Um Café, Se Faz Favor!
Ordering at a cafe · a free Portuguese (Portugal) immersion capsule
Useful sentences · 10
Phrases you'll actually use today. Tap Explain for the why behind each one.
Bom dia! Um café e um pastel de nata, se faz favor.
Good morning! A coffee and a custard tart, please.
Literal Good day! A coffee and a pastry of cream, if it does favor.
A classic opening order at any Portuguese café. 'Se faz favor' is the standard polite phrase used when requesting something at a counter — more natural here than 'por favor'.
- 'Se faz favor' literally means 'if it does favor' but functions as 'please' in service contexts.
- Both 'café' and 'pastel' are masculine nouns, so the article 'um' is used.
Gostaria de um galão, por favor.
I would like a galão, please.
Literal I would like of a galão, for favor.
A galão is a tall milky coffee served in a glass, unique to Portugal. 'Gostaria de' is the conditional form of 'gostar' and is a very polite way to place an order.
- 'Gostaria de' is the conditional of 'gostar' (to like), used for polite requests: 'I would like'.
- 'Por favor' is interchangeable with 'se faz favor', though slightly more formal in tone.
Pode ser sem açúcar, se faz favor?
Can it be without sugar, please?
Literal Can be without sugar, if it does favor?
'Pode ser' (can it be) is a soft, polite way to request a customization. 'Sem' (without) is an essential preposition for modifying your order.
- 'Pode ser' uses the third-person singular of 'poder' (can/to be able to) as a polite request form.
- 'Sem' + noun expresses absence: 'sem açúcar' (without sugar), 'sem leite' (without milk).
Tem tostas mistas hoje?
Do you have toasted ham and cheese sandwiches today?
Literal Have mixed toasts today?
A tosta mista is one of the most common café snacks in Portugal. Using 'tem?' (have you?) is a natural, informal way to ask about availability at the counter.
- 'Tem' is the third-person singular of 'ter' (to have), used as 'do you have' when addressing staff.
- 'Hoje' (today) indicates you're asking about current-day availability, not the general menu.
Queria dois croissants com manteiga, se faz favor.
I would like two croissants with butter, please.
Literal I wanted two croissants with butter, if it does favor.
'Queria' (imperfect of querer) is the most natural way to say 'I would like' in Portuguese cafés — even more colloquial than 'gostaria de'. 'Com' introduces an accompaniment.
- 'Queria' is the imperfect indicative of 'querer', used as a soft polite request.
- 'Com' (with) pairs with a noun: 'com manteiga' (with butter), 'com leite' (with milk).
- 'Dois' is the masculine plural numeral, agreeing with 'croissants' (masculine).
Qual é a senha do Wi-Fi, se faz favor?
What is the Wi-Fi password, please?
Literal Which is the password of the Wi-Fi, if it does favor?
A practical question when settling in for a longer stay. In European Portuguese, 'senha' means password (in Brazil it can mean 'token' or 'queue number', so this is specifically Portuguese usage).
- 'Qual é' is used to ask 'what is' when identifying a specific item.
- 'Do' is a contraction of 'de + o' (of the): 'a senha do Wi-Fi' = 'the password of the Wi-Fi'.
Há lugares disponíveis lá fora?
Are there available seats outside?
Literal There are places available out there?
Ask this when you want to sit on the esplanada (outdoor terrace). 'Lá fora' (out there/outside) is very natural and colloquial. 'Há' is the impersonal existential form.
- 'Há' is the impersonal form of 'haver', meaning 'there is/there are'.
- 'Disponíveis' is the plural of 'disponível' (available), agreeing with the plural noun 'lugares' (seats/places).
A conta, se faz favor.
The bill, please.
Literal The bill, if it does favor.
The most common way to ask for the bill in Portugal. Short and direct — the definite article 'a' signals you mean your specific bill. You can soften it with 'Pode trazer a conta?' (Can you bring the bill?).
- 'Conta' is feminine: 'a conta' (the bill). Note: 'conta' also means 'account' in banking contexts.
- This is a reduced elliptical request — just noun + 'se faz favor', widely accepted in service contexts.
Posso pagar com cartão?
Can I pay by card?
Literal Can I pay with card?
An important question — many smaller Portuguese cafés still prefer cash. 'Posso' + infinitive is a go-to structure for asking permission politely.
- 'Posso' is the first-person singular of 'poder' (to be able to/can): 'Posso pagar' = 'Can I pay'.
- 'Com cartão' means 'by card' — no article is needed after 'com' in this set expression.
Muito obrigado, foi tudo ótimo!
Thank you very much, everything was great!
Literal Very obliged, was everything optimal!
A warm farewell for the café staff. Remember: 'obrigado' is used by male speakers and 'obrigada' by female speakers — it agrees with the speaker's gender, not the listener's.
- 'Obrigado/obrigada' is a past participle agreeing with the speaker's gender, not the person being thanked.
- 'Foi' is the preterite of 'ser' (to be): 'it was'. 'Tudo' means 'everything'.
New words · 10
Themed vocabulary, each with an example you can borrow.
café
coffee / café
Um café, se faz favor.
