Advice on eating out in Italy
The real reason people visit Italy! Forget the monuments, art and history - we want the food!
First thing to decide is where to go. Depending on your budget you can choose from a whole range of eateries.
Starting from the cheap and cheerful, a self-service restaurant (despite the sound of it) can actually offer really great food at low prices and can be found even in the most touristy cities. Some are even decked out like ‘proper’ restaurants. Serve yourself and pay at the end at the cassa (till).
Agriturismi (farmhouses) cook simple, home-grown food and are (obviously!) located in the countryside. Portions are usually hefty and prices low. Often there is no menu - you eat what they cook for you!
If you fancy the traditional pizza, go to a pizzeria. Don’t attempt anything else on the menu, however - there’s a reason why they are called pizzerie!
An osteria is another type of eating establishment. Serving a vast selection of alcohol, these places are more like English pubs and serve simple, fairly low-priced food.
Similarly, a trattoria offers cucina casalinga (literally ‘housewife’s cooking) so has a smallish menu but tasty regional food at good prices.
Lastly, if you want to splash out, try a ristorante. These places are posher, have a wide selection of local and national dishes with slightly smaller portion sizes (so you can try more courses!). Your family will thank you but your wallet won’t!
Now to decide what to eat. It would be impossible to list all the piatti (dishes) on offer on an Italian menù, but you should be aware of the different courses. If you are really hungry you could start with an antipasto (starter) of formaggio (cheese) or salami then progress onto a primo (first course) which usually consists of pasta, risotto (rice) or minestra (soup). A secondo (second course), on the other hand, is often carne (meat) or pesce (fish) with optional contorni (side dishes). The dolce (sweet/pudding) will finish off the cena (dinner) perfectly.
When you are pronto per ordinare (ready to order), you might want to explain individual requirements such as cibo vegetariano (vegetarian food), cibo senza glutine (gluten free food) or explain that you have un allergia alle arachidi (nut allergy).
Da bere (to drink), start with an aperitivo, move on to vino then finish with a nice amaro (bitter tasting liqueur) or grappa. Finally un caffe and you’re done!
All that remains is to chiedere il conto (ask for the bill). Only ristoranti expect una mancia (a tip) as other places charge you il coperto (a cover charge).
Buon appetito!
