The how-to's of eating in Florence

As someone with an Italian chef for a boyfriend and the capability of cooking a grand total of 3 dishes (eggs, salads, and sandwiches, in case you were wondering), I made it my personal mission when I first moved to Italy to explore Italian cuisine and the culture that surrounds it. For the first year I discovered a lot, ate A LOT, and learned things I never would have known - and that’s exactly why I’ve written it all down here.

Types of restaurants

First things first - let's break down the most popular labels you will find at the beginning of a restaurant names around italy and what they mean

TRATTORIA

Trattorias are casual, informal, rustic, family-owned establishments that serve fresh, authentic food typical to the region they are in.

OSTERIA

The line between Osterias and Trattorias has gotten blurred over time, but the main difference is that in the past, Osterias were places where people would come to drink wine and gamble. As I said though, Osterias are now closely tied to Trattorias; you can expect to find home-cooked meals and rustic charm at them as well.

HOSTERIA

Hosteria’s are just a more ancient way to describe an Osteria.

RISTORANTE

“Ristorante” obviously means “restaurant” in Italian, but traditionally Ristorante indicates you can expect a higher level of service and etiquette – think tablecloths, a well-stocked wine and food menu, wine sommeliers, and a knowledgeable staff on all aspects of Italian food.

GASTRONOMIA

Gastronomia’s are most relatable to a deli – you can find fresh meats, cheeses, Contorni (side dishes), comfort food such as meatballs and lasagna, and local produce such as jams and sauces.

PIZZERIA

Pizzerias serve pizza. I know, your mind is blown right?

ENOTECA

Similar in a historical sense to Osterias, an Enoteca was a place where people came to solely drink wine and very rarely served food. They’ve evolved a bit and nowadays you can typically find food served at an Enoteca, but typically only small bites like meat and cheese boards or Primi Piatti’s, which we’ll touch on in the next section. Some restaurants will use the label Enoteca to emphasize their focus on wine, so overall at any Enoteca, expect a large wine selection and knowledgeable sommelier’s.

TAVOLA CALDA

Literally translated to “Hot Table”, Tavola Calda is where you will find quick, simple, and cheap homecooked meals for when you are in a rush.

TAVERNA

Think of a “Tavern” when you see the term Taverna. They are traditionally local pubs where people would stop in to have a beer, chat with friends, and maybe have some local comfort food.

BAR

Bars in Italy are not the same as “Bars” elsewhere in the world – while you CAN get alcohol at a Bar, their main purpose is for coffee. Around Aperitivo time, you can expect to find people enjoying an Aperol Spritz and light bites at a bar before typically closing around 9.

ANTIPASTI

Antipasti are the starters, or appetizers on the menu. In Italy it’s common to find meat and cheese board selections in this section, in addition to other light bites. In Tuscany, the region where Florence is located, its common to find Crostini here as well, which are little slices of bread served with different toppings, most popular being pate.

PRIMI PIATTI

Primi Piatti, or “First Plates”, are where you will find more filling dishes such as pasta, gnocchi, polenta, soup, or risotto. They are meant to be a pre-courser to the Secondi Piatti.

SECONDI PIATTI

Meanwhile, Secondi Piatti, or “Second Plates”, are where you will find the meat, fish and protein-centered dishes. Since Secondi Piatti are traditionally meant to be preceeded by an Antipasti, Primi Piatti or paired with a Contorni, the dish is typically just the protein and won’t be enough to just order alone.

CONTORNI

Contorni are side dishes. Contorni are fairly simple in Italy and focus on enhancing the natural flavors as opposed to overcomplicating them. Its typical to find roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables, and simple salads for side dishes. In Tuscany specifically, expect to find beans and sauteed vegetables such as spinach in the Contorni section.

DOLCE

Dolce are the desserts, of course.

BEVANDE

All non-alcoholic beverages (wine/cocktail list will commonly be served separately).

COPERTO

The Coperto is the restaurant service charge – we’ll talk about this more soon. 😉

Menu's & meal structure

Italian menus are broken up into different sections that describe the traditional way a meal is structured in Italy, so let's break down what you can expect to find on a menu in Italy

ANTIPASTI

Antipasti are the starters, or appetizers on the menu. In Italy it’s common to find meat and cheese board selections in this section, in addition to other light bites. In Tuscany, the region where Florence is located, its common to find Crostini here as well, which are little slices of bread served with different toppings, most popular being pate.

