How to Order Coffee in Spanish (Mexico and Spain)
Order coffee like a local in Spanish: café con leche, cortado, americano, sizes, milk and pan dulce, with full café dialogues for Mexico and Spain.
By Ayoub Farid · · 2 min read
Ordering coffee is the perfect first real conversation: short, predictable and useful every single day. Here's how to do it in Mexico and Spain.
Coffee drinks
| Spanish | What it is |
|---|---|
| café solo / expreso | espresso |
| café americano | americano |
| café con leche | coffee with lots of hot milk |
| cortado | espresso with a little milk |
| capuchino | cappuccino |
| café de olla | Mexican spiced coffee with cinnamon and piloncillo |
| café descafeinado / descafe | decaf |
| café helado / frappé | iced coffee |
Sizes and options
- chico / mediano / grande — small / medium / large (Mexico)
- pequeño — small (Spain)
- con leche de almendra / avena / deslactosada — with almond / oat / lactose-free milk
- sin azúcar — without sugar
- con hielo — with ice
- para llevar — to go
- para tomar aquí — for here
Phrases to order
- Quisiera un café con leche, por favor. — I'd like a coffee with milk, please.
- ¿Me da un americano chico? — Can I have a small americano? (Mexico)
- ¿Me pones un cortado? — Can I have a cortado? (Spain)
- Para mí, un capuchino. — For me, a cappuccino.
- ¿Qué me recomienda? — What do you recommend?
Pan dulce in Mexico
Mexican cafés and bakeries have amazing sweet breads. Name them instead of saying "un pan dulce":
- una concha — sweet bun with a shell-patterned sugar top (the classic)
- un cuerno — croissant-style bread
- una oreja — palmier ("ear")
- un polvorón — crumbly cookie
Paying
- ¿Cuánto es? — How much is it?
- ¿Aceptan tarjeta? — Do you take cards?
- Aquí tiene. — Here you go.
See Spanish numbers and prices.
Dialogue: Mexico City
- Barista: ¡Buenos días! ¿Qué le sirvo?
- You: Buenos días. ¿Me da un café con leche, por favor?
- Barista: ¡Claro! ¿Lo quiere grande o chico?
- You: Chico. Y una concha, por favor.
- Barista: Muy bien. ¿Para aquí o para llevar?
- You: Para llevar. ¿Cuánto es?
- Barista: Son cincuenta y cinco pesos.
- You: ¿Aceptan tarjeta?
- Barista: Sí, claro.
Dialogue: Madrid
- Camarero: ¡Hola! ¿Qué te pongo?
- You: Un cortado y un cruasán, por favor.
- Camarero: Vale. ¿Algo más?
- You: No, nada más. ¿Cuánto es?
- Camarero: Tres con cincuenta.
Common mistakes
- Saying "Quiero un café" is fine, but "¿Me da…?" or "Quisiera…" sounds softer. See polite phrases.
- Translating "Can I get…" literally ("¿Puedo conseguir…?") sounds odd.
- Forgetting to greet the barista first.
Practice the café call with Lolo
Lolo's first situation is exactly this: ordering at a café in Mexico City. Lolo plays the barista, you order out loud, ask how much it is and pay. Afterwards you get gentle fixes, like using una concha instead of un pan dulce. See ordering food in Spanish and Mexico City travel Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "coffee with milk" in Spanish?
Café con leche.
What's a cortado?
An espresso with a small amount of milk, very popular in Spain.
What is a concha?
A Mexican sweet bread roll with a crunchy sugar topping shaped like a shell.
