Fast Track to Speaking in Italian
Vancouver LaughWalks Presents
Dining Out
The phrases below can help you learn how to order key items, and you will hear these phrases quite often in Italian restaurants. Some of them, such as "waiter" and "a beer" will be familiar to you, while others such as "digestivo" and "fizzy water" might be less so. Please note the difference between formal and informal tenses. When in doubt, use the formal.
- Cosa prende / Cosa prendi? What would you like? (Formal/Informal)
- Vorrei... I would like
- Un'acqua Water
- Una birra A beer
- Una bottiglia di... A bottle of...
- Un vino rosso Red wine
- Un vino bianco White wine
- Il piatto del giorno The dish of the day
- Il pesce The fish
- La carne The meat
- Le verdure The vegetables
- Il conto The bill / the check
- Mi scusi / Scusa Excuse me (Formal/Informal)
- Quanto costa... How much is...
- Un piatto vegetariano A vegetarian dish
- Un antipasto An appetizer
- Il primo The first course (pasta dish)
- Il secondo The main course
- La frutta The fruit
- Il formaggio The cheese
- Il dessert / il dolce The dessert
- Un digestivo An after dinner alcoholic drink
- Un tovagliolo A napkin
- Un caffè A coffee (usually espresso)
- La mancia The tip
- Non mangio carne I don't eat meat.
- Cameriere! Waiter!
- Aperitivi Aperitifs
- Forchetta Fork
- Coltello Knife
- Cucchiaio Spoon
- Piatto Plate
- Acqua frizzante Fizzy water
- Acqua natural Still water
- Piccante Spicy
Slang/Commonly Used Expressions
- Sono molto affamato/a I'm super hungry
- goloso/a Foodie
- Sono pieno/a I'm so full
- Che profumino! What a nice smell!
- Scotta! It burns!
Ordering Food
Whether you're on a short visit to an Italian-speaking country or you're planning to take up residence in Italy itself, knowing how to order food in Italian is essential. Eating out can be a lot of fun, especially if you know some basic vocabulary. The Italian bar is really what Americans would call a café. There you can get breakfast (coffee and a pastry), snacks, sandwiches, and salty snacks to accompany your before-dinner drink.
- assegno check
- pagare to pay
- soldi money
In Italian-speaking countries, as in most of the rest of the world, there are three meals a day:colazione (koh-lah-tsee-oh-neh) [f] (breakfast), pranzo (prahn-tsoh) [m] (lunch), and cena (cheh-nah) [f] (dinner). The following phrases might help you when you're eating at a restaurant.
- Vorrei prenotare. I’d like to make a reservation.
- Per che ora? For what time?
- Per quante persone? For how many people?
- No, non abbiamo prenotato. No, we don’t have a reservation.
- Ci porti il conto, per favore. [Formal] Bring us the check, please.
Here are some food items you can order:
- antipasti appetizers
- carne [f] meat
- cioccolata chocolate
- formaggio cheese
- fragola strawberry
- frutta fruit
- gelato ice cream
- insalata salad
- pane [m] bread
- pesce [m] fish
- riso rice
- sale [m] salt
- verdura vegetables
The following phrases can help you place your drink order.
- Un caffè, per favore. A coffee, please.
- Un bicchiere di latte caldo A glass of warm milk
- Una cioccolata calda A hot chocolate
- Tre birre Three beers
- Un bicchiere di acqua minerale A glass of mineral water
- Liscia o gassata? Flat or carbonated?
- Un panino, per favore. I’ll have a sandwich, please.
- Lo scontrino, per favore. Receipt, please.
- Due cappuccini, per favore. Two cappuccinos, please.
Here are some drink items you can order
- Acqua water
- vino wine
- bere to drink
- birra beer
- caffè [m] coffee
- latte milk
You might want to use the following adjectives to when giving your cameriere/cameriera(waiter/waitress) your food or drink order:
- calda/o warm; hot
- fredda/o cold
- dolce sweet
- grande big; tall; large
- piccola/o small; short
Italians don’t drink cappuccino after breakfast time.
Just Enough Italian for Your First Day in Rome
Ordering Food at a Restaurant or Bar
