Eating Out: Restaurants, Dietary Needs & Complaints
Hungarian Basic Conversation 2
Chapter 7 · Eating Out: Restaurants, Dietary Needs & Complaints
🍽️ Eating Out — Étteremben
This chapter takes you to a Hungarian restaurant. You will learn to book a table, to order from the menu, to explain a diet or an allergy, to make a polite complaint and to pay. It also gives the definite conjugation real work: choosing a specific dish (Azt kérem) is a perfect use for it. Dialogs have no respelling line: check the Hard words notes.
① Booking a Table — Asztalt foglalni
A:
Jó napot kívánok! Asztalt szeretnék foglalni.
Good day! I'd like to book a table.
B:
Hány főre?
For how many people?
A:
Négy főre, szombaton este hétkor.
For four, on Saturday evening at seven.
B:
Rendben. Mi a neve?
Fine. What's your name?
A:
Kovács.
Kovács.
Hard words: asztalt AWS-tawlt · szeretnék SEH-reht-nayk · foglalni FOG-lawl-nih
② Ordering (Philip's) — Mit ajánl?
A:
Mit ajánl?
What do you recommend?
B:
A gulyáslevest és a rántott húst.
The goulash soup and the breaded cutlet.
A:
Akkor azt kérem.
Then I'll have that.
Hard words: ajánl AW-yahnl · gulyásleves GU-yahsh-leh-vehsh · rántott hús RAHN-tott HOOSH
③ A Vegetarian — Vegetáriánus vagyok
A:
Vegetáriánus vagyok. Van hús nélküli étel?
I'm vegetarian. Is there a meat-free dish?
B:
Igen, van túrós csusza és saláta.
Yes, there is túrós csusza and salad.
A:
Azt kérem.
I'll have that.
Hard words: vegetáriánus VEH-geh-tah-rih-ah-nush · nélküli NAYL-kuel-ih · túrós csusza TOO-roosh CHU-saw
④ An Allergy — Allergiás vagyok
A:
Allergiás vagyok a mogyoróra.
I'm allergic to peanuts.
B:
Nincs benne mogyoró.
There are no peanuts in it.
A:
Köszönöm.
Thank you.
Hard words: allergiás AWL-lehr-gih-ahsh · mogyoróra MO-dyo-roh-raw · benne BEHN-neh
⑤ A Complaint (Philip's) — Hideg a leves
A:
Elnézést, hideg a leves.
Excuse me, the soup is cold.
B:
Bocsánat, azonnal hozok másikat.
I'm sorry, I'll bring another one at once.
A:
Köszönöm.
Thank you.
Hard words: azonnal AW-zon-nawl · másikat MAH-shih-kawt · hozok HO-zok
⑥ Paying — Finom volt!
A:
Fizetek, kérem.
I'd like to pay, please.
B:
Rendben. Finom volt?
Certainly. Was it good?
A:
Igen, nagyon finom volt! Köszönöm.
Yes, it was delicious! Thank you.
Hard words: finom FIH-nom · volt VOLT
🗝️ Key Phrases — Fontos kifejezések
| Situation | Formal (Ön) | Informal (te) |
|---|---|---|
| I'd like to book a table | Asztalt szeretnék foglalni. AWS-tawlt SEH-reht-nayk FOG-lawl-nih | (same) |
| For four people | Négy főre. NAYDY FEUU-reh | (same) |
| What do you recommend? | Mit ajánl? MIT AW-yahnl | Mit ajánlasz? MIT AW-yahn-lawss |
| I'll have that | Azt kérem. AWZT KAY-rehm | (same) |
| I'm vegetarian | Vegetáriánus vagyok. VEH-geh-tah-rih-ah-nush VAW-dyok | (same) |
| I'm allergic to … | Allergiás vagyok a … AWL-lehr-gih-ahsh VAW-dyok aw | (same) |
| The soup is cold | Hideg a leves. HIH-dehg aw LEH-vehsh | (same) |
| The bill, please | A számlát kérem. AW SAHM-laht KAY-rehm | (same) |
| It was delicious | Nagyon finom volt! NAW-dyon FIH-nom VOLT | (same) |
🍲 Hungarian Dishes — Magyar ételek
Learn the names of the classics, because they are on almost every menu. Gulyás is a soup in Hungary (gulyásleves); the thick stew that English menus call "goulash" is pörkölt.
