While I try to use Spanish when I can (can having several interpretations here), sometimes it’s better to speak English and I may avoid forks in the menu.
It goes something like this: At a Turkish place the waiter asks if I’d like something to drink, suggesting a cerveza (it’s Sunday and every adult male is having beer with their lunch), I say, no, something lemon. He brings a new-to-me! lemon cerveza. “No, gracias, algo limón pero sin alcohol” (“thanks, no, something lemon but no alcohol”) and he brings a zero alcohol beer. He’s miffed, but holding it, and we eventually get to “So, a Fanta, why didn’t you ask for a Fanta?” And I reply I didn’t know what you had but for him it’s like - everyone has Fanta. I felt bad having persisted in Spanish - the beers were delivered opened - so, he said, it happens, and I left him a nice tip.
Tipping isn’t usual here. Some upscale places in UK did add an optional service charge, giving you a choice of which amount to pay. It feels odd, odder if I want to leave a tip but have no appropriate change after paying the bill by tarjeta/card - to just walk away. And after ordering some gelato, and talking with a very nice young lady from Argentina working in the shop, I left a few coins - and she reacted like I’d left a massive tip. That, a nice interaction. I was just looking at the flavor options and she said “English” (as in the language, I think?). It is interesting how often folks just “see” non-spaniard on my face. Anyway, I said, yes, americano but I try to speak Spanish si posible and she wanted to practice her English. I suggested I’d speak Spanish and she’d reply in ingles. This time it worked out fine.
