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Chapter 3
At the Restaurant & Soda
A 'soda' is a small, family-run Costa Rican restaurant — the heart of local eating. You'll find casado (the national dish: rice, beans, meat, salad), ceviche, and patacones everywhere in Cocles. The Caribbean coast has its own unique food like rice and beans cooked in coconut milk. Don't miss the rondon (seafood stew)!
📚 Vocabulary
la soda/lah SOH-dah/slang
small local restaurant
💡 Not a soft drink! A 'soda' in Costa Rica is a cheap, casual local eatery. Always try the soda before fancy restaurants.
el casado/el kah-SAH-doh/slang
the 'married man' — national dish (rice, beans, meat, salad)
💡 Casado means 'married man' — the joke is it's what a wife cooks for her husband every day. It's the staple daily meal.
el menú / la carta/el meh-NOO / lah KAR-tah/
the menu
el agua/el AH-gwah/
water
el agua con hielo/el AH-gwah kon YEH-loh/
water with ice
el refresco natural/el reh-FRES-koh nah-too-RAL/slang
fresh fruit drink
💡 Fresh fruit blended with water or milk. Always order this over bottled drinks. Try guanábana or cas flavor!
el café/el kah-FEH/
coffee
la cerveza/lah sehr-VEH-sah/
beer
Imperial/eem-peh-ree-AL/slang
the most common CR beer brand
💡 Just say 'una Imperial' and everyone knows.
el arroz con leche de coco/el ah-ROHS kon LEH-cheh deh KOH-koh/
rice with coconut milk (Caribbean specialty)
el ceviche/el seh-VEE-cheh/
ceviche (raw fish in lime juice)
los patacones/lohs pah-tah-KOH-nehs/
fried plantain slabs
el rondon/el ron-DON/slang
Caribbean seafood stew (local specialty)
💡 Rondon (or 'run down') is the signature dish of the Caribbean coast — coconut milk stew with fish, yuca, plantain. Order it if you see it.
rico/REE-koh/slang
delicious / rich
💡 Say '¡Qué rico!' when something tastes good. Locals love hearing this.
la cuenta/lah KWEHN-tah/
the bill / check
el servicio/el sehr-VEE-syoh/slang
service charge / tip
💡 Costa Rica adds 10% servicio + 13% IVA tax to restaurant bills automatically. You'll see it on the receipt.
sin.../seen/
without...
con.../kon/
with...
picante/pee-KAN-teh/
spicy
vegetariano/a/veh-heh-tah-ree-AH-noh/
vegetarian
📐 Grammar Notes
Ordering: Quiero vs. Me gustaría vs. Quisiera
'Quiero' (I want) is the most common way to order. It sounds direct but is perfectly polite in a restaurant. 'Me gustaría' or 'Quisiera' mean 'I would like' and sound slightly more formal/polite, but Ticos don't expect tourists to use them.
Quiero un casado, por favor.
I want a casado, please. (most common)
Me gustaría una cerveza.
I would like a beer.
Quisiera ver el menú.
I would like to see the menu.
Plurals: Adding -s or -es
Making plurals in Spanish is simple: add -s to words ending in a vowel, and -es to words ending in a consonant. Also, el becomes los and la becomes las.
una cerveza → dos cervezas
one beer → two beers
un refresco → dos refrescos
one drink → two drinks
el patacón → los patacones
the plantain → the plantains
la cuenta → las cuentas
the bill → the bills
🗣️ Key Phrases
¿Tienen mesa para...?
Do you have a table for...?
e.g., 'para dos' = for two
¿Qué recomienda usted?
What do you recommend?
¿Qué tiene el casado hoy?
What comes with today's casado?
Sin cilantro, por favor.
Without cilantro, please.
¿Está incluido el servicio?
Is the service charge included?
¿Me trae la cuenta, por favor?
Can you bring me the check, please?
¿Aceptan tarjeta?
Do you accept cards?
¡Qué rico está todo!
Everything is so delicious!
Estoy lleno/a.
I'm full. (male/female)
💬 Sample Dialogue
S
Server
Buenas, bienvenidos. ¿Qué les sirvo?
Hi, welcome. What can I get you?
Y
You
Buenas. ¿Tienen el menú, por favor?
Hi. Do you have the menu, please?
S
Server
Claro que sí. Hoy tenemos casado con pollo o pescado, ceviche, y rondon.
Of course. Today we have casado with chicken or fish, ceviche, and rondon.
Y
You
¿Qué recomienda usted?
What do you recommend?
S
Server
El rondon está muy rico hoy, mae.
The rondon is really good today, dude.
Y
You
Bueno, quiero un rondon y un refresco natural de guanábana, por favor.
Okay, I want a rondon and a fresh guanábana juice, please.
S
Server
¡Perfecto! ¿Algo más?
Perfect! Anything else?
Y
You
No, gracias. ¿Está incluido el servicio?
No, thank you. Is the service charge included?
S
Server
Sí, el diez por ciento está incluido.
Yes, 10% is included.
Y
You
Perfecto. Gracias.
Perfect. Thank you.
🎯
Ready to practice?
You walk into a local soda in Cocles called 'Soda Marisol'. The owner, Marisol, welcomes you. Order a meal, ask about the food, and handle paying the bill.
Start Conversation Practice →