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Lesson 6 of 10

Cafe and restaurant in Arabic

A table, the menu, what you cannot eat, and a compliment to the kitchen. Play the ten Arabic words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.

The Mall of Arabia in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Cafe and restaurant
10 words · 20 seconds each · 8 of 10 to pass
What it meansHow to say it
Arbitrarily0, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

All 10 Arabic phrases in this lesson

طاولة لشخصينTA-wi-la li-shakh-SAYN
A table for two

Reservations are usually not needed for casual restaurants; upscale places in Gulf cities and Beirut benefit from booking ahead on weekends. Walking in and gesturing the number of people works in most casual settings.

القائمة من فضلكal-QA-i-ma min FAD-lak
The menu, please

"Minyu" (from French/English menu) is understood everywhere in casual contexts. Menus in tourist areas typically include English. Point-and-order works at any counter; elaborate phrase not required.

ماذا تنصح؟MA-tha TAN-sah
What do you recommend?

Waiters are proud of their kitchen, so expect a full list.

لا آكل...la A-kul
I don't eat...

"La akul lahm", I don't eat meat. Pork is absent anyway in most of the region.

عندي حساسية من...IN-dee ha-sa-SEE-ya min
I'm allergic to...

"Indi hasasiya min al-fool as-sudani", I'm allergic to peanuts (al-FOOL as-soo-DA-nee).

لحمLAHM
Meat

Lamb is the default red meat. Meat is halal unless clearly marked otherwise.

دجاجda-JAJ
Chicken

In Egypt "firakh" (fi-RAKH). Shawarma comes in chicken or meat.

سمكSA-mak
Fish

Grilled whole and priced by weight on the coasts.

لذيذ جداًla-DHEETH JID-dan
It's delicious

"Ladheeth" (delicious). In Egyptian dialect: "ta'am" (it is great) or "wallahi ladheeth" (by God it is delicious). Complimenting food warmly is a real social act; Arab hospitality cultures measure success by the pleasure of their guests.

في صحتكfee SAH-tak
Cheers

Literally "to your health". Worth knowing that most of the Arabic-speaking world has no clinking-glasses ritual at all, and in the Gulf alcohol is largely absent from public life, so this is a phrase you will use far less than its equivalents elsewhere. Around food rather than drink, the phrase people actually say is "bil-hana wash-shifa" (enjoy, and may it heal).

Where Arabic is spoken

Next lesson: Meeting people →