quiero, quisiera - Ordering in restaurants

[lramalk]

When in bars/restaurants I always say 'quiero' or 'quisiera' when ordering but the Spanish customers never seem to use these words. Am I being too formal (or just too English?). Any advice please?

 

[Chris K]

You can use the conditional "querría." "Quiero" may be too blunt, and "quisiera" seems to be common only in some regions.

 

[lramalk]

Thanks Chris!

 

[PACOALADROQUE]

De acuerdo con Chris K. Por aquí se usan ambas formas "quisiera" y "querría". Quiero suena muy fuerte.

Saludos

 

[albertovidal]

At least, in Argentina, we would say "quisiera" rather than "querría"

 

[fenixpollo]

I rarely hear the conditional form of querer (querría) used in a restaurant context.

I usually hear conditional phrases like me podría traer. If you think "quiero" is too impolite or blunt, then you could say me puede traer...

 

[PACOALADROQUE]

He contestado en sentido general. En una tienda la persona que te atiende, cuando entras, lo normal es que te pregunte ¿qué desea? y la contestación normal es "quería" o "querría" tal cosa.

En un restaurante lo normal es que te pongan la carta y te pregunten ¿qué desea/an tomar mientras decide/en?. Pasado un tiempo el camarero se acercará y preguntará ¿Ha/an decidido ya? Respuesta, sí : Yo voy a tomar/Póngame/ Querría...

Saludos

 

[ZiggyPlayedG]

Agree with fenixpollo. Querer (or any of its forms) by itself sounds way too formal in this context. "Me puede(s) traer/Me podrias traer/Me traes [...] por favor?" is closer to the way we speak in every day conversation.

 

[Leylha]

I agree with fenixpollo too,
I also use:
"¿Me pone una cerveza, por favor?"
or just:
"Una cerveza por favor"

 

[albertovidal]

I agree with fenixpollo. Anyway, you can say "quiero..." or "quisiera..." but I would never say "querría..."

 

[Dale123456]

When I was last in Alicante, I often heard " Deme......".which I always thought was a bit impolite

 

[Dale123456]

Can anybody explain why " quisiera " is used in place of "querría",,,,

It is the imperfect subjunctive, and seems odd to use it for something that I would like in the immediate future

 

[Chris K]

Can anybody explain why " quisiera " is used in place of "querría",,,,

It is the imperfect subjunctive, and seems odd to use it for something that I would like in the immediate future

There are probably complicated historical reasons, but the short answer is that it's just become customary, the same way we have come to use "could" (which is by origin a past tense form) in "could I have a glass of water, please?"

 

[Dale123456]

Thanks Chris K,

That seems to make good sense when you think about it