Cafe and restaurant in Hungarian
A table, the menu, what you cannot eat, and a compliment to the kitchen. Play the ten Hungarian words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Hungarian phrases in this lesson
- Két személyre asztaltkayt SEH-may-reh OS-tolt
- A table for two
- Az étlapot kéremoz AYT-loh-pot KAY-rem
- The menu, please
- Mit ajánl?meet O-yahnl
- What do you recommend?
- Nem eszem...nem EH-sem
- I don't eat...
- Allergiás vagyok...OL-ler-gee-ahsh VOD-yok
- I'm allergic to...
- Húshoosh
- Meat
- CsirkeCHEER-keh
- Chicken
- Halhol
- Fish
- Nagyon finomNOD-yon FEE-nom
- It's delicious
- Egészségére!eh-GAYS-shay-geh-reh
- Cheers
Literally "a table for two persons". Hungary has a rich restaurant culture rooted in the Austro-Hungarian tradition. Budapest café life is legendary; the historic coffee houses (kávéházak) like Gerbeaud and New York are worth visiting even just for a coffee.
Étlap is the menu. Most restaurants in Budapest have English menus; saying "Van angol étlapjuk?" (do you have an English menu?) confirms it. Outside Budapest, a picture menu or pointing at what other tables have ordered is reliable.
"Nem eszem húst", I don't eat meat.
The food takes -ra: "diófélékre", to nuts.
Chicken paprikash, csirkepaprikás, is a classic.
Fisherman's soup, halászlé, is red with paprika.
The best compliment at a Hungarian table. "Nagyon" (very) + "finom" (fine, delicious). Hungarian hosts and cooks are proud of their cuisine; saying this and meaning it will make the meal more memorable for both of you.
Literally "to your health", the formal version. The casual form is "Egészségedre!" (eh-GAYS-shay-ged-reh). Look everyone in the eye when clinking. Hungarian tradition holds that you should never clink beer glasses: this dates from an 1848 defeat and the custom is still observed.