You spent your holiday in Italy wrong!
You’ve had cappuccinos at the wrong time of day, eaten ‘fake’ Italian food and dined in touristy restaurants where the locals wouldn’t even touch a Venetian pole.
However, help is at hand, thanks to Ettore Bocchia, chef at Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni at Lake Como, Lorenzo Nigro, chef at Bow restaurant in Battersea, and the ‘mammas’ from London La Mia Mamma restaurantsa small chain where Italian mothers cook regional dishes for the guests.
Here they explain what you should and shouldn’t do when dining out in Italy.
The worst tourist blunder
Italian chefs spoke to MailOnline about the rules of dining out in Italy – from social faux pas to spotting tourist trap trattorias. The ‘Mammas’ of La Mia Mamma restaurants in London, above, even noted that one menu item should ‘make you run away’
Lorenzo Nigro (left), head chef at Archway in Battersea, says ‘tourists don’t always choose the right place to eat’, while Ettore Bocchia (right), head chef at Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, says ordering a cappuccino at the wrong time is one of the biggest ‘faux pas’
“Italians usually only drink cappuccino as a breakfast drink,” says Ettore, who points out that it’s a social faux pas to expect the frothy beverage to be served at other times of the day as well
Drinking cappuccino at the wrong time
Invented in Italy in 1901, this frothy coffee is a staple around the world. But there’s a right way to drink it. Says Ettore: “One of the biggest faux pas is ordering a cappuccino after a meal or in the afternoon. Italians usually only drink cappuccino for breakfast.”
Order spaghetti bolognese
It is one of the most popular dishes in the world, but in Italy you won’t find many fans with it.
Ettore says: ‘Tourists sometimes expect certain dishes, like spaghetti Bolognese or spaghetti meatballs [on a menu] that you don’t often find in authentic Italian cuisine. We just don’t eat this combination of food. For the Bolognese sauce we use other types of pasta, mainly egg-based dough, such as tortellini, ravioli, cannelloni, lasagna and pastas from the tagliatelle family.’
Lorenzo adds: ‘In Italy, we eat spaghetti as a starter and meatballs as a main course, but not at the same time. That’s more of an Italian-American custom.’
Eating spaghetti with the wrong cutlery – and putting the wrong cheese in carbonara
Italians ‘just don’t eat spaghetti Bolognese’ (above), says Ettore, instead they eat Bolognese with other types of pasta
It’s another favorite, but it’s easy for restaurants to get carbonara wrong, warn the Italian mamas. They say an authentic restaurant would serve carbonara with pecorino cheese, not Parmesan, and with guanciale (pork cheek) instead of pancetta (pork belly).
The mothers add: ‘Of course, no cream, chicken, mushrooms, etc.’ And if you do order spaghetti, never eat it with a spoon, says Ettore.
Using too many herbs and dressings
Adventurous eaters may proudly choose the most complex-sounding dish on the menu during their vacation. But that is probably not the most authentic choice.
Ettore says that Italian chefs would never “add a lot of spices or toppings to pasta or pizza.” He adds, “We value the natural flavor of the ingredients. So the simpler the better.”
The moms say: ‘We love salads, but an authentic restaurant would use a nice selection of vegetables, which don’t need too many dressings, creams and such, because you don’t want to cover up a fresh and great quality tomato. Extra virgin olive oil and a little salt is more than enough. Less is always more!’
Order a Caesar salad or salad as a starter
Speaking of salads, Caesar is not on the menu for Ettore and the moms. Ettore adds that “for us, salad is only a side dish to the main course” and never a starter.
Eating bread with olive oil and vinegar
Do you love soaking a loaf of fresh bread in vinegar and oil before your meal? That’s not the Italian way, say the mammas. A traditional restaurant welcomes guests “with a bread basket and grissini (bread sticks),” they explain.
Choosing garlic bread
Garlic bread turns out not to be an authentic Italian creation
Bad news if you like garlic bread. Ettore says that many tourists “think that dishes like garlic bread are authentic Italian creations, but these are largely American-Italian creations.”
The mothers say that you will never find garlic bread on a traditional menu.
Order pepperoni pizza
You Should ‘Run Away’ When You See Pepperoni Pizza on a Menu, Moms Say
It’s a favorite dish for many tourists, but if you see pepperoni pizza on a menu, “run away,” the moms say.
They say that a traditional sausage pizza is called ‘diavola’ and that a ‘slightly spicy salami’ is used.
Eating Fettuccine Alfredo
Now, what is the biggest faux pas (or ‘passo falso’) of all?
If you order a fettuccine Alfredo, chances are you’ll get angry looks from Italian guests.
Lorenzo says: ‘Before I moved to London I had never heard of this dish in Italy.’
If you order fettuccine Alfredo, you’re likely to get some angry looks from Italian diners. Lorenzo says, “Before I moved to London, I’d never heard of this dish in Italy.”
Ettore adds that fettuccine Alfredo “would not be eaten by Italians” who avoid “overdone pasta dishes with heavy cream sauces.”
How to spot a tourist trap
Restaurants open all day
A restaurant that “caters to the locals will take a break between lunch and dinner,” the moms say. If somewhere serves all day, it’s probably for tourists.
Multilingual menus
It can be reassuring to see English on the menu, but you could be falling into a tourist trap. Ettore says, “Avoid restaurants with menus in multiple languages or with pictures of the dishes,” while the mothers warn to skip anything with “multilingual translations.”
‘Choose a place with a small menu instead of a lot of different recipes – quality over quantity’
Large menu
A huge menu of dishes is also a sign of a tourist trap. The moms say, “Choose a place with a small menu rather than a lot of different recipes – quality over quantity.”
Too many ingredients
The food should also be simple, the mammas say. They warn: ‘Too many ingredients in a recipe – the less authentic the dish. Again, in Italy we like to emphasize high-quality ingredients.’
Waiter/waitress outside
If someone is trying to lure you in, it’s probably a tourist trap.
The mothers say: ‘Authentic restaurants don’t have ‘buttadentro’ [salesmen at the door] ‘to convince tourists.’ According to Lorenzo, it is ‘absolutely out of the question’ if there are staff waiting outside to persuade you to go inside.
How do you choose a restaurant?
Lorenzo says: ‘Tourists don’t always choose the right place to eat, they follow the trends or the place with the biggest line. The places with the best food will be intimate and stay under the radar’
Regional food is a good sign
Look for dishes that pay homage to the region you are in. Ettore says, “We, as Italians, went to places where regional dishes were mentioned.”
Lorenzo adds: ‘Always choose dishes that are locally produced in the region and try as many dishes as possible.’
Choose a smaller spot
Skip the TikTok and Instagram recommendations. Lorenzo says, “Tourists don’t always choose the right place to eat, they follow trends or the place with the longest line. The places with the best food are intimate and stay under the radar.”
Ask a local
Ettore recommends scouring Facebook groups for suggestions, asking your hotel concierge, or checking out Know a post (‘I know a place’), a hidden gem app created by an Italian blogger.
Perform the appropriate Google search
Ettore says: ‘If I, as an Italian, wanted to find good restaurants, I would search on Instagram for the keyword “Ristorante” together with the name of the city “RistoranteMilano”.’