A coffee, please.
In Portugal, ordering 'um café' gives you a short espresso. Ask for 'um café com leite' for coffee with milk.
pastel de nata
custard tart
Dois pastéis de nata, por favor.
Two custard tarts, please.
Plural: pastéis de nata. A national icon — best eaten warm, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar.
galão
milky coffee in a glass
Gostaria de um galão, obrigado.
I would like a galão, thank you.
Roughly 3/4 hot milk to 1/4 espresso, served in a tall glass. Uniquely Portuguese.
açúcar
sugar
Pode ser sem açúcar?
Can it be without sugar?
Sugar sachets are often placed on the saucer automatically with your coffee in Portugal.
tosta mista
toasted ham and cheese sandwich
Tem tostas mistas hoje?
Do you have toasted ham and cheese sandwiches today?
A staple of the Portuguese café menu, pressed and toasted. Plural: tostas mistas.
sem
without
Um café sem leite, se faz favor.
A coffee without milk, please.
The direct opposite of 'com' (with). Master these two prepositions and you can customize almost any order.
conta
bill / check
A conta, se faz favor.
The bill, please.
Also means 'account' in a banking context, but in a café 'a conta' always means the bill.
queria
I would like
Queria um sumo de laranja.
I would like an orange juice.
Imperfect indicative of 'querer'. Sounds natural and polite at counters — more colloquial than 'gostaria de'.
esplanada
outdoor café terrace
Prefiro sentar na esplanada.
I prefer to sit on the terrace.
Portuguese café culture revolves around the esplanada in good weather. 'Na' = 'em + a' (on the).
se faz favor
please
Um bica, se faz favor.
An espresso, please.
Literally 'if it does favor'. The go-to polite phrase at the counter — more natural than 'por favor' in most café interactions.
Short reading
A tiny story stitched from today's words. Translation is hidden, tap to peek.
Ana entra numa pastelaria no centro de Lisboa. Vai ao balcão e diz ao barista: «Bom dia! Gostaria de um galão e dois pastéis de nata, se faz favor.» O barista sorri e pergunta se quer açúcar. Ana responde: «Sem açúcar, obrigada.» Ela senta-se na esplanada, aprecia o aroma do café fresco e saboreia cada momento tranquilo daquela manhã.
Sentence by sentence
Ana entra numa pastelaria no centro de Lisboa.
Ana enters a pastry shop in the centre of Lisbon.
'Numa' is a contraction of 'em + uma' (in a). 'No centro de' = 'in the centre of'; 'no' is 'em + o'.
Vai ao balcão e diz ao barista:
She goes to the counter and says to the barista:
'Vai' is third-person singular of 'ir' (to go). 'Ao' is a contraction of 'a + o' (to the).
Gostaria de um galão e dois pastéis de nata, se faz favor.
I would like a galão and two custard tarts, please.
'Gostaria de' is the conditional of 'gostar', used for polite requests. 'Pastéis' is the irregular plural of 'pastel'.
Sem açúcar, obrigada.
Without sugar, thank you.
'Sem' (without) + noun makes a direct, natural customization. 'Obrigada' is the feminine form — Ana is the speaker.
Ela senta-se na esplanada e saboreia cada momento tranquilo daquela manhã.
She sits on the terrace and savours every quiet moment of that morning.
'Senta-se' is reflexive ('to sit oneself down'). 'Daquela' = 'de + aquela' (of that). 'Cada' (each/every) takes a singular noun.
Pattern of the day
One grammar move, explained once, that unlocks dozens of sentences.
Polite Requests: 'Queria' and 'Gostaria de'
In Portuguese cafés, two softened verb forms are used to order politely without sounding blunt. 'Queria' is the imperfect indicative of 'querer' (to want), and 'gostaria de' is the conditional of 'gostar' (to like). Both translate as 'I would like' and are far more natural than the direct 'quero' (I want) in service situations. 'Queria' is more colloquial; 'gostaria de' is slightly more formal.
Queria + [noun / infinitive] | Gostaria de + [noun / infinitive]
Queria um café, se faz favor.
I would like a coffee, please.
Gostaria de uma tosta mista.
I would like a toasted ham and cheese sandwich.
Queria pagar com cartão.
I would like to pay by card.
Gostaria de sentar na esplanada.
I would like to sit on the terrace.
Mini practice · 5
Low-pressure, never graded. Just enough to make it stick.
Translate to Portuguese: 'Good morning! A coffee and a pastel de nata, please.'
Hint Use 'se faz favor' for 'please' in European Portuguese.
Complete the sentence: 'Pode ser ___ açúcar, se faz favor?' (without sugar)
Hint 'Sem' means 'without' in Portuguese.
You want to politely ask for a galão. Which sentence is more formal and polite?
What does this mean? 'Há lugares disponíveis lá fora?'
Hint 'Lá fora' means 'outside' or 'out there'.
Make this request more polite using 'Queria': 'Eu quero dois croissants com manteiga.'
Hint 'Queria' is the imperfect tense of 'querer' and softens the request.
That’s today’s phraseberry.
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