I call a beer if I forget the local word? Una cerveza. It is correct in all four countries and nobody will think twice. The local words are what you will hear, and copying them back is the fastest way to sound at home.
Is “caña” used outside Spain? No. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina it is not the word for a glass of beer. Use chela, pola and birra, or just cerveza.
Are tapas free in Spain? In Granada, Jaén, Almería and León, yes, a real plate of food with every drink. In Madrid, Barcelona and most of the north, no, beyond olives or crisps. Ask ¿la caña lleva tapa? and you will find out in a second.
What is a michelada? A Mexican beer served over ice with lime, salt and usually a mix of sauces. A chelada is the simple version, beer with lime and salt. Both are ordered by name and both are served in a big glass with a salted rim.
How do I order a drink for someone else? Ponle una cerveza a él, por favor, or with a gesture, y para ella un vino blanco. To pay for it, yo invito.
How do I say “I’ll have what she’s having”? Lo mismo que ella, por favor.
What does “un trago” mean? A drink of spirits in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, and also a sip. Vamos por un trago means let’s go for a drink. In Spain say vamos a tomar algo.
Is drinking on the street legal? In Spain, no. El botellón, drinking outdoors in a group, is fined in most cities. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina it is also prohibited in public spaces in most cities, and enforced unevenly. Drink on a terrace instead.
Practise these words
cerveza, copa, vino, hielo, ronda, invitar, cuenta, propina, tomar, brindar, salud, botella, cobrar. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.