Cafe and restaurant in Kannada
A table, the menu, what you cannot eat, and a compliment to the kitchen. Play the ten Kannada 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 Kannada phrases in this lesson
- ಎರಡು ಜನರಿಗೆ ಟೇಬಲ್E-ra-du ja-NA-ri-ge TEE-bal
- A table for two
- ಮೆನು ಕೊಡಿME-nu KO-di
- The menu, please
- ಏನು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ?EE-nu chen-NAA-gi-de
- What do you recommend?
- ನಾನು ... ತಿನ್ನುವುದಿಲ್ಲNAA-nu ... TIN-nu-vu-dil-la
- I don't eat...
- ನನಗೆ ... ಅಲರ್ಜಿ ಇದೆna-NA-ge ... a-LAR-ji I-de
- I'm allergic to...
- ಮಾಂಸMAAM-sa
- Meat
- ಕೋಳಿKOH-li
- Chicken
- ಮೀನುMEE-nu
- Fish
- ತುಂಬಾ ರುಚಿ ಇದೆTUM-baa ROO-chi I-de
- It's delicious
- ಚೀರ್ಸ್CHEERS
- Cheers
Standard phrase at a sit-down restaurant. In a darshini (standing canteen), there are no tables to reserve, just find a spot.
"Menu" is the same word. Adding "kodi" (please give) keeps it polite. Many smaller restaurants have a hand-written menu on a board.
Literally "what is good?".
On the coast around Mangaluru, fish curry is the staple.
Say this to the server or cook and watch their face light up. Kannadigas are proud of their cuisine.
India has no strong drinking toast tradition. English "Cheers" is widely used and understood in Bengaluru among drinkers. In conservative settings, people often simply raise glasses in silence.