The language: at least in Catalan
The Catalan Consumer Agency leaves no room: food and drink menus must be available to customers at least in Catalan.
The word that matters is "at least". It does not require Catalan only, and it bans no other language: it requires the Catalan version to exist and to be available to anyone who asks. A menu in Spanish and English with no Catalan version does not comply; one in Catalan, Spanish, English and French complies perfectly.
In practice this is the most neglected obligation in tourist areas, where venues typically have three or four languages and none of them is Catalan. If you run a place on the coast with an English menu and a Spanish one, this is the paragraph to act on.
- Both the food menu and the drinks list.
- "At least": have as many versions as you like, but the Catalan one has to exist.
- Customers also have the right to be served in Catalan or Spanish, their choice.
- Paper or digital both count: the rule is about making it available, not about the format.
Prices: total, tax included, no small print
The second obligation is the one an inspector checks from the door: prices shown on the menu or on the board must be total prices, with taxes included.
And then the part almost nobody gets fully right: the note "VAT not included" is not accepted. Not frowned upon β not accepted. The price the customer reads is the price they pay.
Bar, table and terrace: charge differently and it has to show
Half the trade gets this wrong without knowing. Charging more on the terrace than at the bar is legal and normal. What is not legal is failing to say so: where prices differ by where you are served, or a service carries a supplement, the price for each case must be shown clearly and visibly.
Note the example the Agency picks: ice. Not large supplements β the thing a waiter adds without thinking. If it has a price, it has to be written down.
WRONG RIGHT
Beer ........... β¬2.50 Beer
(terrace supplement) bar .......... β¬2.50
table ........ β¬2.80
terrace ...... β¬3.20
Soft drink ..... β¬3.00 Soft drink ....... β¬3.00
VAT not included with ice ....... +β¬0.30
The customer has to know what they will pay before ordering,
not when the bill arrives.The two notices that belong on the menu
Two things have to be on the menu even though they are neither prices nor dishes.
The first is allergens β the same European obligation that applies across Spain, covered in full in its own article.
The second is new to a lot of people. Catalan Law 3/2020, article 6.1.b, requires you to let customers take home what they have not eaten and to tell them so clearly and visibly, preferably on the menu. Letting them take it if they ask is not enough: you have to advertise it.
- Allergens per dish, available before the customer decides.
- A notice that they can take home what they do not eat, preferably on the menu.
- The proper container is not charged for, and you must accept one they bring.
- Failing to inform is a minor infringement under article 14.4.b of Law 3/2020.
The set lunch menu: total price and what is in it
If you offer one, you must state the total price and what it includes: drink, dessert, bread. It sounds obvious and it is the source of half the lunchtime arguments β whether bread is in, whether the drink covers wine, whether coffee is extra.
The fix is writing it down, not explaining it. A menu that says "Bread and a drink included. Coffee or dessert, one of the two" produces no conversation at all when the bill comes.
What you can never charge for
The last obligation is a prohibition: you cannot charge for things like a cover charge or the table, nor for any service the customer did not expressly ask for.
The cover charge is the classic and it still shows up on receipts. The second case is subtler: the bread that arrives unasked, the olives the waiter brings over. If they were not ordered and are not included, they cannot be charged.
Frequently asked questions
Does my menu have to be in Catalan only?
No. The obligation is to have it "at least" in Catalan, meaning the Catalan version must exist and be available to the customer. Have as many others as you like β and in a tourist area you should.
Does a digital menu satisfy the language rule?
Yes, if the Catalan version is there and the customer can reach it. The rule is about making it available to customers, not about paper. A digital menu has the easier job: adding a language does not mean reprinting anything.
Can I charge more on the terrace than at the bar?
Yes, as long as you show the price for each case clearly and visibly. What you cannot do is charge it without it being written down before the customer orders.
Can I print "VAT not included" on the menu?
No. The Catalan Consumer Agency says so in as many words: that note is not accepted. Prices shown have to be total prices with taxes included.
Where do I have to advertise that customers can take food home?
Clearly and visibly in the venue itself, and preferably on the menu. That comes from article 6.1.b of Catalan Law 3/2020, and failing to inform is a minor infringement under 14.4.b.
Can I charge a cover charge or a table service fee?
No. Not the cover, not the table, and not any service the customer did not expressly request. Bread that arrives unasked falls under this if it is not included.
Does this apply in the rest of Spain?
Not all of it. The language rule and the detail about the notice on the menu are Catalan; allergens and total prices with tax are general obligations. If your venue is elsewhere in Spain, the second group is the part that applies to you.