There are plenty of suggestions out there of where to eat, but the following tips will help you understand and navigate the best available options so you’ll know what you want, and how to keep an eye out for it.  It’s not hard to find good food in Italy, but it helps to know what to order and when to go.  This is a general overview of Italian food for visitors to Italy and does not take into account regional differences or specialties which are vast.

First thing to know, especially when traveling with kids, is that hours of operation for restaurants are pretty strict.  Most Italian restaurants are open for lunch between 12:30 pm and 3:00pm (15:00) and open for dinner at 7:30pm or 8:00pm (19:30 / 20:00) until late, and reservations are strongly encouraged for dinner especially for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  If you’re daytripping on a Sunday to a nice little hill town around lunchtime, keep in mind that there might only be a handful of restaurants and they will all fill up with city folk with the same idea as you.  Since Italians will eat a three hour lunch, there will will only be one seating, so if you don’t have a reservation, you won’t even have the option of going onward and eating in another town.

Before ordering, ask if there’s anything “fuori menu” (off the menu). Sometimes restaurants won’t tell you if they have any specials that day unless you ask, especially when tourists are involved and the staff don’t know how to explain what they’ve made, nor think you might actually want it anyway. For example. you could be missing out on Mamma’s lasagna made on Sundays at many family-run places or fresh gnocchi traditionally served on Thursdays.  It also helps to get a good food dictionary and look at the Italian menu, as those written in foreign languages usually aren’t kept up to date or just don’t sound appetizing.

If you’re after pizza, there are a few kinds to choose from.  “Pizza al taglio” are quick, almost fast-food places where you choose what you want and they cut it based on how much of it you want, heat it up, and then you pay by weight.  Most of these places have very limited seating but it’s a good way to try a few different kinds.  If it seems like the pizza has been sitting there all day, move on – there’s no excuse for eating something subpar in Italy.  The best pizza al taglio, in our opinion, are the ones where the pizza is cooked “al suolo”, i.e. not in a pan.  You can tell this kind because it’s rolled out into an oval shape and once out of the oven, is placed on large wooden blocks to be cut.  The ones baked in pans are rectangular and usually remain in the pans, which tend to make them greasier. For some reason, in Venice they sell pizza by the slice in pre-cut slices, and then call it a “trancio”, a word never used in the south.  We’re not sure where the geographical cut-off of this is, but generally speaking, the closer to Naples, the better the pizza.

For a sit-down pizza, you go to a proper pizzeria.  Although there are many that serve pizza in the afternoon those are usually made in an electric oven.  Pizzerias are typically open only in the evenings.  Don’t bother with anything that isn’t cooked in a wood fired oven (forno a legna).  If you consider the long gap between lunch time and dinner time as described above, it doesn’t make sense for places to keep a woodburning fire going all day between those hours, hence the evening only approach.  A Roman-style pizza has a very thin, crispy crust, whereas Neapolitan-style pizza has a thicker, doughy crust.  In both cases, one pizza is made for one person.  The thickness various throughout Italy, and great debate is made between which is better.  Some even offer both – alta or bassa (high or low).  Typical of pizzerias are “fritti” – fried antipasti.  Those worth trying are “suppli”, a deep fried ball of risotto rice with a tomato/meat sauce and a piece of mozzarella inside; olive ascolane, a green olive stuffed with pork and deep fried; crocchette di patate which is mashed potato, breaded and deep fried and for vegetarians, there’s usually a “fritto vegetale” option that’s a bit like tempura vegetables.

Even though they all look great, not all gelato is created equally. The best is the kind made in-house (produzione artigianale/produzione proprio). Signs to look for are gelato kept in aluminum tubs rather than plastic ones and more muted rather than bright garish colors (the brighter the more artificial ingredients).   If you are gluten intolerant, be aware that gluten is used as a thickening agent in gelato, so be sure to find gelaterie that do not use gluten (and we have several listed in our guide – see below for link.)  Some gelaterie close during the winter months. For an extra bit of indulgence, accept the panna (whipped cream).  Also, if you find yourself near the Tiber River in Rome, a good alternative are the shaved ice (grattachecche), made with coarsely grated ice and flavored syrup.  These stands along the river are only open during the summer months.

Coffee shops are called bars. They are where you can down a quick coffee on the go in the morning at the counter or kick back with a Campari & ice in the afternoon, preferably sitting at an outdoor table. Some of these places also act as “fast food”, noted by the “snack bar” signs, where you can pick up an inexpensive sandwich on the go or get a quick plate of pasta (frozen from a package and not fresh), which of course we suggest you avoid.  If you need to use the restroom, these are also convenient places to go, but hygiene standards in many of them are not at a high level. You may want to bring tissues with you while you are out and about since many believe toilet paper is a luxury.  Often, these are considered public bathrooms and you don’t have to be a patron to use one. Just head to the bar and ask where the bathroom is with some confidence and no one should object.  In the winter you most often find freshly squeezed blood orange juice, otherwise known as “spremuta d’arancia”.  The best ones are made from the Sicialian blood oranges called “tarrocchi”.  Although almost never served cold, which many people might find strange, it is extremely good, and good for you for that vitamin C boost.  Sometimes bars will have something special to dollop into an espresso, like “zabaione” cream or “panna” (sweetened, whipped cream).  Often in the summer, they’ll have cold coffee and you can get a cappuccino freddo or a caffé shakerato (the closest to a frappuccino there is).  Ironically, the only thing truly efficient in Italy is the coffee bar.

Wine bars (enoteca) are the authentic and classier alternative to the “Irish” pub you find in every other city. Wine bars are a great place to eat a light (read: small portion sizes) lunch or dinner and avoid the “antica” tourist oriented restaurants.  Many have interesting dishes like mixed bruschetta or soups – cheese plates or quiches – things that are prepared earlier that day in advance and assembled rather than cooked to order.  Whereas many restaurants are brightly lit and not that fashionable, the wine bar is usually a step up the cool ladder.  In Venice, there are many wine bars called “Ciccheti” that serve a variety of Venetian tapas as well as “prosecco spento” a flat version of the Venetian equivalent of champagne.

Basta Pasta! Of course you don’t come to Italy to eat the Chinese food, but sometimes you want something else.  Indian food in Italy can be quite good, but we’ve never had good Chinese food – it’s generally greasy and served in an Italian style (with a spring roll as an antipasto, a rice dish as a “primo” and a meat dish as a “second”), which kind of kills the experience. Those that are good are generally more expensive then whatever is good locally, so you certainly won’t find a cheap curry like you would in London.

Picnic food. Italy is one of the best places to buy things from a market and/or deli and eat it in the park. There are so many things that you don’t need to cook.  You just need to buy and put it in your mouth.  Cheese, cured hams, olives (try the big fat, green ones called olive dolci), sundried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, crusty peasant bread, and great local fruit.  In the summer, peaches, figs and cantaloupe are amazing, and in the winter, pears, apples, grapes and oranges take their place.  Bring along a small knife and basic picnic stuff and you’ll be amazed how good you can eat without even going into a restaurant.

Here’s a video we made showing you how to navigate the different shops to put together a great picnic lunch:

For more insider tips, download the free recommends guide we make for Rome at our hotel, The Beehive.

by Steven Brenner