Cafe and restaurant in Irish
A table, the menu, what you cannot eat, and a compliment to the kitchen. Play the ten Irish 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 Irish phrases in this lesson
- Bord do bheirt, le do thoilbord duh VERSHCH leh duh HULL
- A table for two
- An biachlár, le do thoilun BEE-uh-khlawr leh duh HULL
- The menu, please
- Cad a mholann tú?kod ah VULL-un too
- What do you recommend?
- Ní ithim...nee IH-im
- I don't eat...
- Tá ailléirge orm le...taw AL-air-geh OR-um leh
- I'm allergic to...
- Feoilfyohl
- Meat
- Sicínshi-KEEN
- Chicken
- IascEE-usk
- Fish
- Tá sé blastataw shay BLAS-tuh
- It's delicious
- Sláinte!SLAWN-cha
- Cheers
Bord means "table" and beirt means "two people" (Irish has a special set of numbers for counting people). This is all you need at the door of any restaurant. The "bh" in bheirt makes a "v" sound.
Biachlár literally means "food list." You'll see this word on menus in Irish-themed or Gaeltacht-area restaurants. In most restaurants the staff will hand you the menu in English, but asking in Irish is a lovely touch.
A great question to ask in any restaurant, especially for Irish specialties. The "mh" in mholann is lenited to a "v/w" sound. Locals will enthusiastically recommend whatever is fresh or locally sourced that day.
Literally "an allergy is on me with ...".
Literally "it is tasty".
The Irish toast, literally meaning "health." You'll hear this constantly in pubs and at meals. It's one of the most recognized Irish words internationally and using it correctly will always get a warm reaction.