How can I order food in Spanish, without the waiter switching to English?

Question

One suggestion I heard for practicing Spanish was to go to a restaurant where Spanish is spoken (there are a few Mexican restaurants in my area where the waiters are bilingual) and order in Spanish. Seems like a good idea to me; the vocabulary is simple and the conversations are short, plus I can plan ahead of time what to say.

However, I find that time and again whenever I try to order in Spanish, the waiter switches to English. I know that they speak Spanish; I hear them speaking Spanish to colleagues and other patrons. But they insist on speaking English with me.

In one case, I started speaking in Spanish, the waiter switched to English, then he moved on to my Hispanic colleague where he, without hesitation, conducted the order in Spanish, much to my frustration.

My Spanish isn't perfect, but I've had no problem being understood in basic conversations (my American accent doesn't seem to be too much of a barrier either). I am of German descent and look the part, so I'm afraid that my appearance may be influencing this behavior.

Is there any way that I can order food in Spanish, without the waiter switching to English?

Answer 1

Various options that you can think about are:

1. Tell the waiter you are trying to improve/practice Spanish.

   • You can say "Me gustaría mejorar mi español, ¿podría hablar en español, por favor?"
   • If it is too redundant, you can simply say "¿Podría hablar(me) en español, por favor?"

2. Keep talking Spanish until the waiter realizes you want to use Spanish.

3. Tell him you don't speak English.

   • Yeah, I've read the comments, but maybe you can say you are German, it is an option too.

I read that you prepared what you are going to say, which is pretty great. With the first option, if you are polite, he can keep talking in Spanish. With the second, he may ask you again if you want to use English, if you don't know some Spanish words. With the third, you better simulate a German accent.

Answer 2

Just keep talking in Spanish. If the waiter is smart enough he/she will use the language that you are using.

For me it is exactly the same when I want to practice my English and people switch to Spanish; if I am confident enough, I also say that I prefer to speak in English.