A restaurant in Lleida has gone viral on X after a menu mistranslation turned the well-known product name anxoves de l'Escala into the Spanish phrase anchoas de la escalera, or anchovies from the staircase. The image, shared by the account Postureig de Lleida and reported by L'Empordà, shows the dish Escalivada i anxoves de l'Escala rendered in Spanish as Escalivada y anchoas de la escalera.

For diners, restaurants and producers, the mistake matters because L'Escala is a town in Alt Empordà, Girona, and the phrase refers to anchovies associated with that place, not to a literal staircase. The case is also a clear example of how place names and food terms can be distorted when translated without checking specialist terminology or the original product name.

What appeared on the menu

According to L'Empordà, the mistranslation appeared on a restaurant menu in Lleida. In the image circulated online, the Catalan dish name and its Spanish version appear side by side.

  • Catalan: Escalivada i anxoves de l'Escala
  • Spanish shown on the menu: Escalivada y anchoas de la escalera
  • Correct sense: escalivada with anchovies from L'Escala

L'Escala is a municipality on the Costa Brava and is widely associated with anchovy production. The company site for Anxoves de l'Escala describes the product as part of a long local tradition, while TERMCAT, the public terminology centre for Catalan, records the food name in culinary usage.

The viral wording changed a place-based product name into a literal object, staircase, stripping it of its geographic meaning.

Why the wording is wrong

In this case, de l'Escala refers to the town of L'Escala, not the common noun for staircase. Food names linked to towns, regions and established local products are often kept as place references in translation.

TERMCAT includes the expression in its terminology resources, including the dish name torrada amb anxoves de l'Escala i escalivada. That gives restaurants and translators a public reference point for menu wording.

The mistake also reflects a wider issue with automatic or unchecked translation. Public bodies, including the Catalan Data Protection Authority and Spain's Ministry of Culture, publish notices warning that machine translation can produce errors and should be reviewed before publication.

What restaurants in Catalonia are expected to do

Restaurants in Catalonia must provide certain consumer information clearly, and language rights guidance from the Generalitat says consumers have the right to be attended to and informed in Catalan. For menus and product descriptions, that makes accuracy more than a stylistic issue, especially when the wording concerns recognised local foods.

Business owners checking bilingual menus can use official terminology databases and producer references before printing. Readers who want to understand how this newsroom handles verification can consult our Editorial Policy and Source Transparency pages.

Useful checks before printing a bilingual menu

  • Confirm whether a word is a place name rather than a common noun.
  • Check TERMCAT or another official terminology database for standard usage.
  • Review branded or traditional product names on the producer's own site.
  • Do not rely on automatic translation without human checking.

Consumers who spot misleading or incorrect menu information can raise it directly with the business. If needed, complaints in Catalonia can also be made using the official consumer complaint form provided by the Agència Catalana del Consum.

Primary sources: Generalitat de Catalunya, Ministry of Language Policy, Agència Catalana del Consum, Ministerio de Cultura (Spain), Ministerio de Cultura (Spain). Reported by Source Text Link, Anxoves de l'Escala, TERMCAT, Girona Excel·lent, Autoritat Catalana de Protecció de Dades, L'Empordà.