Spanish Phrase
¿Este plato lleva frutos secos?
Meaning
The speaker is asking whether the dish being served contains any nuts. This is a crucial question for people with nut allergies or dietary restrictions.
When to use
Use this sentence at a restaurant, café, or any food‑service setting when you need to confirm the presence of nuts in a dish, especially before ordering or serving someone with an allergy.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Esteplatollevafrutossecos?
Demonstrative adjective (Este)
Este agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies (plato, masculine singular).
Verb llevar = ‘to contain’
In culinary contexts, llevar means ‘to have/contain’ an ingredient; it’s more colloquial than contener.
Compound noun (frutos secos)
Frutos secos is a fixed expression meaning ‘nuts’; both words stay together and are plural.
Yes‑no question without inversion
Spanish can form a yes‑no question simply by adding rising intonation (or the opening question mark) without moving the verb before the subject.
🗨In Conversation
¿Este plato lleva frutos secos?
Does this dish contain nuts?
No, no lleva. Es una ensalada sin frutos secos.
No, it doesn’t. It’s a salad without nuts.
✕Common Mistakes
¿Este plato lleva **de** frutos secos?
Do not add the preposition ‘de’ after llevar; the verb already implies ‘contains’.
¿Este plato lleva **fruta seca**?
‘Fruta seca’ is singular and not used to refer to nuts; the correct plural is ‘frutos secos’.
¿Este plato **contiene** frutos secos?
While ‘contiene’ is grammatically correct, native speakers more often use ‘lleva’ in casual dining contexts.
↔Alternatives
¿Este plato tiene frutos secos?
Does this dish have nuts?
¿Hay frutos secos en este plato?
Are there nuts in this dish?
¿Contiene este plato frutos secos?
Does this dish contain nuts?
Cultural Tip
In many Spanish‑speaking countries, it’s common to ask about allergens explicitly. The term ‘frutos secos’ covers almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, etc. If you have a severe allergy, you can say ‘Soy alérgico/a a los frutos secos’ so the staff knows to take extra precautions. Some regions may also use ‘nueces’ for specific nuts, but ‘frutos secos’ is the safest generic term.