What’s a Trattoria?

What’s the difference between a trattoria and an hosteria?

This is one of the many questions I hear from visitors to Italy. And frankly, it can be very confusing trying to figure out all the “types” of Italian eating establishments. There are just so many different names for places to eat in Italy – kind of like ordering a coffee! Let me try and break it down for you… and know up front there are exceptions to these rules as many restaurants are evolving to try be “all things to all people” and increase their market share. In fact, most eating establishments in Rome will have at least two of the “descriptions” detailed below on their signage – some have four of five!

You can get a pretty good idea of what is being served BEFORE you commit. Most restaurants will have menus posted outside, so you can scope out the foods – and the prices – before you sit down. If you don’t see a menu, just ask for one. Italians are VERY nationalistic about their food. Living here in Rome, we joke you can find three types of food: Italian… Italian… and Italian! Today, Rome IS evolving and you WILL find far more Ethnic restaurants than 10 years ago.

Vineria Chianti – Ristorante and Wine Bar near the Trevi Fountain

Glass Enclosed Outdoor Seating at Alex Cafe & Ristorante on the posh Via Veneto

Ristorante (ree-stoh-RAHN-teh)

This should look familiar to you; It’s the Italian word for “restaurant.” Here you will get the most “full service” eating experience in Italy. Perhaps most common to what you would get in a US restaurant. Note that there are many different levels of ristorante at many different price levels. Yet, these are NOT ALWAYS the highest priced eateries in town. For the most part, these places will have the most “high-end” service. They come in various sizes, price ranges, and comfort levels.

There are many ristoranti all over Rome and on any given street you’ll find one that meets your taste and price expectations. These are usually well-appointed and generally provide the most consistent and best level of service in Italy. “Service” in Italy is a somewhat subjective term! A ristorante will serve you a “full meal” with multiple courses and many options. For courses you can expect: antipasto, primo, secondo, contorno, dolce, and caffe’.

Antipasti: These are appetizers, The word antipasto (the singular form) means “before the meal.” These are usually out to your table very quickly and many are vegetarian. Others would includes various forms of bruschetta, crostini (chicken-liver pate’) and affettati misti (sliced cold cuts). Some ristorante are more famous for their antipasti then they are their entrees.

Primi: This is your first course (singular is primo). This can be a soup, a pasta or various risotto (rice) dishes. Most of the primi are vegetarian. Often the primi are smaller portions – not like a huge bowl of pasta you would get in Italian restaurants in the U.S.

Secondi: Your second courses (singular is secondo) is the meat section – chicken, pork, beef, etc. Most restaurants also include fish dishes here. It’s important to know that your second course DOES NOT include side items. If your order a chicken breast, all you will get is a chicken breast on a plate – no vegetables. Those must be ordered separately, (Contorni info to follow). Depending on the season, secondi can also include specialty vegetables seasoned and grilled. In a few ristoranti, you’ll also see omelets offered as a secondi. Often restaurants specialize in meats or fishes, and while choices influence all parts of the menu, the secondi is often where a ristorante trumpets their food specialty.

Contorni: Your side items (singular is contorno) are generally vegetables such as salad, spinach, potatoes. These items are served only when in season. So if it’s not “that time of the year” you’re out of luck! The good news is, what you get will always be fresh and not “imported.” These are served on separate plates – they will not be plated with your secondo. Most folks order one or two to go with their second course.

Often times, after the secondo, Italians THEN eat their salad. It “cleans the palate” for the remainder of the meal. In most restaurants that you will eat at, they will often ask Americans,”Do you want your salad before, with, or after the meal?”

Dolci: My favorite part – the desserts (singular is dolce). Some restaurants go over the top in this area. SAVE ROOM for the dolce! You can often just get fruit. Most restaurants also serve cakes, biscotti (cookies), gelato (ice cream), or other dolci della casa (homemade desserts, and tiramasu). I always like to try the dolci della casa which is often the restaurant’s signature dessert item.

Also, at lunch time, you will see in many restaurants a menu turistico.
This is a set-price menu that usually includes a starter, main course, table wine, bread, cover charge and a service charge included. They range from â‚10-â‚15 a person and are often presented on blackboards outside the restaurant. Best, though, to order a la carte. The menu turistico items are usually pretty standard fare and often not the Best dish the restaurant offers.

Caffe’: In most restaurants the last course is coffee! Most Italians will order an espresso after their meal. Many Americans tend to order a cappuccino which is a heavier drink served before 11 AM. Some restaurants will NOT serve you a cappuccino late at night. Others will do it but walk back to the kitchen muttering things about “Americans.”