| Dish | Hungarian | Say it | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| goulash soup | gulyásleves | GU-yahsh-leh-vehsh | beef and vegetable soup with paprika |
| fisherman's soup | halászlé | HAW-lahs-lay | spicy river-fish soup |
| stew | pörkölt | PEUR-keult | meat stew with paprika (the real "goulash" of English menus) |
| breaded cutlet | rántott hús | RAHN-tott HOOSH | like a schnitzel |
| stuffed cabbage | töltött káposzta | TEUL-teutt KAH-po-staw | cabbage rolls with meat and rice |
| chicken paprikash | paprikás csirke | PAWP-rih-kahsh CHIR-keh | chicken in a paprika cream sauce |
| curd-cheese pasta | túrós csusza | TOO-roosh CHU-saw | pasta with cottage cheese and bacon |
| fried dough | lángos | LAHN-gosh | fried flatbread with sour cream and cheese |
| pancake | palacsinta | PAW-law-chin-taw | thin pancake, sweet or savoury |
| layered cake | Dobos torta | DO-bosh TOR-taw | famous sponge cake with caramel top |
🥗 Courses and Ingredients — Fogások és hozzávalók
| Course / food | Hungarian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| starter | előétel | EH-leuu-ay-tehl |
| soup | leves | LEH-vehsh |
| main course | főétel | FEUU-ay-tehl |
| side dish | köret | KEU-reht |
| dessert | desszert | DEHS-sehrt |
| meat | hús | HOOSH |
| fish | hal | HAWL |
| vegetables | zöldség | ZEULD-shayg |
| cheese | sajt | SHAWYT |
| egg | tojás | TO-yahsh |
| rice | rizs | RIZH |
| chicken / pork / beef | csirke / sertés / marha | CHIR-keh / SHEHR-taysh / MAWR-haw |
🥦 Dietary Needs — Étkezési szokások
Telling the waiter about a diet or an allergy is very easy, and well worth practising: Allergiás vagyok a …-ra / -re ("I'm allergic to …"), using the -ra / -re ending you know from Chapter 3.
| Dietary need | Hungarian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| I'm vegetarian | Vegetáriánus vagyok. | VEH-geh-tah-rih-ah-nush VAW-dyok |
| I'm vegan | Vegán vagyok. | VEH-gahn VAW-dyok |
| I don't eat meat | Nem eszem húst. | NEHM EH-sehm HOOSHT |
| I'm allergic to nuts | Allergiás vagyok a mogyoróra. | AWL-lehr-gih-ahsh VAW-dyok aw MO-dyo-roh-raw |
| I'm allergic to milk | Allergiás vagyok a tejre. | AWL-lehr-gih-ahsh VAW-dyok aw TEH-yreh |
| gluten-free | gluténmentes | GLU-tayn-mehn-tehsh |
| without meat | hús nélkül | HOOSH NAYL-kuel |
| Is there … in it? | Van benne …? | VAWN BEHN-neh |
Definite or Indefinite? Menu Choices
When you choose a specific dish from the menu you use the definite form: Azt kérem ("I'll have that one"), A gulyáslevest kérem ("I'll have the goulash soup"). When you just ask for something in general, use the indefinite form: Kérek egy levest ("I'd like a soup"). Both are right, and the waiter will understand either, but the definite form sounds more natural when pointing at the menu.
😕 Complaints — Panaszok
Polite complaints are short and direct. Elnézést at the start keeps them friendly.
| Complaint | Hungarian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| The soup is cold | Hideg a leves. | HIH-dehg aw LEH-vehsh |
| It's too salty | Túl sós. | TOOL SHOHSH |
| It's too spicy | Túl csípős. | TOOL CHEE-peush |
| It's too sweet | Túl édes. | TOOL AY-dehsh |
| It isn't fresh | Nem friss. | NEHM FRISH |
| I didn't order this | Nem ezt rendeltem. | NEHM EHZT REHN-dehl-tehm |
| Another one, please | Kérek egy másikat. | KAY-rehk EHDY MAH-shih-kawt |
| I've been waiting a long time | Régen várok. | RAY-gehn VAH-rok |
🔤 Three More Verbs — Igék
Indefinite / definite pairs again: Hozok egy másikat ("I'll bring another one") but Hozom a számlát ("I'll bring the bill").