PRIMI PIATTI

Primi Piatti, or “First Plates”, are where you will find more filling dishes such as pasta, gnocchi, polenta, soup, or risotto. They are meant to be a pre-courser to the Secondi Piatti.

Note: While the primi piatti is tradionally meant to be followed by the secondi piatti, don't stress too much about it - nowadays you by no means have to order both a primi piatti and a secondi piatti - it's perfectly normal to order either or, with an antipasta or contorni

SECONDI PIATTI

Meanwhile, Secondi Piatti, or “Second Plates”, are where you will find the meat, fish and protein-centered dishes. Since Secondi Piatti are traditionally meant to be preceeded by an Antipasti, Primi Piatti or paired with a Contorni, the dish is typically just the protein and won’t be enough to just order alone.

CONTORNI

Contorni are side dishes. Contorni are fairly simple in Italy and focus on enhancing the natural flavors as opposed to overcomplicating them. Its typical to find roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables, and simple salads for side dishes. In Tuscany specifically, expect to find beans and sauteed vegetables such as spinach in the Contorni section.

DOLCE

Dolce are the desserts, of course.

BEVANDE

All non-alcoholic beverages (wine/cocktail list will commonly be served separately).

COPERTO

The Coperto is the restaurant service charge – we’ll talk about this more soon. 😉

Tuscan bread

Similarly as to how each region of Italy has their own signature cuisine, each region also has their own staple bread type that you will find in the basket given to you at the beginning of your meal. I wanted to make it a point to talk about Tuscan bread specifically so you can go in fully prepared - Tuscan bread is traditionally and purposefully made without salt, so naturally the bread doesn’t really have any flavor. Like...at all.

There’s a couple of theories as to where this tradition originated - for one, salt used to be very heavily taxed, and since Tuscany was historically a very poor region, people simply made their bread without it. Another point is that traditional Tuscan food is already incredibly flavorful, so any added salt from the bread would be overpowering and ruin the dish. The last theory - which is my favorite but also probably the most untrue - is that when Pisa and Florence were in a feud, Pisa withheld salt from Florence in order to prevent them from making bread - but Florentine people being Florentine people, just made the bread anyway.

No matter how it came to be, that's the explanation behind why Tuscan bread is so bland! HOWEVER - while it may not taste great on it’s own, it’s a wonderful tool to do “Fare la Scarpetta”

“FARE LA SCARPETTA”

One of my favorite things - “Fare la Scarpetta” translates literally to “Do the scrape”, and its an unspoken necessary action in every Italian household – it’s literally when you use bread to scrape up the leftover sauce on your plate. Typically it’s accepted and even encouraged to do in more casual, family-run eateries such as a Trattoria or an Osteria, but traditionally in more fine dining and upscale establishments it can be seen as a little rude or uncivilized, for lack of a better term. To be completely honest with you though...I do it no matter where I’m eating, because it’s one of my favorite things to do and no way am I going to leave any sauce leftover on my plate.

Reservatio

Just to come right out and say it – I highly suggest you make reservations for dinner in Italy at least one day before. Restaurants fill up quickly during high tourist season in Italy, and especially if you’re visiting a smaller, major tourist city like Florence, it will be all the more challenging to find a restaurant that can seat you without a reservation on a busy Friday or Saturday night. If you decide to try to book a table by phone or in- person the day of, keep in mind what we talked about above, that many restaurants will close around 3pm for pause and not reopen until dinnertime at around 7pm. In bigger, more tourist-friendly cities, the restaurant staff will likely be able to speak at least some level of English, so making a reservation over the phone is not as daunting as it may seem. However, if the thought of speaking on the phone makes you a little anxious, many restaurants nowadays are now offering the option to book a table either on TheFork (www.thefork.it), or directly on the restaurant website for up to a month in advance.

Service

TIPPING

Ah yes, tipping. One of the most common confusions amongst tourists – do you tip? How much do you tip? Is it rude to leave a tip? Is it rude to NOT to leave a tip?!

In Italy, tipping is not mandatory nor is it expected, and as weird as it may feel, it’s not rude to NOT leave a tip. Waiters and waitresses in Italy make a livable wage, so unlike waitstaff in the U.S. for example, they do not rely on tips to make money. Tipping is generally done as a little something extra if you thought the service was outstanding, but RARELY more than 10% - many Italians will simply round up to the nearest dollar if they desire to tip. So, to summarize, you can leave a tip if you really want to, but no one will look at you differently if you don’t.

