Madrid: question about menú del día
 

This is a weird question, I'm sure, but it's posed honestly so please be gentle with me :-) .

I understand the menú del día normally includes first course, main course and dessert, and maybe wine or other beverage. I don't eat sugar, honey, or any other type of sweeteners, ergo no dessert (pity, I know ;-) ). My question then: is it possible to substitute something else for the dessert? I've seen a menú or two online that say coffee can be substituted for the dessert. Would cheese be among the dessert offerings for the menú? I guess it's too much dreaming on my part that I could get a side of verduras (veggies) instead of the dessert, right??? LOL!!

I guess I just wonder if the menú del día would still make sense if one doesn't actually eat all courses.

Thanks!

Hi Amapola, I don't think your question is weird at all! I have not been to Spain but I wonder if you could get some fruit for your dessert. I am not sure of the eating habits of the Spanish but know in Italy fruit is very popular for dessert, as is cheese.

Hopefully someone more knowledgable that me can advise you.

Hi Am,

Based on my extremely wide and deep traveling experiences over many decades and many continents, my suggestion is:

Ask at the restaurant. :)

Some will, some won't substitute.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Thanks to both for your input. Ira, I know I need to ask, and that each restaurant will have a different response... but there might be general tendencies towards yes or no, you know?

When I go to the US, I know I can ask for menu changes (within reason), because the in the US "the customer is always right" and there is a lot of awareness of food sensitivities, allergies and so on. In other places, asking for an accomodation can be a challenge. As an example, at the Parrot Club in San Juan they will not make any changes to a dish because "that's how the chef designed it". Most other local restaurants will accept requests, though with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

All I wanted to know is if it would be considered rude, tacky or a faux pas to ask for a substitution in Spain. I've been to Spain 4 times before, but the last time was 20 years ago and I had no dietary restrictions then.

Thanks again to both!

Amapola, our "top" restaurant here in my small city evidently has a new chef. He will cook food the the way he wants, no changes whatsoever. Even down to the meat (if he wants it medium rare you get it medium rare or you don't get it). Guess where we are not going to anymore?

I do not know if Spain is like Italy but I too have dietary restrictions. I have never had a problem in Italy so I hope the same situation holds true for you in Spain. Best wishes.

Hi ama,

>All I wanted to know is if it would be considered rude, tacky or a faux pas to ask for a substitution in Spain. <

Of course not.

In some restaurants, the waiter will say, "of course".

In others, the chef will come out and attack you with a 12" meat cleaver.

((I))

Gotta love those temperamental chefs! LOL. In all fairness, I can see that if a meal has been carefully designed to balance flavors, colors, etc., the chef will resent or even refuse to change. But I'm hoping that more run-of-the-mill places ;-) will be more flexible.

I know I will have a wonderful time anyway, as I'm used to working (or eating) around my restrictions. I will order à la carte if the menú is unchangeable. And there's always jamón and manchego if all else fails :-)

Hi Amapola, I got thinking. I have always heard how wonderful the tapa bars are in Spain. They would work for you I would think as if I understand correctly customers order several small dishes of this and that. BTW, I have a friend here who is from Seville Spain and goes back there every year. I called her but she wasn't home. I will try to catch up with her tomorrow to see what she has to say about this. Then will post here.

Ira, the chef at our local "formerly fantastic" restaurant almost did threaten the poor waiter with the cleaver I believe. All because my son-in-law wanted his prime rib medium rather then medium rare. The waiter looked like he was going to cry when he came back to our table. Poor guy!

Hi Love,

Sounds like the BBC series "Chef".

The Chef almost killed a customer who asked for salt.

((I))

Well, I have been to Spain and maybe I just didn't notice, but never saw cheese as a dessert.

There really isn't any one answer, I'm sure, you'll have to ask at a particular restaurant if they will do it or not. Some probably will and some won't. Basically, you want to order a la carte but buy the menu del dia, but I wouldn't think a vegetable side dish would cost more than a dessert, so they might not mind. You will have to just check the menu as to what makes sense in terms of prices and what you plan to eat. Those menus del dia aren't always that exciting, anyway.

As a fairly recent diabetic (who was never too crazy about desserts anyway) I am always delighted when cheese is offered as a choice instead of dessert -- fairly common in France. But even when it isn't, I have explained I'm diabetic and asked about cheese, and they have almost always been happy to offer that instead.
I haven't been to Spain since my diagnosis, but I guess next year I'll find out. I'd certainly ask about cheese as a substitute. And frankly "diabetic" is a word everyone seems to understand -- so even if you're not, it might be easier to say that since your demands are so similar.
Fresh fruit might be another option -- if that is OK with you.

By the way, I've been known to order a salad instead of dessert as well, something they seem to understand quite well in Europe.

Salad after the main course, instead of dessert, that is a good idea Patrick. Amapola, you should be fine.

depending on the menu itself, sometimes coffee can be substituted for dessert.
cheese is rarely dessert on menu of the day as it is very costly, but you cuold just ask.
but you can always( usually) get fresh fruit.

you will need to learn in basic spanish to say what you CANNOT eat, and ask for substitutions.

many times i ask if i can have "dos primeros" two first plates ,as they , on occasion have been more appealing to me. the menu of the day has always been financially the best deal in most restaurants unless you really only want a salad, no drink and no coffee. once you start adding up drinks, etc.. it is always more expensive a la carte. (in my experience).

good luck.

A traditional 'menu del dia' has a soup, a salad, or some pasta as a first dish, then meat/fish with potato chips as a second, and a dessert. Normally, for each of the courses there are several options, and I think for the dessert, there should at least be something like a fruit salad. Cheese is less common as a dessert in Spain, but they should at least have some in the restaurant for the tapas so just ask! Nobody will kill you for asking!

