The everyday way to say delicious in Spanish is está buenísimo (ehs-TAH bweh-NEE-see-moh) or está riquísimo, from rico, tasty. Delicioso is correct everywhere, but in conversation in Spain it can sound a little like a menu. Use estar, not ser, for how food tastes: la sopa está muy rica, the soup is really tasty.
- It's delicious
- está buenísimo
- It's tasty
- está muy rico
- Delicious
- delicioso
- How tasty!
- ¡qué rico!
- Level
- A1
Rico, bueno or delicioso?
All three are right, and Spaniards mix them freely. Rico and bueno carry most everyday praise at the table, usually boosted with muy or the ending -ísimo. Spain also has some vivid idioms for food that is out of this world.
| Spanish | English | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Está muy rico | It's really tasty | Everyday; family and friends |
| Está riquísimo | It's delicious | Strong, still everyday |
| Está buenísimo | It's so good | Everyday; very common in Spain |
| Está delicioso | It's delicious | Correct everywhere; slightly formal in Spain |
| ¡Qué rico! | How tasty! Yum! | Exclamation |
| Sabe a gloria | It tastes heavenly | Spain; warm praise |
| Está de muerte | It's to die for | Spain; casual |
| Está para chuparse los dedos | It's finger-licking good | Playful |
The same heavenly idiom works for smell. In this B1 chapter a friend arrives at a café with homemade biscuits:
Sofía llegó veinte minutos después, con una caja de galletas de avena que olían a gloria.Why está and not es?
Estar describes how this food tastes now, on this plate. Ser describes what something is like in general, so it goes with restaurants and dishes as a category. The switch matters because ser rico means to be rich.
Esta paella está buenísima.
This paella is delicious.
La paella es un plato valenciano.
Paella is a Valencian dish.
Ser: a general fact.
Este restaurante es muy bueno.
This restaurant is very good.
Su tío es rico.
His uncle is rich.
Ser rico: wealthy, not tasty.
How do you compliment the cook in Spain?
Praise the dish, then ask for more: in Spain, repetir means to have seconds. ¡Qué rico te ha quedado! (literally "how tasty it has turned out for you") is the warmest thing a guest can say. Food pride runs deep, and so do rivalries: whether a tortilla should have onion (con cebolla or sin cebolla) is a genuine, cheerful argument across Spain.
¡Qué rico te ha quedado!
This turned out so tasty!
¿Puedo repetir?
Can I have seconds?
¿Me das la receta?
Will you give me the recipe?
Estoy lleno.
I'm full.
A woman says llena.
Do Latin Americans say delicious differently?
Rico and delicioso are used across Latin America, and ¡qué rico! is heard everywhere. Other words come in by region, and the Spain idioms above sound distinctly Spanish.
- Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean: sabroso is a favourite, and is understood everywhere.
- Mexico: está bien rico, with bien meaning very.
- Argentina: está buenísimo and está riquísimo, as in Spain.
For the words on the plate, see the Spanish food vocabulary page, and when you are done, ask for the bill in Spanish.
Read A2 Spanish stories set in bakeries, bars and family kitchens, and tap any word to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
What does está rico mean?
It's tasty. Rico with estar describes food. With ser, es rico means he is rich, so the verb changes the meaning completely.
Is delicioso used in Spain?
Yes, and it is never wrong. In casual conversation, though, Spaniards more often say está buenísimo or está riquísimo; delicioso is more typical of menus, adverts and polite guests.
How do you say it smells delicious?
¡Qué bien huele! (that smells so good) or huele de maravilla (it smells wonderful). In Spain, huele a gloria means it smells heavenly.
What does que aproveche mean?
It is said to people who are eating, like enjoy your meal. In Spain you may hear it from strangers passing a table. Buen provecho is the version used across Latin America and also in Spain.
How do you say yummy in Spanish?
¡Mmm, qué rico! is the natural equivalent. With small children, people say ¡ñam, ñam!