ASKING FOR A CHECK

In Italy, you have to ask for your check when you’re ready to pay – I know this might sound obvious, but in many other countries such as the U.S., it’s normal for the waiter to drop your check off at the table in advance. To ask for the check, you can say “il conto per favore” (“The bill please!”).

RESTAURANT CULTURE

I’m writing this section impromptu after talking about tipping culture within Italy, because I feel like it’s important to talk about – if you’re dining at a Trattoria, Osteria, or any family-run restaurant within Italy, the service will likely move at a more relaxed pace than you might be used to. Simply put, it’s just something you have to understand and accept before you dine in Italy - chalk it up to not needing to trade fast service for tips, or simply for the fact that Italian culture is very laid- back in general. My biggest tip: embrace it and do as the Italians do: sit down, relax, and enjoy.

COPERTO CHARGE

While tipping is not mandatory nor expected in Italy, what you CAN expect to find is something called the Coperto charge on the menu. It can range from 2€-4€ per person and is pretty standard to find on menus in Italy. The Coperto is essentially the restaurant service charge – it covers things such as linens, cleaning, supplies, produce, bread and overall service, and is not negotiable to take off the bill. You can find it typically at either the top or the bottom of the menu, and listed again at the top or bottom of all the

charges on your total bill.

Note: In the Lazio region of Italy (where Rome is

located), the coperto charge is illegal. If you see the coperto charge on your bill while in the Lazio region (again – ONLY the Lazio region of Italy), ask for it to be taken off.

WATER

One of the biggest surprises I find that tourists have when they visit Italy is the fact that water is not free. Yes, you read that right - in Italy you pay for water in 99% of the restaurants you go to. Don’t be confused though – the water you are paying for is bottled, not tap, costs no more than 2€ for a big bottle, and you get your choice of either still or sparkling. If you REALLY don’t want to pay for bottled water, you can ask for “un bicchiere di acqua”, or, “a glass of water”, which will come from the tap. To be honest though, while the tap water throughout most of Italy is safe to drink...no one really does this. It’s more normal to just pay 2€ for the sealed bottle.

Things you will not find at an authentic Italian restaurant

*Cracks neck* Alright here we go. This section may or may not come as a surprise, but it’s important to note either way because a lot of tourists will come to Italy expecting to find what they usually order at their local Olive Garden or other neighborhood Italian restaurant, and become sorely disappointed when they realize that their favorite “Italian” food from back home is either 1) not on any menu because it's not traditional Italian, or 2) found on a menu but it sucks because again, it’s not traditional Italian. So let’s just get right to it: the following dishes are are Italian- American, not traditional Italian, so unless you find yourself at a tourist trap (actually, seeing one of these on a menu is an excellent way to determine if you ARE at a tourist trap), you won’t see these dishes on any menu in Italy:

- Fettuccine Alfredo* (please see note below before you start throwing hands)

- Chicken Parmesan

- Garlic Bread

- Caesar Salad

- “Italian” Dressing (Italians just use olive oil, vinegar, or lemon on their salads)

- “Pepperoni” Pizza (we’ll touch on this in the Pizza section of this guide)

- Spaghetti with Meatballs on top

- Shrimp Scampi with Pasta

- Mozzarella Sticks

- ....Chicken on pasta, in general

When Italians first immigrated to the U.S., they altered the traditional recipes from their homeland in order to adapt to both American tastes and the products that were available to them in a new country. A perfect example of this is Fettuccine Alfredo* – while Fettuccine Alfredo WAS invented in Rome by a man named Alfredo, the original recipe just has two ingredients: butter and parmesan cheese. If you decide to travel to “Il Vero Alfredo” (“The True Alfredo”) restaurant in Rome where the dish was invented, you’ll find this to be true – the dish served there is comprised of just butter and parmesan. When the recipe was introduced in the U.S. by Italian immigrants, cream was added to it to make a heavier sauce to, again, adapt to American tastes.

Just to be clear - I’m not saying these dishes aren’t Italian, but rather that they are purely Italian-American dishes, which is an entire separate cuisine in itself.

I hope you have as much fun exploring this guide as I did creating it. Now, as the Italians say: buon appetito!!