Often, as the caffe’ is being served the waiter may “surprise” you with an apperitif. The most common is lemoncello, which if you’ve never had it is something you must try. Many restaurants near our apartment make their own and perhaps it’s as close to “moonshine” as you’ll find in civilized Rome! We love home-made lemoncello!

A large Trattoria on VE II

A picturesque Trattoria in the Borgo area, close to the Vatican

Trattoria (trah-toh-REE-ah)

It’s getting harder to tell the difference between many of the ristorante and a trattoria in Rome. A trattoria perhaps has a more “familiar” quality to it. It’s smaller, less formal and can have fewer courses or fewer menu items. A trattoria is more likely to be located on a side street, whereas a ristorante is front and center on a highly trafficked area. Most food establishments ARE family run in Italy, but certainly at ALMOST all of the trattoria I’ve been in, the papa and the mama are front and center. One is usually out front, one in the back… and definitely a family member handles the cash! A trattoria seems to be more relaxed than a ristorante and service is not to say, less, but certainly more leisurely.<.p>

This hostaria, near the Vatican Museum entrance, is a favorite of Rick Steves’ followers.

Hostaria Farnese, located adjacent to Cafe Farnese, is closed on Thursdays! Note the small sign in the upper left corner that says “Chiuso”

A small hosteria near the Trevi Fountain

Hosteria (aw-steh-REE-ah)

If you think of a trattoria as one level below a ristorante, then you can think of an hosteria as one level below a trattoria. And I do not mean “down” in terms of quality, but usually these are even LESS formal (sometimes a TV in the dining area!) and often less costly. They often have more limited menus with 5-7 entrees being served that night. Many hosteria will have a chalkboard menu, or a handwritten menu. One of favorite hosteria offers just 5 choices a night – but the food is incredible. Service is very relaxed. Often your waiter is watching the futbol match too! These are fun, family places where the focus is on good food – not formality!

There are often specific to a neighborhood and have many locals. The folks entering get greeted like Norm in “Cheers. ” Often here you may be the only Americans in the place… and that’s usually a good thing! Most hosteria are family run affairs. They are often located down side streets or stuck down a back alley. The provide the best value and perhaps most authentic experience for the traveler. The atmosphere is often unique to that part of the city, or even that street.

This is a small, typical Bar in Rome. Note the Easter chocolates hanging from the ceiling.

On the other end of the Bar scale is Harry’s Bar, located on Via Veneto.

Bar (bahrrr)

This is not the “bar” back home. It is like a corner cafe where everyone hangs out. Many are open all through the day. In the morning the Italians head for the “bar” to get their quick cup of coffee and pastry on the way to work. In the afternoon, they grab a quick panini or a tramezzini, which is a large white bread sandwiches, flattened and toasted. In the evening, it’s a great place to get a drink before you go out for dinner. This is the perfect “Italian” meeting place. When you order a drink at night, usually the bar will serve little munchies with your drink such as an assortment of chips, nuts, crackers, etc.

You’ll see bars in every neighborhood, and on every street corner in Italy. They sell coffee and other drinks. They DO serve alcohol, but function is primarily as cafes’. There are different prices in a bar depending on whether you stand up at the bar (al banco) or sit at a table (a tavola). You can pay up to twice as much to sit down, so learn to drink your coffee like the Italians do, standing at the bar! When you sit at a table, you are in essence, “renting” the table!

Going to the bar in the morning for most Italians is a quick “caffe’ fix” then off to work. For those NOT headed to work, it is a very social setting – a place to meet, swap stories, moan about the current administration, talk futbol, and debate the news. You’ll see older gentlemen sit for hours at a bar talking and talking. Do regulars get better pricing? Yep, so become a regular your three or four days in Rome!

Taverna (tah-VEHR-nah)

A tavern is a small eatery that is more focused on the alcohol side of the business. They will have finger foods and more “mass-produced” or pre-made foods. They are usually very rustic inside with an atmosphere more consistent with a neighborhood bar in the States than the ristorante or osteria. People stop in here to drink rather than eat. Perhaps it’s better to relate it to the Italian breakfast. At breakfast they go to a bar to get a caffe’ on the way to work. In the evening they stop at a taverna to grab a drink before dinner or on their way home. Most food offerings are limited and inexpensive. The food items are not the focus- they are there primarily as support!

A large Cafe located near Palazzo Farnese and Campr de Fiori

Inside Tazza D’Oro, one of the most famous cafes in Rome!

Caffe¨ (kaffEH)

A caffe’ is a coffee shop that may offer breakfast or a panini but generally does not serve much food. Rome has a tremendous abundance of street cafes.’ They may serve pizza slices, sandwiches, salads, cheeses, and cold cuts. But their primary focus is coffee so the foods – once they run out, they are “finito” (finished).

