Italian Restaurant Vocabulary: Essential Italian Words and Phrases for Dining Out

When you’re in Italy, a huge part of your trip (or should we say, most of it?) would be spent enjoying food! Here in this article, we’ll help you do just that by giving you a list of Italian restaurant vocabulary.

Learn Italian words and phrases that you can use when you’re dining out–from what to say as soon as you get in until the moment you finish your food.

Italian Phrases when Entering a Restaurant

When you visit any dining establishment, always start with greetings. You can say, buongiorno (good day) or buonasera (good evening) as you enter the restaurant. When you leave, say grazie (thanks) and arrivederci (goodbye). Like anywhere else in the world, small polite greetings make a huge difference.

How to order food in Italian

Once you’re seated and already in possession of a menu, the waiter (il cameriere) or the waitress (la cameriera) would approach your table to ask you any of the following:

Siete pronti per ordinare?	Are you ready to order?
Cosa desidera?	What would you like?
Cosa prende Lei?	What will you have?
Cosa prendete voi?	What will you all have?
Cosa desidera Lei?	What would you like?
Cosa desiderate voi?	What would you all like?
Cosa desidera mangiare?	What would you like to eat?
Ha già deciso?	Have you decided already?
Vuole l’antipasto?	Would you like an appetizer?

How to ask for food recommendations in Italian

When you hear either of those questions, you can throw the question back to the waiter or waitress by asking for recommendations or what their daily specials are. Here’s what to say:

Cosa raccomanda?	What do you recommend?
Cosa mi può raccomandare?	What can you recommend to me?
Cosa ci consiglia?	What would you recommend for us?
Può consigliarmi dei piatti tipici della regione?	Could you recommend some traditional regional dishes?
C’è un menù (fisso)?	Do you have a (set) menu?
Qual è la specialità del giorno?	What is the daily special?
Qual è la zuppa del giorno?	What is the soup of the day?
quali sono le specialità della casa?	What are your specialities?

Or you can leave everything to the server’s hands by asking him or her to choose for you!

Faccia Lei, per favore!	You choose, please!

When you’re finally ready to order, simply say:

Lo prendo…	I’ll take…
Vorrei …	I would like…

Italian Food and Drinks Vocabulary

Now let’s take a look at some of the basic terms you will see in an Italian menu.

l’anatra	duck
il vitello	veal
il manzo	beef
il pollo	chicken
la carne di cervo	venison
il coniglio	rabbit
il tacchino	turkey
le polpette	meatballs
la bistecca	steak
la trippa	tripe
la cotoletta	cutlet
il pesce	fish
il baccalà	cod (dried)
la spigola	sea bass
il pesce spada	swordfish
i gamberi	prawns
acciughe / alici	anchovies
scaloppine	scallops
i calamari	squid
le cozze	mussels
il polpo	octopus
l’aragosta	lobster
il granchio	crab
i gamberi	prawn
i gamberetti	shrimp
il riso	rice
la pasta	pasta
la verdura	vegetables
le patate	potatoes
l’insalata	salad
La zuppa	soup
la salsa / Il sugo	sauce
il condimento	condiment
le bevande	drinks / beverages
il vino…	wine
… rosso	red wine
…bianco	white wine
… rosé	rose wine
dolce	sweet
secco	dry
fruttato	fruity
floreale	flowery
leggero	light
vivace	rich, spicy, lively
velluto	velvety
l’acqua minerale	mineral water
l’acqua naturale	still water
l’acqua leggermente gassata	slightly sparkling
l’acqua frizzante / gassata	sparkling water / carbonated water
la birra	beer
il succo	juice
Il succo di frutta	fruit juice

Special dietary restrictions/ preferences

If you happen to have some dietary restrictions and cannot enjoy the wide variety of flavors of an Italian culinary extravaganza, you may inform the waiter or waitress beforehand. See some example phrases you could use below.

