You’re Saying “Kalaya” Wrong
A non-linguist’s pronunciation guide to 21 of Philly's most mispronounced restaurants.
The sign hanging above Kalaya / Photograph by Kae Lani Palmisano
It took me three years to figure out I had been saying Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon‘s name wrong any time I talked about Kalaya. For three whole years, I was running around this city, mispronouncing her name as “Knock,” and no one ever corrected me. It wasn’t until one day in 2022, when I went to meet Defined Hospitality co-owner Greg Root and Nok at a construction site that would soon be Kalaya’s Fishtown location. Greg started talking about how he met “Nook,” and instantly my heart dropped. Mortified, I turned to Nok and asked, “Your name is pronounced NOOK? When were you going to correct me?” (Think of it as Nók with a short “o.”)
She said that people mess her name up all of the time and after a while she just stopped correcting people. Which, honestly, I do the same thing. People come up with the most fascinating pronunciations of my name, Kae Lani. I’ve learned to respond to “Kai Lane” and “Kah lay-KNEE.” I don’t correct people unless they ask (if you’re wondering, it’s “kay-LAH-knee”). In the case of Nok, I was too busy trying to say Kalaya right, which I also constantly messed up and called “ka-LIE-uh” (the proper pronunciation is “kah-LAY-yuh”).
Since then, Nok and Kalaya have become part of the national conversation. After appearances on Chef’s Table and Somebody Feed Phil, winning a prestigious James Beard Award, and being named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, you better believe people are making a point to pronounce both the names of the chef and her restaurant properly.
But we should take that same level of care with all of Philly’s restaurants, not just the ones that are nationally lauded. Names aren’t just picked at random because they’re cool or sound pretty. They’re often signifiers of culture and heritage and probably mean more to the owners than we give them credit for. Kalaya, as many of us know by now, is named after Nok’s mother. So let’s not be lazy. Let’s learn and correct course, shall we?
Here are more Philly restaurant names many Philadelphians seem to struggle with, as close as we can get to right pronunciation without using nō-ˈtā-shən līk this (or this).
Suraya
As Alex Tewfik, one of Philly Mag’s previous food editors, once explained, it’s pronounced “sir-RAY-uh,” not “suh-RYE-uh.” The restaurant is named after co-owners Nathalie Richan’s and Roland Kassis’s grandmother Suraya Harouni, who helped raise the siblings when they were growing up in Beirut. The name derives from the Arabic name for the Pleiades star cluster.
Mish Mish
Speaking of Tewfik, he’s now the owner of this East Passyunk favorite. He says everyone pronounces it “Meesh Meesh,” but don’t overthink it. “It’s actually Mish Mish, like ‘dish’ or ‘fish,’” he says. According to an interview Tewfik did with Eater Philly back in 2022, the name comes from the Arabic saying “bukra fil mish mish,” meaning “when apricots are in season.” Because apricot season is so short and fleeting it’s like saying “when pigs fly.”
Tabachoy
Chance Anies rarely corrects people when they call his Filipino restaurant “TAH-buh-choy.” The endearing Tagalog nickname meaning “chubby” or “fatty” is properly pronounced “Tuh-BAH-choy.” According to Anies, during Tabachoy’s food truck days, people used to think it was called “Tacoboy.”
EMei
You may think this Szechuan classic is pronounced “ee-MY,” but it’s really “e-MAY.”
Carangi’s
It’s safe to go hard on the South Philly accent with this one: It’s “Cah-RAAN-gee’s.” Unfortunately, the bakery known for their perfectly crusty on the outside, soft on the inside rolls is still temporarily closed due to last December’s fire. But when they reopen (hopefully soon) you can greet them by saying their name properly.
Scannicchio’s
In Abbott Elementary, when Gary the vending machine guy asks Melissa Schemmenti out on a date, he offers to take her to “Ska-KNEE-chee-oh’s.” A Philly deep cut pronounced perfectly!
My Loup
It’s not “My Loop.” It’s “My Lou.” The “p” is silent.
Iztaccihuatl
“Ees-tahk-SEE-waht” is Nahuatl (pronounced “nah-waht”) for “white (like salt) woman.” It refers to the snow-capped mountain located on the Mexico-Puebla state line in central Mexico.
Cicala
“My last name has been mispronounced for as long as I can remember,” says Joe Cicala. He’s heard it all over the years. “See-ca-la”, “Sic-ae-la”, and even “Sisala,” but it’s really pronounced “CHEE-kah-lah.” In Italian, it’s the Latin root for cicada or locust. “Apparently, my ancestors were loud gossips because that’s the nickname you would give somebody with those traits,” he says. But in Sicilian, you can see the Arabic influence on the language with “ci” meaning “here” and “ala” referring to “allah” or “god,” so Cicala also means “where god is present.”
Sakartvelo
The restaurant refers to the native name of Georgia: “Sah-KART-vel-o,” as it’s pronounced in the Kartvelian language.
Sawatdee Thai
It you watched the latest season of White Lotus, you probably heard a lot of attempts at the polite Thai greeting, “Sawatdee ka.” If you don’t want to sound like Parker Posey’s character, Victoria Ratliff,” then you’ll want to pronounce this South Street restaurant as “sa-wah-DEE” Thai.
Alice
So, the new American restaurant on 9th and Christian is called Alice, like Alice in Wonderland. But Alice Pizza and Restaurant at 15th and Locust is actually pronounced “A-LEE-chay.”
Thank You Thank You
Despite its Instagram handle being @thankyou.twice, this coffee shop is called “Thank You Thank You.” Guess @thankyouthankyou was already taken.
Wm. Mulherin’s Sons
This one’s pretty phonetic, but people are often confused about the “Wm.” in the front. “Wm.” is short for “William” — so the full name is William Mulherin’s Sons, but you can just call it “Mulherin’s,” like everyone else.
Fette Sau
German for “fat pig,” Stephen Starr’s Fishtown barbecue collab with chef Joe Carroll is, once and for all, pronounced “FETT-uh ZOW.”
Nan Zhou
The hand-drawn noodle specialist in Chinatown is pronounced “nan joh,” with equal emphasis on both syllables.
Bar Hygge
“Hygge,” an Oxford Dictionary 2016 Word of the Year nominee, is pronounced “HOO-guh.”
Pho Xe Lua
Everyone calls the Chinatown pho spot “Choo Choo” because of the neon train in the window. “Xe lua” means “train” in Vietnamese. Pronounce the whole name: “fuh say LOO-uh.”
Hardena Waroeng/Surabaya
Hardena’s Diana Widjojo says that her parents, Harry and Ena (who originally opened the tiny Indonesian restaurant), mashed their first names together to come up with the name of the restaurant. (“I like to poke fun, because there’s no meaning for the letter D, so I say it stands for me.”) Say it “har-DEE-nah.” A waroeng is a small street stall/shop that you can find on the road, and Surabaya is a city, so it means a street stall/shop from Surabaya. Say that part “wah-ROONG/soo-rah-BYE-ah.”
Seorabol
The long-running Korean restaurant in North Philly and its new Center City spot were named after the former name of the coastal South Korean city now known as Gyeongju. Co-owner Chris Cho tells me people sometimes pronounce it “cereal bowl.” Don’t be like those people. Say it “suh-rah-BUHL.”
Additional reporting by Alex Tewfik
