Essential Italian Food & Dining Etiquette

Perspective

Italian food is well known worldwide and is by far one of its most popular cuisines. To illustrate just how popular Italian food is across the globe, let’s just look at pizza alone. Over 5 billion pizzas are sold worldwide each year, and an estimated 350 slices are eaten each second. While 3 billion of these pizzas are sold in America, there's still a lot of pizza being sold throughout the rest of the world.

Food and dining are central to Italian culture, and dining is not just for fueling the body. Dining is an event, and Italians value proper etiquette.

It can be a bit daunting but If you plan on visiting Italy, it’s best to be aware of the dos and don’ts, when dining out.

Morning Ritual

Coffee:

• There’s a time and place for everything:

• Cappuccino is only supposed to be consumed in the morning and not with meals. Cappuccino, however, is frowned upon after 11 am. Italians will look at you very strangely if you order a cappuccino after 11:00 am. Why? Because Italians find a cappuccino too heavy after a meal.

• You can drink espresso anytime, but once again, never order a cappuccino after breakfast. However, you can have an espresso any time of day.

• Short coffee or Ristretto is a "short shot" of highly concentrated espresso and is very common to drink at the very end of the meal.

Breakfast:

• Generally, breakfast is an on-the-go sweet affair.

• Fruit and yogurt

• Cookies, biscotti, cornetto, cake, maybe cereal.

• Usually no eggs.

Mains

Dining and Dinner etiquette

• Punctuality is important but varies from region to region, and Italian to Italian, so pay attention to the way you are invited. If the hour set is vague, along the lines of “sometime around 9 pm”, do not be surprised if your Italian business partner arrives at least 15 minutes late.

• Greetings. Men greet other men with a handshake and possibly a hug. Woman to woman or man to woman's usual greeting is a double kiss, one on each cheek. Use Signore (Mr.) or Signora (Ms.) and the family name, unless told to use the first name. Do use personal and professional titles.

• Dress well. Italians value fashion and looking well-dressed, so make an effort to look your best, especially in business-related dinners.

• It is customary to keep both hands above the table at all times, even when finished dining

• Italian meals contain a lot of plates, so plan accordingly. The usual meal cycle goes antipasto (appetizer), soup, pasta, main dish, salad, cheese, dessert, and fruit.

• Never, ever, eat with your hands

• Do not begin eating until your host/partner says “buòn appetito”

• Italians do not switch utensils. The knife remains on the right hand and the fork on the left. When finished, lay both utensils to the right of the plate with the tines of the fork facing downward. This will signal the waiter to remove your meal.

• Avoid talking about the Vatican, politics, the mafia, or private family manners.

• Dining is an experience and shouldn’t be rushed. You will have to ask for your check.

The Courses

• The antipasto: A traditional Italian meal starts with something to nibble on, called an antipasto, which translates into English as “before the meal.”

• The primo: In Italy, pasta is a first course, or primo, served as an appetizer, not as the main event. Soup, rice, and polenta are the other options for the primo.

• The secondo: The main course is called il secondo, or the second course. Chicken, meat, or fish are the usual choices, and portions are generally small. These main courses are usually fairly simple, especially if a rich pasta or rice dish precedes them.

• The contorno: A platter of vegetables usually accompanies the main course. This side dish highlights the simple goodness of the vegetable. The word contorno loosely translates as “contours” and refers to the fact that the vegetable course helps shape and define the meal.

• The dolce: A dolce (or sweet) ends a traditional Italian meal.

Food Etiquette

Pizza:

• Order your own, whole pizza. The Italians love their pizza, which they can easily eat all by themselves because it’s lighter both in the dough and in the toppings.

• If you order a whole pizza, don’t expect it to be sliced for you. This is because, as stated, usually pizza is not meant for sharing. Cutting it also causes the moisture from the mozzarella (which in Italy is fresh and milky) to get under the crust and make it soggy (an exception is for that pizzeria that serves “maxi” pizzas meant to be shared).

• However, in tourist towns, you can get slices and in Rome, Roman-style pizza is sold by weight.

• Pizza ordered in a restaurant is consumed by using a fork and knife or if you are getting it to go, pizza can be folded up and eaten.

Toppings:

• Some toppings shouldn’t be cooked, such as prosciutto and fresh arugula. However, when a pizza comes out of the oven, fresh thin slices of prosciutto en crudo (uncooked) can be draped on a hot pizza.

