Allergies in Spanish: What to Say at a Restaurant in Spain and Latin America

The sentence you need is “Tengo alergia a…” (I have an allergy to…), followed by the food. Tengo alergia a los frutos secos means “I’m allergic to nuts.” You can also say “Soy alérgico a…” if you are a man, or “Soy alérgica a…” if you are a woman. Both are correct everywhere Spanish is spoken.

The hard part is not the sentence. It is the food words, because several of them change between Spain and Latin America. A waiter in Madrid may not recognise cacahuate, and in Mexico nuez means pecan, not walnut. The tables below give you the word that works where you are going.

The five sentences that do most of the work

Lleva (literally “carries”) is how people in Spain ask what is in a dish. In Mexico and most of Latin America, tiene or trae sound more natural. All three will be understood.

Saying it is not a preference matters. Plenty of diners ask for “no nuts” because they don’t like them, and a kitchen treats that request very differently from an allergy.

Food words that change by country

A note on frutos secos: in Spain it means nuts and seeds, and people sometimes use it loosely for dried fruit too. If your allergy is to tree nuts but you can eat raisins, say the nuts by name.

The other allergens

These words are the same across the Spanish-speaking world.

Questions to ask the waiter

• ¿Lo pueden preparar sin…? Can you make it without…?
• ¿Lo puede consultar con cocina, por favor? Could you check with the kitchen, please?
• ¿Se fríe en el mismo aceite que…? Is it fried in the same oil as…?
• ¿Tienen la carta de alérgenos? Do you have the allergen menu? (Most restaurants in Spain keep one, because EU law requires them to tell you which of the 14 main allergens are in each dish.)
• ¿Pueden usar una sartén y utensilios limpios? Can you use a clean pan and clean utensils?
• ¿La salsa lleva…? Does the sauce have… in it? Sauces are where most hidden nuts and sesame turn up.

What the waiter may ask you

Be ready for these. A good waiter asks them, and it is a sign the kitchen takes allergies seriously.

Trazas (traces) and contaminación cruzada (cross-contamination) are the words you will see on packaged food and menus. “Puede contener trazas de…” means “may contain traces of…”.

If something goes wrong

In Spain the emergency number is 112. In Mexico it is 911. In most of Latin America 911 also works, but check before you go: Argentina uses 107 for ambulances, and Chile uses 131.

People in Spain usually say adrenalina; in Latin America you will also hear epinefrina. Both refer to the same drug, and most people recognise the brand name EpiPen too.

Dishes that carry hidden allergens

• Spain: romesco and picada (Catalan sauces thickened with almonds and hazelnuts), ajo blanco (cold almond soup), turrón and mazapán at Christmas, and seafood stock in many rice dishes, including some that look like plain rice.
• Mexico: mole (almost always has peanuts, sesame, almonds or several of them), salsa macha (often peanuts), pipián (pumpkin seeds, sometimes peanuts), and horchata (some versions use almonds).
• Peru: ají de gallina is often thickened with walnuts or pecans; many cebiches share boards and knives with shellfish.
• Argentina and Uruguay: alfajores sometimes have coconut or nuts, and dulce de leche is everywhere in desserts.

A note for doctors, nurses and front-desk staff

If you came here to ask a Spanish-speaking patient about allergies, these are the questions you need:

• ¿Tiene alguna alergia? Do you have any allergies?
• ¿Es alérgico a algún medicamento? Are you allergic to any medication?
• ¿Es alérgico a algún alimento? Are you allergic to any food?
• ¿Qué le pasa cuando…? What happens to you when…?

Use alérgica when speaking to a woman.

Common questions

How do you say “I have a nut allergy” in Spanish?

Say “Tengo alergia a los frutos secos” in Spain, or “Tengo alergia a las nueces” in Mexico and much of Latin America. If you are allergic to peanuts specifically, name them as well, because many people do not think of peanuts as nuts: “…y al cacahuete” in Spain, “…y al cacahuate” in Mexico, “…y al maní” in South America.

Is “alergia” masculine or feminine?

Feminine: una alergia, la alergia. The adjective changes with you, not with the allergy: a man says soy alérgico, a woman says soy alérgica.

What is the difference between “mariscos” and “crustáceos”?

Mariscos is the everyday word for all seafood that is not fish, so it covers both shrimp and clams. If you react only to crustaceans (shrimp, crab, lobster) or only to molluscs (clams, mussels, squid), name the group: crustáceos or moluscos.

Will waiters understand if I just show the words on my phone?

Usually, yes, and showing is often better than speaking in a noisy restaurant. The problem is that a screen gets handed back after a glance. A printed card can go to the kitchen with your order, which is where the information is actually needed.