| rendelni (to order) | kóstolni (to taste) | hozni (to bring) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| én (I) AYN | rendelek / rendelem REHN-deh-lehk / REHN-deh-lehm | kóstolok / kóstolom KOHSH-to-lok / KOHSH-to-lom | hozok / hozom HO-zok / HO-zom |
| te (you) TEH | rendelsz / rendeled REHN-dehls / REHN-deh-lehd | kóstolsz / kóstolod KOHSH-tols / KOHSH-to-lod | hozol / hozod HO-zol / HO-zod |
| ő, Ön EUU, EUN | rendel / rendeli REHN-dehl / REHN-deh-lih | kóstol / kóstolja KOHSH-tol / KOHSH-tol-yaw | hoz / hozza HOZ / HOZ-zaw |
| mi (we) MIH | rendelünk / rendeljük REHN-deh-luenk / REHN-dehl-yuek | kóstolunk / kóstoljuk KOHSH-to-lunk / KOHSH-tol-yuk | hozunk / hozzuk HO-zunk / HOZ-zuk |
| ti (you, pl.) TIH | rendeltek / rendelitek REHN-dehl-tehk / REHN-deh-lih-tehk | kóstoltok / kóstoljátok KOHSH-tol-tok / KOHSH-tol-yah-tok | hoztok / hozzátok HOS-tok / HOZ-zah-tok |
| ők (they) EUUK | rendelnek / rendelik REHN-dehl-nehk / REHN-deh-lihk | kóstolnak / kóstolják KOHSH-tol-nawk / KOHSH-tol-yahk | hoznak / hozzák HOZ-nawk / HOZ-zahk |
📖 Vocabulary — Szókincs
20 key words. Read the Hungarian first; each dialog ends with a short note on the new or tricky words (CAPITALS = the stressed first syllable).
| # | Hungarian | Say it | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | előétel | EH-leuu-ay-tehl | starter | noun |
| 2 | leves | LEH-vehsh | soup | noun |
| 3 | főétel | FEUU-ay-tehl | main course | noun |
| 4 | desszert | DEHS-sehrt | dessert | noun |
| 5 | hús | HOOSH | meat | noun |
| 6 | hal | HAWL | fish | noun |
| 7 | zöldség | ZEULD-shayg | vegetables | noun |
| 8 | sajt | SHAWYT | cheese | noun |
| 9 | tojás | TO-yahsh | egg | noun |
| 10 | rizs | RIZH | rice | noun |
| 11 | vegetáriánus | VEH-geh-tah-rih-ah-nush | vegetarian | adj |
| 12 | allergiás | AWL-lehr-gih-ahsh | allergic | adj |
| 13 | nélkül | NAYL-kuel | without | adj |
| 14 | túl | TOOL | too; over | adj |
| 15 | sós | SHOHSH | salty | adj |
| 16 | édes | AY-dehsh | sweet | adj |
| 17 | friss | FRISH | fresh | adj |
| 18 | finom | FIH-nom | tasty; delicious | adj |
| 19 | rendelni | REHN-dehl-nih | to order | verb |
| 20 | kóstolni | KOHSH-tol-nih | to taste | verb |
Real Hungarian Tip — The Daily Menu: Napi Menü
Many restaurants and canteens offer a cheap napi menü (NAW-pih MEH-nuue, "daily menu") at lunchtime: a soup and a main course, sometimes with a dessert, for a fixed price. Ask Mi a mai menü? ("What is today's menu?"). It is an excellent and economical way to try Hungarian home cooking.
Étterem, Vendéglő, Csárda
A Hungarian étterem is a restaurant, a vendéglő is a traditional inn with homely food, and a csárda is a rustic roadside inn, often with a folk atmosphere. A kávéház is for coffee and cake (Basic 1), and a cukrászda for pastries.
Paprika Is Everywhere
Paprika is Hungary's signature spice, in pörkölt, paprikás csirke and gulyás. If you want a mild dish, say Nem csípős, kérem ("not spicy, please"), and if you like heat, ask for csípős paprika (hot paprika) on the side.
Past Tense Preview: Finom Volt!
Finom volt! ("It was delicious!") and Nem ezt rendeltem ("I didn't order this") are your first past tense phrases. Volt is the past of van, and rendeltem is the past "I" form of rendelni. Use them as set phrases now: the full past tense is Chapter 9.
✍️ Try It Yourself — Gyakorlatok
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Book a table for four people at seven.
Show answer
Asztalt szeretnék foglalni négy főre, hétkor.
2. Ask what the waiter recommends, and order the goulash soup (definite).
Show answer
Mit ajánl? · A gulyáslevest kérem.
3. Say "I'm vegetarian" and "I'm allergic to milk".
Show answer
Vegetáriánus vagyok. · Allergiás vagyok a tejre.
4. Say "The soup is cold" and ask for another one.
Show answer
Hideg a leves. · Kérek egy másikat.
5. Say "It's too salty".
Show answer
Túl sós.
6. Say "It was delicious!"
Show answer
Nagyon finom volt!
Coming Up in Chapter 8
At the doctor and the pharmacy: the parts of the body, Fáj a fejem ("my head hurts"), Lázam van ("I have a fever"), the pharmacy, and the dative ending -nak / -nek.