• Pepperoni is not a type of salami in Italy, and if you order it to top a pizza, you will get bell pepper.

• In a pizzeria, generally stick to traditional topping combinations.

• Traditional pizzas feature successful combinations, so Italians generally stick to them (ordering extra toppings is considered unrefined)

• There is no stuffed crust pizza and topping a pizza with pineapple is considered an abomination.

Bread:

• No bread before pasta.

• Dipping bread into oil and balsamic vinegar, though most good restaurants that serve travelers/tourists do offer good olive oil for bread dipping now.

• No butter for your bread.

• Garlic toast is not served as a side dish for pasta. In general, starches are not combined.

• It’s OK to soak up the sauce with bread, (“fare la Scarpetta”), at home (or in informal restaurants) but only when there’s no more pasta left on the plate.

Pasta:

• Pasta portions are individual-sized and you don't need to order the whole menu.

• Pasta should never be cut with a knife! Twirl it, dammit, twirl it!!

• Don’t sprinkle Parmesan cheese on everything, especially pasta with seafood in it.

Drinks:

• Drinks should be paired with food: Wine is consumed mainly as a pairing to meals (white wine generally pairs with fish, red wine with meat, and aged cheeses).

•  Only drink water and wine at a restaurant.

• People drink it for the taste, not for the effect, or so they say.

• Don’t get wasted at dinner. Public drunkenness is a no, no.

• No milk with dinner (or lunch, for that matter). 

• Milk is consumed at breakfast or as a snack item only for children.

Dishes or Condiments that don't exist at all in Italy:

• Caesar salad is NOT Italian and was invented in Tijuana Mexico by Caesar Cardini.

• Pasta called “Fettucine Alfredo” made with cream doesn’t exist either, however, “Fettucine al Burro” does and was invented in Rome by Alfredo di Lelio. It is made with Fettucine, butter, Parmigiano Reggiano, and pasta water.

• Italian dressing doesn’t exist. Salads are only dressed with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.

• Garlic bread is also an American creation.

• Spaghetti and Meatballs is an adaptation using Italian meatballs called polpette, which is the plural of polpetta. Polpette is a staple of Italian cuisine and can be eaten as a main dish, or in soups, or pasta. They are often considerably smaller than American meatballs which can be huge.

• However, some Italian regions and cookbooks do document pasta dishes with meatballs and tomato sauce, such as Maccheroni alle polpette and Maccheroni alla chitarra con polpette, which translates to "spaghetti and meatballs".

• Penne Alla Vodka, nope, no such thing.

• No pasta chicken Alfredo in Italy and chicken is rarely served on top or tossed in a pasta dish. Except for Some regional pasta dishes, like the Roman dish “Fettuccine con Rigaglie di Pollo,”(pasta with chicken giblets, herbs, garlic, and tomato) or the Piedmontese dish: “Tajarin al ragù di gallina Bionda” (pasta with chicken livers, tomato puree, garlic, wine, and rosemary).

• .Chicken Parmigiana: The typical Italian American creation made with a fried breaded chicken cutlet, marinara sauce, parmesan, and melted provolone cheese may be delicious. This is not found in Italy.

• What is Italian, or at least it was born in Southern Italy, is “Melanzane alla Parmigiana“. Slices of eggplants are fried and layered with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan, then baked.

• Most dishes are almost entirely unknown outside of their REGION.

Miscellaneous:

• Don’t EVER ask for salt and pepper. The chef has decided your freshly prepared dish is perfect the way it is.

• Don’t ask for non-Italian dishes or ketchup, ever.

• There is no such thing as a “doggy bag” for leftovers

Tipping

Tipping Is Not As Big A Thing In Italy:

• On the other hand, the term servizio does mean a tip or service charge. If servizio has been added to your bill, you don't need to leave any other tip unless you had the best service of your life. 

• Servizio Inculso is the tip.

• Keep in mind that waiters in Italy are compensated better than those in the United States, it is not customary to leave a 15% to 20% tip. 

• The bottom line is that tipping isn't mandatory in Italy but is appreciated for good service.

• At a bar, you can leave small change, at a hotel, tip 2 Euro for your porter, and, if servizio isn't included at a restaurant, leave 10% to 15%.

• Now you know a bit about Italian dining etiquette, let the dining begin!!