English "buffet" (say: bafé - it's really a French word) and Slovak "bufet" are typical tricky words - they look similar (more similar than they sound, anyway), but
mixing them up could certainly lead to misunderstanding. Both involve ways of serving hot and cold food relatively quickly to people who may eat it standing up or sitting down, but the contexts are
very different.
The English "buffet" can be understood as "švédsky stôl" in Slovak, so it is associated with holiday hotel breakfasts and official receptions. The Slovak "bufet" can
be understood as "snack bar" in English, but that is a compromise translation because sometimes a "bufet" looks more like a shop with a food counter, and sometimes it looks like a cafeteria or a
canteen serving traditional Slovak fast food (goulash, not burgers!) - although I regret to say that this type of "na stojáka" refreshment facility is increasingly a thing of the past.
Empty