How to Order Food in Nepali — The Complete Phrasebook

Most foreigners in Nepali restaurants and teahouses point at menus and say "this one" in English. It works. Servers handle it. The food arrives.

But the foreigners who order in basic Nepali get something different — warmer service, faster refills, the cook coming out to ask how the meal is, and a check that's sometimes a little smaller than the menu prices suggested.

Here's the full phrasebook for ordering food, organized by the actual flow of a meal.

Arriving and getting seated

Entering a restaurant: Namaste! — नमस्ते — "Hello." The universal greeting. Hands together at chest height.

Asking for a table: Khali table chha? — खाली टेबल छ? — "Is there an empty table?" In small lodges this might not be needed — they'll wave you in.

Asking about the menu: Menu paauchhau? — मेनु पाउँछौ? — "Can I have a menu?"

In many trekking lodges there's no printed menu. The cook will tell you what's available. "Aaja ke khana paaiyo?" — "What food is available today?" — gets you the day's list.

Ordering

The basic order structure: Malai [food] dinuhos — मलाई [food] दिनुहोस् — "Give me [food]."

Most common substitutions:

• Malai dal bhat dinuhos — "Give me dal bhat."
• Malai chiya dinuhos — "Give me tea."
• Malai momo dinuhos — "Give me momos."
• Malai chow mein dinuhos — "Give me chow mein." (yes, it's just "chow mein" in Nepali)

The phrase "dinuhos" is the polite imperative — "please give." For very casual situations you can drop it, but for first-time interactions it's best to keep the polite form.

Asking for more: Aru paauchhau? — अरु पाउँछौ? — "Can I have more?"

For dal bhat refills specifically (which are usually free), the cook will often come around with the refill ladle without being asked. If you want to actively request: Aru dal/bhat/tarkari dinuhos. (Tarkari = vegetables.)

Asking for the bill: Bill dinuhos — बिल दिनुहोस् — "Bill please."

Or: Kati bhayo? — कति भयो? — "How much is it?"

Dietary restrictions

Vegetarian: Ma shakaahari hun — म शाकाहारी हुँ — "I'm vegetarian."

This is well-understood in Nepal. Hindu vegetarianism is common. The cook will assume you mean no meat, no fish, no eggs in dishes meant to have them.

Vegan (more complicated): Ma vegan hun. Dudh ra ghyu pani khana sakdina. — "I'm vegan. I can't eat dairy or ghee either."

The word "vegan" is increasingly recognized in Nepal but isn't universal. The follow-up clarification about dudh (milk) and ghyu (ghee) is essential — ghee specifically sneaks into many Nepali dishes. See our dietary cards printable for the printable version.

Allergies: Malai [allergen] ko allergy chha — "I'm allergic to [allergen]."

Common allergens:

• Mungphali — peanuts
• Badaam — nuts (generic)
• Dudh — milk
• Andaa — egg
• Gahun — wheat

Spice level: Kam piro garnu hos — कम पिरो गर्नु होस् — "Make it less spicy." (For mild.)

Piro garnu hos — "Make it spicy." (Normal Nepali spice level.)

Ekdam piro garnu hos — "Make it very spicy." (Brave.)

No salt: Nun bina — "Without salt."

No sugar: Chini bina — "Without sugar." (Important if you don't want sweetened chiya.)

During the meal

Saying it's delicious (the single most impactful phrase): Mitho chha! — मिठो छ — "It's delicious!"

See our dedicated post on this — it's the difference between paying customer and respected guest.

Refusing more food: Pugyo, dhanyabad — पुग्यो, धन्यवाद — "I'm full, thank you."

See our dedicated post — without this phrase you'll eat too much, every meal.

Asking for water: Paani dinuhos — पानी दिनुहोस् — "Water please."

Filter paani dinuhos — "Filtered water please." (Important at trekking lodges where you want safe water.)

Tato paani — "Hot water." (Used for making tea or for warmth.)

Asking what's in a dish: Yo ma ke chha? — "What's in this?"

Useful if there's ambiguity about meat content or unfamiliar ingredients.

Special situations

Sharing or splitting the bill: Mileyer tirchhau? — "We'll split it?"

Or: Alag-alag tirchhau — "We'll pay separately."

Many small Nepali restaurants prefer one bill for the table — splitting can be administratively complicated. Have one person collect everyone's share and pay.

Paying with card: Card payment hunchha? — "Card payment OK?"

Most small lodges and shops are cash-only. Major Thamel restaurants accept cards. Trekking lodges above Lukla are cash-only (NPR).

Asking for the price BEFORE eating (useful in unmarked menus): [Item] kati paisa? — "How much is [item]?"

At trekking lodges specifically

The teahouse scenario script covers the full sequence in order. The compressed version:

1. Namaste! on arrival
2. Ask what's available: "Aaja ke khana paaiyo?"
3. Order: "Malai dal bhat dinuhos" (or whatever)
4. While eating, say "Mitho chha" once
5. Accept refills (just nod when ladle approaches)
6. When done: "Pugyo, dhanyabad"
7. At end: "Bill dinuhos"
8. Pay in NPR cash

At Newari restaurants

Newari restaurants (see our Newari food guide) have specific dishes worth knowing:

• Samay baji — the ceremonial plate
• Chatamari — Newari rice-flour pizza
• Choila — spicy grilled meat
• Yomari — sweet steamed dumpling
• Bara — fried lentil cake

Ordering: "Ek samay baji set dinuhos" — "Give me one samay baji set."

Cultural notes

Eating with the right hand. Nepali culture (Hindu and Buddhist) considers the left hand impure (associated with hygiene functions). When eating with hands — which is common — use only the right hand. The left hand can hold the plate.

Tipping in restaurants: not standard. Some upscale restaurants include service charge (5-10%); leave that as the tip. For casual restaurants, rounding up by NPR 20-50 is appreciated but not expected.

Refusing food politely: covered by pugyo, but the cultural pattern in Nepali homes is that the FIRST refusal is sometimes interpreted as polite reluctance. If you really don't want more, you may need to say pugyo firmly twice.

Hot food protocol: dishes arrive hot enough to burn. Wait a minute before eating. Don't blow on the food aggressively — gentle waiting is the local pattern.

A few useful menu translations

| Nepali | English | |---|---| | dal bhat | rice + lentils + vegetables | | chiya | tea (usually milk tea) | | kaalo chiya | black tea | | momo | dumplings | | chow mein | fried noodles | | sekuwa | grilled meat | | sukuti | dried meat jerky | | chatamari | Newari rice flour pancake | | sel roti | ring-shaped fried bread | | gundruk | fermented leafy greens (very Nepali) | | khira | rice pudding | | tarkari | vegetables | | bhutuwa | dry fried meat |

Pre-trip checklist

• Practice the basics: namaste, malai ... dinuhos, mitho chha, pugyo, bill dinuhos
• Know your dietary restrictions in Nepali
• Have the dietary cards printable as backup
• The teahouse scenario script for trekking days
• The Newari food guide for Kathmandu Valley cultural meals

Ordering in Nepali takes 30 minutes of practice. The return is 12 days of warmer meals, faster service, and the small daily satisfaction of being able to interact with the people who feed you in their own language.