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Portuguese phrases for complaining politely about your order in Portugal

Stay calm and polite: start with “Peço desculpa pelo incómodo”, then say what is wrong and what you’d like. Try “O bife está passado demais. Pode levá-lo de volta?” or “Estamos à espera da comida há quarenta minutos”. Staff usually answer “Peço desculpa, resolvo isso já”. Thank them, and check the bill at the end.

Try it · about two minutes

Your main course arrives late and cooked the wrong way, and you raise it without making a scene.

You choose what to say back, and Frasa tells you why it works.

How does the conversation usually go?

  1. Your steak arrives forty minutes after you ordered. It is well done, and you asked for it medium.

    You

    O bife está passado demais. Pode levá-lo de volta?

    The steak is overcooked. Can you take it back?

  2. Waiter

    Peço desculpa, resolvo isso já.

    Sorry, I’ll sort that out right away.

    You

    Agradeço a sua ajuda.

    Thank you for your help.

  3. Waiter

    Demora cerca de vinte minutos.

    It takes about twenty minutes.

    You

    Está bem, esperamos.

    That’s fine, we’ll wait.

  4. Waiter

    Aqui está o bife novo. Está bem assim?

    Here’s the new steak. Is that all right?

    You

    Está muito bom, agradeço.

    It’s very good, thank you.

  5. Waiter

    Deseja mais alguma coisa?

    Would you like anything else?

    You

    A conta, por favor.

    The bill, please.

  6. Waiter

    Paga com cartão ou em dinheiro?

    Card or cash?

    You

    Acho que há um erro na conta.

    I think there’s a mistake on the bill.

Which Portuguese phrases do you need?

  • Peço desculpa pelo incómodo.

    I’m sorry for the trouble.

  • O bife está passado demais. Pode levá-lo de volta?

    The steak is overcooked. Can you take it back?

  • A sopa está fria. Pode aquecê-la, por favor?

    The soup is cold. Can you heat it, please?

  • Estamos à espera da comida há quarenta minutos.

    We’ve been waiting for our food for forty minutes.

  • Não foi isto que eu pedi.

    This isn’t what I ordered.

  • Peço desculpa, resolvo isso já.

    Sorry, I’ll sort that out right away.

  • Demora cerca de vinte minutos.

    It takes about twenty minutes.

  • Agradeço a sua ajuda.

    Thank you for your help.

  • Acho que há um erro na conta.

    I think there’s a mistake on the bill.

  • Não pedimos o couvert, pode retirá-lo?

    We didn’t order the couvert, can you take it off?

What is worth knowing in Portugal?

How to raise a problem

  1. 1

    Catch the waiter’s eye and start gently.

    Peço desculpa pelo incómodo.I’m sorry for the trouble.
  2. 2

    Say what is wrong, then what you would like them to do.

    Não foi isto que eu pedi.This isn’t what I ordered.
  3. 3

    Give them a few minutes to put it right.

Ask, don’t order

Polite

A sopa está fria. Pode aquecê-la, por favor?

The soup is cold. Can you heat it, please?

Blunt

Aqueça a sopa.

Heat the soup.

A question with “pode” (can you) softens a complaint. A bare command sounds abrupt.

End on a good note

Once it’s sorted, a word of thanks on the way out keeps things friendly and leaves a good impression.

Estava tudo delicioso, agradecemos.

Everything was delicious, thank you.

Questions about this situation

Which Portuguese phrases matter most here?
“Peço desculpa pelo incómodo.” (I’m sorry for the trouble); “O bife está passado demais. Pode levá-lo de volta?” (The steak is overcooked. Can you take it back); “A sopa está fria. Pode aquecê-la, por favor?” (The soup is cold. Can you heat it, please). The full list is above.
Can I hear how they sound?
Not yet: this page has no recordings so far. Each phrase comes with its meaning in English.
How can I practise this conversation?
Press “Start the conversation” above to play it through and choose your replies, with a note on why some fit better in Portugal. Frasa, an iPhone app, lets you save these phrases and rehearse them out loud.

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Practise these phrases in Frasa

Frasa is an iPhone app for the conversations in front of you. Save phrases like these, rehearse them out loud, and they come back until they stick.

AI-generated. May be inaccurate.