A Spanish menú del día is a restaurant’s set-meal offer: you choose from the dishes listed for that offer and pay its stated price. Check the offer for the number of dishes and any drinks or extras included. Martes13’s daily menu and La Pilla’s offer list their own choices and inclusions.
How the courses work
On a menu divided into primeros and segundos, the primeros are first courses and the segundos are the main courses that follow. A elegir means “to choose”: look for how many dishes you select from each group. Martes13 in Madrid lists three first-course options and three second-course options, with one choice from each group. Those six options produce two savoury courses: one dish from each list. Its offer then gives a choice of dessert or coffee.
La Pilla in Madrid offers a medio menú, or half menu, consisting of one dish chosen from either the first-course or second-course list. If you want one savoury dish, check whether the restaurant offers this option.
Check what the offer includes
Look for the line that says what is included. Pan means bread, bebida means a drink, and postre o café means dessert or coffee. La Pilla lists bread, one drink and dessert or coffee with its menus. If you want both dessert and coffee, ask whether the extra item costs more.
Ous & Caragols in L’Alcora describes three starters shared by the whole table, a main course to choose, coffee or an infusion, and dessert. Other drinks and liqueurs are excluded.
If a drink is included, ask which drinks qualify and how many you can order at that price. If choices carry different prices or a supplement (an extra charge), check the price of your choice before ordering.
Before you order
Check when the menú del día is served, even if the restaurant is open. Madrid’s tourism directory lists Edelweiss’s offer at non-holiday weekday lunch, with separate evening and weekend menus.
- ¿Hay menú del día hoy? (Is there a menú del día today?)
- ¿Qué incluye? (What does it include?)
- ¿Incluye bebida? (Does it include a drink?)
- ¿Hay suplemento? (Is there an extra charge?)
Confirm today’s offer with the staff before ordering.
Help with the words on the menu
A compact Spanish phrasebook with a food and restaurant section can help with unfamiliar menu words and questions about inclusions. Check the edition’s language, Spain coverage and food section before choosing. No individual book has been tested here.
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