At the Cafe

Here’s a useful café vocabulary list with common terms and types of coffee you can order in Portugal. View the vocabulary at the top, followed by flashcards with useful dialogues and translations.

🛎️ At the Café

🔹 Mesa – Table🔹 Cadeira – Chair🔹 Esplanada – Terrace/outdoor seating🔹 Balcão – Counter🔹 Casa de banho – Bathroom🔹 Tomada – Power outlet🔹 Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi🔹 Reserva – Reservation🔹 Palavra-passe / Senha – Password

☕ Coffee & Other Drinks

🔹 Café – Coffee / Espresso🔹 Café curto – Short espresso (less water, stronger)🔹 Café cheio – Long espresso (more water, milder)🔹 Café duplo – Double espresso🔹 Abatanado – One espresso served in a large cup (more water)🔹 Galão – Latte (served in a tall glass)🔹 Meia de leite – Coffee with milk (half coffee, half milk)🔹 Descafeinado – Decaffeinated coffee🔹 Carioca de café – Weak espresso (second extraction)🔹 Carioca de limão – Lemon Tea (made from lemon peel, served in a small espresso cup)🔹 Pingado – Espresso with a splash of milk🔹 Chá – Tea / Infusion🔹 Chá preto – Black tea🔹 Chá verde – Green tea🔹 Chá de camomila – Chamomile Infusion🔹 Chocolate quente – Hot chocolate🔹 Sumo de laranja natural – Fresh orange juice🔹 Água com gás – Sparkling water🔹 Água sem gás – Still water🔹 Água fresca – Cold water🔹 Água natural – Room temperature water🔹 Cerveja – Beer🔹 Imperial / Fino – Draught beer (‘fino’ is used in the North) 🔹 Sidra – Cider

🍰 Food & Pastries

🔹 Pastel de nata – Cream Pastry (also called Portuguese custard tart)🔹 Bolo de chocolate – Chocolate cake🔹 Sandes / Sanduíche – Sandwich🔹 Pão com manteiga – Bread with butter🔹 Torrada – Toasted bread with butter🔹 Tosta Mista – Ham and cheese toasted sandwich🔹 Croissant misto – Ham and cheese croissant

🍬 Sweeteners & Add-ons

🔹 Açúcar branco – White sugar🔹 Açúcar amarelo – Brown sugar🔹 Adoçante – Sweetener🔹 Pau de canela – Cinnamon stick🔹 Canela em pó – Cinnamon powder🔹 Leite – Milk🔹 Leite sem lactose – Lactose-free milk🔹 Leite de aveia – Oat milk🔹 Leite de amêndoa – Almond milk🔹 Leite de soja – Soya milk

💰 Ordering & Payment

🔹 Pedir – To order🔹 Para consumir aqui – To consume here🔹 Para levar – To-go / To take away🔹 Conta – Bill / Check🔹 Troco – Change (cash)🔹 Multibanco – Multibanco (Portuguese payment system)🔹 Cartão (de crédito/débito) – Card (Credit/debit)🔹 Dinheiro – Cash🔹 MB Way – MB Way (Portuguese mobile payment system)