Sono vegano/vegana.	I’m vegan.
Sono vegetariano/ vegetariana.	I’m vegetarian.
Sono celiaco/a	I have celiac disease.
Seguo una dieta senza glutine.	I follow a gluten-free diet.
Sono intollerante al lattosio.	I’m lactose intolerant

Or you could even be more specific by stating the food you cannot consume.

Non mangio…	I don’t eat…
…la carne	meat
…il pesce	fish
…le uova	eggs
…il formaggio	cheese

Another way is to instruct the waiter or waitress to hold a particular ingredient.

Senza _____, per favore. Without ______, please.
Senza formaggio, per favore. Without cheese, please.

Senza _____, per favore.

Without ______, please.

Senza formaggio, per favore.

Without cheese, please.

How to make a toast in Italian

The night is going on wonderfully, the food is good, and the drinks are even more inviting. Time to call for a toast! Here are some ways to do it.

Brindiamo alla salute	Let’s make a toast.
Salute!	Cheers!
Cin cin	Cheers (used to congratulate someone or celebrate something)

How to express your appreciation of the food (or the opposite)

If at some point of the meal, a waiter or waitress approaches your table to see how you’re enjoying your meal, he or she may ask you:

“Tutto a posto?	Is everything okay?”

When this happens, you can either compliment the meal or be honest and say why it’s not to your liking.

To express your delight over the meal, you can say:

È….	it’s
delizioso!	delicious!
squisito!	fabulous!
gustosissimo!	tasty! (more informal)
fantastico!	fantastic!
Buonissimo!	great!

But if you didn’t enjoy the food at all, you can say:

“Non è di mio gusto	It’s not my taste”.

Then you can let them know what’s wrong

Troppo salato	Too salty
Troppo piccante	Too spicy
Manca sale	It lacks salt
Insipido	Bland
Bruciato	Burnt

How to ask for the bill in Italian

Finally, the meal is over and you’ve had your fill. One thing to remember is that the wait staff won’t give you the bill unless you ask for it. Doing so would be considered rude!

To ask for the bill, you can say any of the following:

Possiamo avere il conto?	Can we have the bill?
Il conto, per favore.	The bill, please
Vorrei pagare, per favore.	I would like to pay, please

More Italian Vocabulary for Dining

Now let’s take a look at even more Italian words for dining out.

Types of places to dine in Italy

Ristorante	restaurant
Trattoria	more casual and homey than a restaurant; similar to a pub
caffè	a coffee place
Paninoteca	sandwich shop selling paninis
Pizzeria	pizza shop

Italian Dining Vocabulary

il cameriere/la cameriera	waiter/ waitress
la mancia	tip
il piatto	plate
la ciotola	bowl
la tazza	cup
il bicchiere	glass
il coltello	knife
la forchetta	fork
il cucchiaio	spoon
il tovagliolo	napkin
la (prima) colazione	breakfast
il pranzo/la colazione	lunch
la cena	dinner
l’antipasto	starter/hor d’oeuvres
la zuppa	soup
il primo	first course
il secondo	second course
i contorni	side dishes
i dolci	dessert
da portar	for takeaway

Italian Vocabulary for Cooking Methods

affumicato	smoked
al forno	baked
Alle brace	broiled over coals
arrosto	roasted
Bollito/Lesso	boiled
cotto	cooked
crudo	raw
fritto	fried
Alla griglia/Grigliata	grilled (open fire)
Ai ferri	Grilled (ridged metal plate)
in umido	stewed
ripieno	stuffed
Surgelato	frozen

Conclusion

There you go with most, if not all, Italian words and phrases to help you survive dining out in a restaurant in Italy. Do you have any other vocabulary lists you would like us to cover here? Let us know in the comments section and we will do our best to include them–stat!

For a fun (and painless) way to expand your Italian vocabulary, you can check out the Italian Short Stories e-book below. Boost your vocabulary, learn Italian sentence structures naturally, and improve your reading and listening skills in Italian with the help of short storties.

Ha/avete un tavolo per due?	Do you have a table for two?
Potrei vedere il menù?	May I see the menu?