Food, Drink and Mealtimes

Food and drink is a major GCSE Spanish topic tested across all four exam papers. You need to describe your eating habits, order food in a restaurant, discuss healthy eating and understand Spanish food culture. This lesson covers essential vocabulary, key grammar points and cultural knowledge.

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1. Food Vocabulary (La comida)

Fruit and Vegetables (Las frutas y las verduras)

Spanish	English
la manzana	the apple
la naranja	the orange
el plátano	the banana
la fresa	the strawberry
la uva	the grape
el melocotón	the peach
la pera	the pear
el tomate	the tomato
la lechuga	the lettuce
la zanahoria	the carrot
la cebolla	the onion
el ajo	the garlic
las patatas	the potatoes
los guisantes	the peas
las judías verdes	the green beans
el pimiento	the pepper
el champiñón	the mushroom

Meat and Fish (La carne y el pescado)

Spanish	English
el pollo	the chicken
la carne de vaca / la ternera	the beef / veal
el cerdo	the pork
el cordero	the lamb
el jamón	the ham
el jamón serrano	cured ham (Serrano)
las salchichas	the sausages
el chorizo	chorizo sausage
el pescado	the fish
los mariscos	the seafood
las gambas	the prawns
el atún	the tuna

Other Food

Spanish	English
el pan	the bread
el arroz	the rice
la pasta	the pasta
el queso	the cheese
los huevos	the eggs
la tortilla (española)	Spanish omelette
las patatas fritas	chips / crisps
un bocadillo	a sandwich (on a baguette)
una tostada	a slice of toast
los cereales	cereal
la sopa	the soup
la ensalada	the salad
las aceitunas	the olives
el aceite de oliva	the olive oil

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2. Drinks (Las bebidas)

Spanish	English
el agua (f)	the water
la leche	the milk
el zumo de naranja	the orange juice
el café	the coffee
el té	the tea
el chocolate caliente	the hot chocolate
un refresco	a soft drink
una limonada	a lemonade
una coca-cola	a cola

Exam tip: "El agua" is feminine despite using the masculine article "el". This is because it starts with a stressed "a" — the rule exists to avoid the awkward sound of "la agua". The plural is "las aguas". This is a common exam trap.

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3. Mealtimes in Spain (Las comidas)

Spanish Mealtimes

Meal	Spanish	Typical Time	What is eaten
Breakfast	el desayuno	7:00–9:00	Light: coffee, toast, churros
Mid-morning snack	el almuerzo	10:30–11:30	Bocadillo, fruit
Lunch (main meal)	la comida	14:00–15:30	Three courses: starter, main, dessert
Afternoon snack	la merienda	17:00–18:00	Biscuits, fruit, sandwich
Dinner	la cena	21:00–22:30	Lighter than lunch

Exam tip: In Spain, la comida (lunch) is the main meal of the day, not dinner. It is eaten much later than in the UK — between 2pm and 3:30pm. Dinner (la cena) is lighter and eaten between 9pm and 10:30pm. Understanding this cultural difference is important for reading and listening exams.

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4. Expressing Food Preferences

Spanish	English
Me gusta el pollo.	I like chicken.
Me encantan las fresas.	I love strawberries.
No me gusta el pescado.	I don't like fish.
Odio las verduras.	I hate vegetables.
Prefiero la carne.	I prefer meat.
Soy vegetariano/a.	I am vegetarian.
Soy vegano/a.	I am vegan.
Soy alérgico/a a los frutos secos.	I am allergic to nuts.
No como carne de cerdo.	I don't eat pork.
Me da igual.	I don't mind.

Building a justified food opinion

graph LR
    A[Opinion phrase] --> B[Food noun]
    B --> C[porque / ya que]
    C --> D[Reason adjective]
    A1["Me encanta(n)"] -.-> A
    A2["Me gusta(n)"] -.-> A
    A3["No me gusta(n)"] -.-> A
    A4["Odio"] -.-> A
    A5["Prefiero"] -.-> A
    D1[sano] -.-> D
    D2[delicioso] -.-> D
    D3[picante] -.-> D
    D4[grasiento] -.-> D
    D5[soso] -.-> D

Exam tip: A complete higher-tier sentence uses opinion + noun + porque + adjective (e.g. "Me encantan las fresas porque son dulces y refrescantes"). Always justify with porque or ya que to push beyond a basic answer.

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5. Key Grammar — Articles with Food

Definite Articles with Likes and Dislikes

When expressing likes/dislikes with gustar, use the definite article (el/la/los/las):

• Me gusta EL chocolate. — I like chocolate (in general).
• Me gustan LAS fresas. — I like strawberries (in general).

Indefinite Articles / Partitives When Eating/Drinking

When talking about eating or drinking some food, Spanish does NOT use a partitive article like French. Simply say:

• Como arroz. — I eat (some) rice.
• Bebo agua. — I drink (some) water.
• Quiero un bocadillo. — I want a sandwich.

Quantities

Spanish	English
un poco de	a little / a bit of
mucho/a	a lot of
demasiado/a	too much
bastante	quite a lot / enough
una botella de	a bottle of
un vaso de	a glass of
una taza de	a cup of
un trozo de	a piece of
un kilo de	a kilo of

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6. Cultural Notes — Spanish Food Culture

Iconic Spanish Dishes