Dining Out in Italy –
Food and Drink Vocabulary List
In Italy, most people don't just eat to live, they live to eat. Italians take their food very seriously, and restaurant culture is quite popular. When you travel to Italy, it's important to know the basics of 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.
| |
Expression in Italian |
Expression in English |
Pronunciation |
|
Cosa prende / Cosa prendi? |
What would you like? (Formal/Informal)) |
Coh-sah prehn-deh / Coh-sah prehn-dee |
|
Vorrei... |
I would like |
Vohr-ray |
|
Un'acqua |
Water |
Oo-ah-quah |
|
Una birra |
A beer |
Oo-nah beer-rah |
|
Una bottiglia di... |
A bottle of... |
Oo-nah boht-tee-lee-ah dee |
|
Un vino rosso |
Red wine |
Oon vee-noh rohs-soh |
|
Un vino bianco |
White wine |
Oon vee-noh bee-ahn-coh |
|
Il piatto del giorno |
The dish of the day |
Eel pee-aht-toh dehl johr-noh |
|
Il pesce |
The fish |
Tel peh-sheh |
|
La carne |
The meat |
Lah cahr-neh |
|
Le verdure |
The vegetables |
Leh vehr-doo-reh |
|
Il conto |
The bill / the check |
Eel cohn-toh |
|
Mi scusi / Scusa |
Excuse me (Formal/Informal) |
Mee scuh-see / Scuh-sah |
|
Quanto costa... |
How much is... |
Quahn-toh coh-stah |
|
Un piatto vegetariano |
A vegetarian dish |
Oon pee-aht-toh veh-jeh-tah-ree-ah-noh |
|
Un antipasto |
An appetizer |
Oon ahn-tee-pah-stoh |
|
Il primo |
The first course (pasta dish) |
Eel pree-moh |
|
Il secondo |
The main course |
Eel seh-cohn-doh |
|
La frutta |
The fruit |
Lah fruht-tah |
|
Il formaggio |
The cheese |
Eel fohr-mah-joh |
|
Il dessert / il dolce |
The dessert |
Eel dehs-sehrt / eel dohl-che |
|
Un digestivo |
An after dinner alcoholic drink |
Oon dee-jehs-tee-voh |
|
Un tovagliolo |
A napkin |
Oon toh-vah-lee-oh-loh |
|
Un caffè |
A coffee (usually espresso) |
Oon cahf-feh |
|
La mancia |
The tip |
Lah mahn-cha |
|
Non mangio carne. |
I don't eat meat. |
Nohn mahn-joh cahr-neh |
|
Cameriere! |
Waiter! |
Cah-meh-rieh-reh |
|
Aperitivi |
Aperitifs |
Ah-peh-ree-tee-vee |
|
Forchetta |
Fork |
Fohr-keht-tah |
|
Coltello |
Knife |
Cohl-tehl-loh |
|
Cucchiaio |
Spoon |
Cuhk-kee-ah-yoh |
|
Piatto |
Plate |
Pee-aht-toh |
|
Acqua frizzante |
Fizzy water |
Ah-quah freez-zahn-the |
|
Acqua naturale |
Still water |
Ah-quah nah-tuh-rah-leh |
|
Piccante |
Spicy |
Peek-kahn-teh |
Slang/Commonly Used Expressions:
| |
Expression in Italian |
Expression in English |
Pronunciation |
|
Sono molto affamato/a. |
I'm super hungry. |
Soh-noh mohl-toh Ah-fah-mah-toh |
|
goloso/a |
foodie |
goh-loh-soh |
|
Sono pieno/a. |
I'm so full. |
Soh-noh Pee-eh-noh |
|
Che profumino! |
What a nice smell! |
Ke Proh-foo-mee-noh |
|
Scotta! |
It burns! |
Scoht-tah |
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