Amapola writes: "I guess it's too much dreaming on my part that I could get a side of verduras (veggies) instead of the dessert, right??? LOL!!"

Yes, I think that would be stretching it! But most Menus del dia offer some flexibility (flan or a fruit, for example, or maybe even yogurt). If you can communicate in Spanish, tell the person waiting on you your problem:
I have found Tabernas with their menu del dia on a chalkboard outside to be much more flexible than full service restaurants. I especially like one just across the Calle Mayor from Madrid's Ayuntamiento: the cook is Asturiana. I think the name of the place is la Argentina.

Lots of great answers! Thanks everyone. Language shouldn't be a problem since it's actually English that's a second laguange for me :-) . Although I must say there are lots of words and expressions that are so different from the Spanish we speak on this side of the Atlantic. I just learned last week that lobster is bogavante, not langosta like we say. My husband and I think we will need a food dictionary! LOL

I appreciate all the suggestions (and had a big laugh about the murderous chef :-D ). It helps me make mental plans and consider all my alternatives. The last time I was in Europe was 4 years ago (Paris) and I ate everything I wasn't supposed to eat. It was all delicious :-), but it took me almost a year to recover from that adventure! But I haven't gone off my diet (for sensitivities and such, not weight loss) since May 2002 and I want to keep it that way! But I digress, so I'd best be off to work.

Thanks again!

I'm Spaniard, so I usually eat my "menu del día" at cafeterias and restaurants here.

You'll always be offered fruit (we're a Mediterranean country!) as dessert, but never cheese. Very, very frequently (99% of the times) you can have coffee, tea or other infusions.

By the way, Amapola, langosta and bogavante are two different kinds of seafood here. Bogavante is smaller.

I'm with espagnola on this one, you can most probaby get fruit or coffee but the cheese is probably a no-go. They don't usually eat cheese for dessert, plus, that manchego is pricy in resturants. Get some at the local supermercado though and take it to your room. YUM!

In some places in Spain, orange juice is considered a perfectly acceptable dessert...

Oh, goodness, espagnola, so even WITH a dictionary I'm going to be lost? LOL. I don't eat shellfish anyway, but I'd never seen the word bogavante and the Spanish-English dictionary I looked at said lobster. Thanks for clearing it up :-) .

And thanks for all the good hints about what can and can't be worked out!

I just looked at my journal from 2000. In 16 days in Spain, I had cheese rather than dessert a total of 5 times, one of those was as an assorted Spanish cheese plate in a parador. As I recall the others were mostly a single serving of cheese and I think were usually served with some fruit (maybe dried?). So those who say it is NEVER done, just have been to the wrong restaurants. Although in fairness, I don't suppose they normally offered the cheese, I asked for it and got it.

Didn't say NEVER done just "not usually". It would not usually be a dessert offering (such as in France). I guess you could ask for anything you wanted for dessert and the resturant could be accomodating. That said, ask, the worst they could say was no.

Ok, Patrick, maybe I've been going to the wrong restaurants all my life ;-)

Well, then, I should change the "you'll never be offered cheese" for "You'll be offered cheese as a menu del dia dessert in 1-5% of the restaurant you'll visit"

In Spain, cheese is usually eaten as a tapa or appetizer but rarely as a dessert (with exceptions: cheese cake, fried sweet cheese, cheese with "membrillo").

But if you still want to eat cheese, out of the menu del dia, and ask for it as a dessert, they'll bring it to you. No problem, it's not a weird thing to do either.

Amapola, the thing is that we eat a lot of fish and seafood in Spain, so there are a lot of different names depending on size, origin, variety, etc...

Also, I learn "camarón" in Mexico is what we call here "gamba".

For us, a "camarón" is a much smaller shrimp tham a "gamba" and a "langostino" is even bigger.

Hi.i'm harsha,travelling in spain in mid may.Casa del sol,madrid and seville.
we are a group of 10 pax i.e. four families with kids.we prefer apartments to stay.Can any one help suggest reasonable accomodation for the group.preferablly the name and contact no. and email ids.alsoin the proximity to popular tourist destinations.Thanks.

Harsha, you should post your question as a new subject, not within an existing post. You will get more responses that way. Be sure to post with a clear heading such as "Madrid Apartments". Also, if you search Madrid and Apartments in the search function you will find lots of existing information. Have a great trip!

thanks,i'll take your advice and post it under a diff head

The one thing I noticed about most restaurant's "menu del dia" was that it was usually way too much food considering we had been drinking beer and having snacks earlier. We usually ordered some smaller dish alacarte for dinners.

Hi :) I'm a Spaniard living in Spain. In the "menu del dia" you usually choose between two or three desserts and almost always are : a piece of fruit, a flan and sometimes, an ice- cream :) I've never seen cheese as a dessert except as part of a more elaborated recipe :) Anyway, don't feel bad about asking !! The worst thing than can happen to you is a "no" but no one would feel bad about it :)))
You also can ask for any dessert a la carta and pay for it , they are usually not very expensive.
And yes, lobster is langosta !! :))))

Why do I have so much trouble making myself understood?

la_espagnola, you'll notice I didn't say that cheese WILL BE OFFERED, in fact, I specifically mentioned that I don't remember it being offered. I merely said that you can sometimes order it or request it as a substitute for what was offered.

Just as you say, I suggest that you ask and it is likely you can get it. That's all. I have no reason to suggest you say anything as silly as "You'll be offered cheese as a menu del dia dessert in 1-5% of the restaurant you'll visit". I didn't suggest that is true at all; in fact, I doubt you will EVER be OFFERED cheese in Spain as a substitute for dessert!!!