Rachunek, proszę
The restaurant, from the menu to the tip. The menu is a karta, the free starter has a name, and reszty nie trzeba is how you say the tip out loud.
korkowe
noun · neuter, adjectival
- EN
- corkage (fee for bringing your own wine)
- RU
- пробковый сбор
Możemy przynieść swoje wino? — Tak, korkowe to 40 zł.
'Can we bring our own wine?' 'Yes, corkage is 40 złoty.'
From korek, the cork. Declines like an adjective: bez korkowego, z korkowym. Worth asking about before a birthday dinner.
czekadełko
noun · neuter, diminutive, colloquial
- EN
- a free starter, an amuse-bouche
- RU
- комплимент от шефа
Zanim przynieśli dania, dostaliśmy czekadełko: chleb ze smalcem.
Before the food came, we got a little something while we waited: bread with lard.
From czekać, to wait — the little thing you eat while waiting. Russian says комплимент от шефа; Polish just names what it is for.
na wynos
phrase · adverb
- EN
- to take away, to go
- RU
- с собой, навынос
Dwie kawy na wynos, proszę.
Two coffees to go, please.
The counter's question: na miejscu czy na wynos? Wynos is from wynosić, to carry out — the same verb as wynoś się!, get out. The answer changes the cup, not the price.
reszty nie trzeba
phrase
- EN
- keep the change
- RU
- сдачи не надо
Proszę, reszty nie trzeba.
Here you go, keep the change.
The clear way to tip in cash. A plain dziękuję as you hand over the money can be taken to mean the same — which is why waiters sometimes do not come back.
zestaw
noun · masculine
- EN
- set meal, combo; a set, a kit
- RU
- комплексный обед; набор
Zestaw obiadowy w barze mlecznym to zupa i drugie.
The set lunch at a milk bar is a soup and a main.
Zestaw dnia is the lunch deal between noon and three; in fast food it is the combo, zestaw z frytkami. RU набор covers only the kit sense — a zestaw głośnomówiący is a hands-free set.
przystawka
noun · feminine
- EN
- starter, appetiser; an attachment (for a machine)
- RU
- закуска; насадка
Na przystawkę wzięliśmy śledzia.
For a starter we had herring.
RU закуска is the Polish przekąska — a snack, or what goes with vodka; the first course on a menu is przystawka. The same word is the attachment you screw onto a mixer or a drill.
dodatki
noun · plural
- EN
- side dishes, sides; extras
- RU
- гарнир; дополнения
Dodatki do wyboru: frytki, ziemniaki lub ryż.
Sides to choose from: chips, potatoes or rice.
RU гарнир has no Polish twin: the menu says dodatki and lists them, surówka included. The singular dodatek is an allowance — dodatek mieszkaniowy is housing benefit, not a side.
polecać
verb · imperfective
- EN
- to recommend; to instruct
- RU
- рекомендовать; поручать
Co pan poleca na obiad?
What do you recommend for lunch?
Polecam is the waiter's word and the review's; perfective polecić. The other sense is to instruct — polecił mi to zrobić — which RU поручить shares, and it is the root of list polecony.
razem czy osobno
phrase
- EN
- together or separately (the bill)
- RU
- вместе или раздельно
Płacą państwo razem czy osobno?
Are you paying together or separately?
The waiter's question at the end, and splitting is normal, no eye-rolling: each person names their own dishes. Osobno is the natural word here; RU раздельно is the same idea.
napiwek
noun · masculine
- EN
- tip
- RU
- чаевые
Zostawiliśmy dziesięć procent napiwku.
We left a ten per cent tip.
Ten per cent is the norm. The trap: say dziękuję as you hand over cash and the waiter keeps the change — it means 'that's fine'. Want it back? Say nothing. From na piwo, for a beer.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten