Curious about the dos and donts of dining in Italy? We’re here to help you make some better informed dining decisions! A lot of these tips come from experienced POV living in Florence we hope many can be applied to wherever your Italy travels lead you especially in hotspot destinations!
This post will also provide helpful tips on how to spot non-touristy restaurants worthiest of your caloric intake.
Bear in mind, you are also a tourist and Italy is a tourist haven. Over 100 million foreign tourists visited Italy last year in 2025. That’s nearly double the entire country’s population.
There’s no way to avoid eating around tourists, you’ll never be the one unicorn in a restaurant and everyone else is a local except you in a hotspot city like Florence.
And frankly, there is nothing wrong with being a tourist in a restaurant amongst other tourists. It by no means deems it a “trap” if fellow tourists are present. There are less locals living in Florence’s city center due to rising costs, but it doesn’t mean a particular restaurant popular with tourists (and respected by locals) isn’t worth its salt.
Still, there are steps you can take to avoid common tourist mistakes with this dos and donts guide.
A lot of these may seem like no brainers and there are slight generalizations with exceptions.
And yes, you could probably waltz in somewhere “following your gut”, but it is very easy to get catfished for bad or mediocre food in Italy. Even if you think it looks like some hidden gem only you discovered. Trust me.
If you care about respecting local customs and take great joy in eating all the local delicacies, read on.
Or… When in doubt, join one of our progressive food tours in Florence, Insider’s Food Tour of Milan or our La Grassa food tour in Bologna to get directed to the best food in town.
Stay up to date with the latest from Italy plus plenty more insider morsels and travel guides: http://eepurl.com/cEl6cf
Photo: Coral Sisk
Written by Coral Sisk, Curious Appetite’s founder and Florence local since 2012
Before we dive in to the top ten divided by dos and donts- these are cardinal food sins we must advise front row (and bonuses at the end of this list):
Absolute dont's in Italy (to avoid the food police or upsetting someone’s nonna (grandmother).
Avoid mounds of colorful gelato or places that serve anything else but gelato. Gelato should be displayed in flat ribbons or in carapine steel canisters. If you’re going to Bologna, consult this guide on Bologna’s best gelato. If Florence, book our gelato stroll or sign up for a gelato making lesson.
Order anything else but the Florentine steak if you do not enjoy rare meat. La Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a porterhouse cut 3-4 fingers thick, grilled for a few minutes on each side and served rare- always has for centuries. Not only does asking for medium or well-done create a tougher steak, asking to change a traditional dish will lead to more tourist trap steakhouses.
If you do not enjoy steaks cooked rare, we would advise you to order any of the many other meat options in Florence or even different cuts of beef which are thinner like diaframma. If you do enjoy the nuanced flavors of quality steak prepared and cooked the traditional Florentine way, consult this guide for where to find the best steaks in Florence.
Drink at bars or in piazzas- not to-go spritzes walking in the streets, especially in cities like Florence. This is frowned upon by locals and is thought to create unnecessary single-use waste. Italians may socialize in squares standing outside a bar with a drink but they don’t walk around place to place with a to-go plastic cup with a spritz filled in hand.
This gives the sense visitors are treating the cities they are guests in like spring break resort towns. Also, Italians rarely eat in the streets as well. They might have a small snack on the go or a gelato, but lining up for a panino to then eat in public can cause food and vehicle traffic blockages.
Instead, slow down and visit one of Italy’s many stellar cocktail establishments and partake in aperitivo in taste while respecting local drinking customs. If you’d like to barhop, considering this cultural Aperitivo Tour in Florence.
With those essentials out of the way, here’s our list of dos and don'ts. Make sure to read to till the very end for our BONUS cardinal don’ts Italians would 100% agree with:
Do’s
1. Consult local blogs
While a biased “do”, I know first hand as a professional food writer (find my clips HERE) the amount of work that goes into compiling lists which are peppered with cultural etiquette context.
When traveling I always defer to the local culinary experts, trusted food-focused publications compiled by locals who live in the place or know the city well and legitimate blogs. I would strongly advise at least questioning if your tip came from a parachuter influencer or a one-time visitor.
Again biased from my own experiences with Curious Appetite, being on the ground makes a huge difference. Sure, listicles on major travel websites like NYT Travel can come in handy, but they’re often out of date and written by people who either are parachuting in, gleaning unpaid intel from random sources. These articles are usually compiled by (albeit good writers) with virtually zero time invested living the city they have been sent to cover.
The writers I tend to trust for food recommendations have immersed themselves in the culture often for years, they speak the language (or know food very well) and have eaten their way through many a restaurant.
Trustworthy sources also have their ears to the local dining scene, so you know they have the scoop on any hot new openings or old favorites that have fallen by the wayside.
On that note, never be afraid to ask your tour guide for suggestions. They’re bound to have a few gems that they’ll be more than happy sharing.
In Italy, I also defer to culinary associations like Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo to find time honored traditional restaurants. The Michelin Guide has some solid picks that are beyond their stars.
2. Eat regionally! Look for cucina casalinga or cucina tipica
Italy is divided in 20 regions which means there are 20 different regional cuisines. And even within each region there are micro-culinary repertoires. You’re going to be sorely disappointed ordering an eggplant parmigiana in Florence and a Bistecca alla Fiorentina in Naples! The easiest way to ensure you’re getting the best versions of local cuisine is to eat at trattorias serving cucina tipica or casalinga.
Down-to-earth Italian trattorias in certain ways are falling into extinction in Italy’s major cities, and it’s heartbreaking. A trattoria is a representative dining establishment with honest prices where there is a seat for every budget.
The comfort food feels like it’s been whipped up by your surrogate Italian family effortlessly. Don’t expect presentation pony tricks here. The Italian trattoria is the master of cucina casalinga literally translated as “house-wife cooking” locals prefer for greasy spoon home cooking. Cucina Tipica is a key word for “typical cuisine”, or traditional regional dishes.
So how can you find cucina casalinga or cucina tipica? A hand-written menu is always a good first sign. This means the food is seasonal and prepared fresh daily, often in response to whatever the chef found at the fishmonger, the market or the butcher that morning.
Also, googling “dove mangiare cucina tipica a (insert city name) tends to drum up Italian compiled lists.
In addition to this, there’s gotta be at least one old guy or nonna in the kitchen. They’re usually the owner or the mama/papa of the owner and you can bet they didn’t go to culinary school.
Instead, they’re cooking the dishes they grew up eating and have mastered over decades toiling over a hot stove for their family, friends and future customers.
And finally, the decor is never nouveau. Think old school wooden furniture, dim lighting and butcher’s paper on the table topped with little more than a basket of bread and some good extra virgin olive oil that doesn’t smell rancid. When your food is hearty, humble and traditional, you don’t need to worry about the decor.
A handwritten menu that’s not as long as the Bible is always a good sign. Photo: Coral Sisk.
3. Keep it regional and order course by course.
Before leaving for Italy, do a little research on the food that is native to the city or region you are visiting. Why? Because aside from pizza, the Italian classics you know and love are not ubiquitous. Don’t expect risotto alla Milanese outside of Milan (or our gourmet tour), eggplant parmigiana outside Southern Italy or cacio e pepe and carbonara outside Rome to be anything but potentially disappointing or mediocre at best.
In Florence for example, we aren’t eating fettuccine alfredo, and this whole trend with mixing pasta in a big cheese wheel is a tableside theatric pulled at mostly “touristy” restaurants.
Now I get it, cheese is delicious especially when amalgamated with butter and fresh egg pasta, but this type of pasta is not representative of Florence. Neither is lasagna. So if you order dishes that Florentines aren’t known for doing well, enter at your own risk.
While biased, consider taking a small group food tour in Florence to understand its best foods (like finocchiona, olive oil, cheeses, truffles and gelato) or our Progressive Dining Crawl to taste regional Tuscan dishes at Florence’s best restaurants like pici pasta, wild boar pappardelle, bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florentine steak) led by a local expert to save you hours of research (and wasted dining dollars in error).
Instead in Florence, you find lampredotto and tripe stands, salted cod and lots of beans, chicken liver pate smeared on broth soaked stale bread slices, squab and game meat, boiled meats, cardoon thistles, bitter greens and funky cheeses.
These are the things the locals are eating, and more importantly, these are the things they know how to cook well. So always judge a restaurant by the number of local dishes on its menu.
And in Italy, dishes are organized by course. You’ll realize this right away on a menu. If you are ordering a primo (usually a pasta) and your dining companions are ordering secondo meat courses- they may come out at different times unless you specify. This is especially true with contorni (sides). Sides are usually served with secondo mains. But if you wanted a side with pasta (although uncommon) best to specify the preferred coursed order of your dishes.
4. Follow a few local rules: dining times, tipping and best pizza moments.
One of the easiest and fastest ways to see whether a restaurant caters mostly to tourists or to locals is to look at its opening times. If its kitchen is open for lunch after 2pm or open for dinner before 7:30pm, they are pandering to tourists.
Italians eat lunch early, around midday, lingering over their meal until 2-2:30pm. Then they head back to work, or continue on their day, before coming back together for a quick aperitivo - around 6:30pm - with the earliest acceptable dinnertime starting at 7:30pm. But note, Italians are not Spaniards, they are not in the habit of eating dinner at 10pm. Most Italian kitchens stop seating patrons at around 9:30pm.
Have a hankering for pizza at lunch? You’d do better to do a pizza al trancio or by the slice. Wood-fired pizza ovens are extremely expensive to run and maintain, perhaps this is why locals tend to splurge for pizza at a pizzeria worth their blistered crust at dinner.
Tipping in Italy is not expected, although appreciated since most hospitality workers are underpaid and overworked. Be prepared to bring cash as there is usually not a way to add to your bill like abroad.
5. Book ahead
Avoid disappointment and always book any restaurants you’re super keen on visiting at least 5-7 days in advance. Sometimes more! Especially in the summer months.
The best times to call restaurants to book are Tuesday-Saturdays and around 12-1pm or 7pm-8pm right when they open or a little bit before if you want to make sure someone picks up.
Calls during prep or in peak service hours might not be answered or met with stressful short replies. I wouldn’t relying on booking online or email, but instead messaging on Instagram if they have a page. More and more places are requiring online bookings. The traditional spots (especially in Florence) are still married to telephone bookings.
And bear in mind, a popular restaurant is usually closed on Sundays/Mondays and often for a few long weeks in August, when the whole country practically goes on vacation.
Pro-tip: Cross reference your travel dates to see if there are any national and/or local regional holidays overlapping with your stay. Florence has civic holidays which aren’t observed in Rome and vice versa. Being surprised by a local holiday could upend your dining itinerary. Arrange a travel consult with us to understand optimal activities to plug in during holidays and periods of exodus, like the month of August.
Photos on a menu are always a dead give-away of a not so exceptional dining place.
Don’t’s
1. Eat in tourist squares
“Non si mangia bene in centro storico. I ristoranti in centro storico sono solo per i turisti”
Translation: Doomsday talk by most Italians when discussing the state of dining affairs in their historical center (the way we refer to downtown) and projecting pessimism about eating well or that there’s nothing left but tourist traps.
While technically yes, there are some good places in and around Italy’s major tourist attractions - Rivoire in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria for one - most are not even worth the mention. The problem with the food in these squares, is most of it is from commercial suppliers since they rely on volume and turning tables for easy touristic targets.
These places serve overpriced dishes considering the quality, stuffed to the brim with dont’s 2,3,4 and 5 on this list and designed for the tourist who is too tired (or hangry) to wander down an alleyway looking for a hidden gem or something a little more off the beaten track.
2. Avoid sandwich boards and fixed menus that seem too good to be true.
More often than note, these sandwich boards are in high traffic tourist areas advertising fixed menus.
As already noted, the best Italian food is seasonal and regional. Italian food finds its roots in the food its people grew in their own gardens, fished from their own seas, made with their own hands and hunted in their own forests.
A sandwich board written in English that advertises a fixed menu day in day out with no consideration of the season or the locality is not going to be good.
On top of that, they’re often advertising cut price deals for a glass of wine and a secondo or main course. In expensive cities like Florence, these deals should be scrutinized more than ever.
How can you expect quality ingredients and quality wine prepared by a restaurant where everyone involved is being paid fairly and overhead costs covered?
These restaurants prioritize quantity and volume over quality. They’re not worried about return customers. They’re just trying to make a quick buck, so they have no incentive to make anything fresh or, frankly, good.
3. Photos of the food or menus in 6 different languages
Most Tuscan food worth eating is usually ugly and not photogenic. If you see photos of the food on the menu or worse still, a menu in 6+ languages. We are in Europe, but…
I don’t think I need to explain this one, but any of the above means the restaurant caters to tourists and enough tourists that their waiters have grown tired of waiting for people to Google translate their menu into every language under the sun and went the extra mile to take photos.
If a restaurant has enough repeat or WOM patrons to fill its seats, it’s not worrying about whether the odd tourist can read the specials or knows what a dish looks like.
Keep it regional by trying dishes native to the city or region you visit, like these Florentine delights from the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio. Photo: Coral Sisk.
4. Avoid Italian-American dishes
There is a restaurant in Florence called Vini e Vecchi Sapori that has a sign that reads “No spritz. No pizza”. Yes it sounds a bit mean, but a touch of Florentine no-nonsense snark or “ironia” is always sign that the restaurant you’re visiting caters to locals. In other words, they are making their own food, their own way, without concessions.
As mentioned in the do’s list, a list of local, regional dishes is definitely a green flag when it comes to choosing a restaurant. A massive red flag is any dish that is not traditionally Italian. Pineapple on pizza, chicken parm, spaghetti Bolognese, baked ziti, garlic bread, steak with dipping sauces or served on hot planks that cook it to medium well, spaghetti and meatballs. These are not Italian dishes, so if you see them on the menu, you know where you are.
One caveat on this: If you do have kids and they want spag and meatballs, order spaghetti al pomodoro with a side of polpette. The food police won’t come after you.
5. Menu hawkers
Avoid people asking you to come in or anyone so eager for you to come in that they have people making pasta in the windows. What’s is this, the zoo? To repeat point 3 in our Don’t’s list, this is the call of a restaurant desperate for bums on seats.
Why would you pay someone to shout at people passing by? And can you imagine any self-respecting nonno/nonna agreeing to perform for a crowd like a seal?
Well-made traditional food is becoming increasingly more difficult to come by. Some blame mass tourism for disappointing traditional food in Italy’s historic center, but I also blame a lack of will.
If it’s easy to make money from tourists by hawking in front of your restaurant then why would you go the extra mile to let your food speak for itself?
And yes, I know taste is subjective, but I hope you trust my POV as a certified sommelier, as someone who has been writing about food and leading food tours since 2012.
Bonus DONTS:
Cutting spaghetti with a knife- travesty! The only pasta Italians would dream of using a knife with is something like ravioli or lasagna.
For the love of healthy digestion, don’t order a cappuccino with your pasta or right after a meal. Instead, opt for a macchiato or macchiatone.
Pizza is eaten with your hands! The knife is meant to cut into slices but you fold each with your hands and eat with reckless abandon.
