The 13 biggest differences between restaurants in Italy and America

Felix Magno/Getty Images

 

• Restaurants in Italy offer a different experience than restaurants in America.
• The menus and prices will look different.
• The food isn't always what you expect.
• Tipping customs vary.  

 

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When you plan a trip to Italy, there is a seemingly endless amount of things to do and see, no matter which region you're visiting. But let's be real: everyone knows that the number one thing to do is to eat. Italy is known for its delicious food, cheap wine, and incredible restaurants. Do you really need to be reminded about the fresh pasta, the authentic pizza, and the creamy gelato?

Before you go out to eat in Italy, though, you should know one thing: there are a lot of differences between restaurants in Italy and in America.

It's not just about the quality of the food (which is better in Italy; I'm sorry America!), but it's also about small cultural differences that are probably going to catch you off guard if you've never been there before. I just returned from my first trip to Italy (I am now obligated to bring this up as much as possible), and while I was there, I found myself constantly surprised by the experiences I had when going out to eat.

I visited Rome and Florence, so my experiences are based on these two cities, although I have heard that restaurants throughout the company are the same way.

Here are a few of the biggest differences between restaurants in Italy and America, so that you can come across as less clueless than I did:

You have to pay for water.

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In the US, it's basically a rule that when you sit down at a restaurant, someone immediately pours you a glass of (free) water. It's very rare that someone orders a bottle of water they have to pay for, because really, why would they?

In Italy, as in most of Europe, water isn't usually free — in fact, it isn't even automatically given to you. A waiter will typically ask if you want a bottle of still or sparkling water after you sit down, and you always have to pay for it.

Menus have different courses.

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In the US, restaurants usually have three-course meals: an appetizer, entree, and dessert. In Italy, there is a different structure: antipasti (an appetizer, usually shared), primo (the first main course, usually soup and pasta), secondo (the second main, usually meat or fish — sometimes these are split up), contorno (vegetable side dishes), and dessert (self-explanatory).

At first, this might make you nervous, but don't worry: you don't need to order one thing from each (although you may want to), and the portions for each main are all large enough for a full meal).

Most restaurants offer food typical in their region

Cacio e Pepe NYC

One of the unique things I noticed when in Italy was that many of the restaurants offered the same dishes, especially when it came to pasta. In Rome, it was nearly impossible to go out to eat without seeing cacio e pepe or pasta with amatriciana sauce.

In Florence, it was hard to find a restaurant that didn't have ribollita on the menu. I didn't see dishes that I knew were Italian and that I thought were popular. After a few days, I discovered that the restaurants tend to serve the food that is popular in their region.

There are other types of restaurants, of course — I went to a Tuscan restaurant in Rome that served Tuscan food — but the majority of them offer what is typical of their region. And there aren't that many restaurants that serve food from different countries either. As someone coming from NYC, this was pretty shocking to me.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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