Often the best places to eat have no sign at all. That’s the case for the famous, Forno Campo de Fiori, where you can get GREAT pizza to go!

Located on Via Candia, this is a husband-wife pizzeria with a wood burning stove (Forno a Legna)

Pizzeria (pee-tzeh-REE-ah)

As the name suggests, this is a place you can get pizza. But pizzerias in Italy offer far more than pizza. Their specialty may be pizza, but there will be pasta, and often multi-course meals available. Look for Forno a Legna which means wood-burning stove in use here. These are the best pizzas you’ll find in Rome! Pizzerias are USUALLY inexpensive and informal.. although a few I’ve been to contradict that principle.

Paninoteca (paneenoTAYka)

A paninoteca sells Panini. These specialty restaurants primarily sell only panini, grilled sandwiches that are available hot or cold. They may often have salads or hamburgers (although you may not recognize them) and are a form of “fast food” in Italy.

Tavola Calda (TAH-voh-lah KAHL-dah)

Literally the name means “hot table.”This is the closest thing there is to Italian fast food. Here you will find a counter full of pre-made dishes – like pizza or panini – which you order by the piece or by weight. If you want it hot (calda) they will “re-heat” your order. These are great if you’re looking for quick food fast, or taking something home or back to your apartment/B&B if you’re not cooking. Very, very few places deliver in Italy so you just grab your meal at a Tavola Calda on the way home. Most of these places are take-out only so there is usually no seating available.

Rosticceria (roh-stee-cheh-REE-ah)

As the name suggest, this “roasted” foods.This is another “pre-made” eatery much like the Tavola Calda. This is popular again with folks who want to take it to go (da portare via). Many do have seating and it’s like going to a deli or cafeteria. They usually have more selections and more “support” foods (like side vegetables) than the Tavola Calda. But prices are usually higher – a small, roasted chicken will cost you €8-€9 as opposed to €3-€4 uncooked from the Grocery store. The food here is usually “tastier” than their competition, the Tavola Calda.

If all else fails… you can head for one of these…..

Or you can go here… and pay about $15.50 for a Hamburger!

Tipping

Briefly, let’s discuss Tipping at an Italian restaurant. Everyone has an opinion on this issue and I’ll just try and explain the system to you… and you can make your own call. All waiters who work in restaurants here are paid a “living wage.” Which means they are not being paid like servers in the US. They are paid the same, if not more, than the busboys, dishwashers, cooks, etc. Thus, Italians do not tip as we do in the United States.

The “tip” is often included in the prices of the menu items or is stated on the menu, servizio inclusio (service included). If you include an “extra” tip in many restaurants that gratuity is “split” among EVERYONE who works there -that would include the cook, dishwashers, servers, MGT, and even the owner!

If you want to leave a tip to a server for GREAT service, pay your bill, then as you’re departing, hand the tip directly, and discretely, to the server. You’ll also notice that in many restaurants that your credit card billing has NO PLACE for a tip. Here you pay the bill and leave the “tip” in cash. This is usually a dead give-away that this restaurant has service included, a ‘cover” charge, or higher prices – all reasons perhaps not to tip.

How much to tip? Again that’s up to you. Many folks drop a euro or two, some say 5-10% for great service. Anything over that would be for MEMORABLE service … certainly the server will remember you!

Finally, if you finish eating, you will not be given your check unless you ask for it; “il conto, per favore.” There is no rush to turn tables in Italy, so you can sit as long as you want to. The waiter is not being rude and ignoring you by not bringing your check; he is giving you the luxury of enjoying your meal with no pressure.

Eating out in Italy if quite enjoyable and a HUGE part of the Italian lifestyle. Hopefully you’ll get the opportunity to try ALL these different styles of restaurants in your travels. For some great information on the types of food you can get in a Roman restaurant, see this article: Food In Rome!

Buon appetito!!

Food is a HUGE priority in Italy. When in Rome, eat as the Romans do! Discover the hidden gourmet joys of eating and drinking in Rome just like the locals. Above is a collection of books, guides, and videos on food in Italy. Click on any to get more information or head to our Travel Store, Magellan’s Travel Supplies, or look in amazon.com.   Non-USA Guests can search for travel-related items at amazon.co.uk.

Let Me Coach You, if you’re looking for travel assistance or some help creating an iitinerary! If you want to build your own vacation, please feel free use the information in the articles of the Ron-in-Rome website to help plan your next trip. If you need consulting, head to the Coaching page; For a list of all articles on this website, head to the Postings page. Or use the SEARCH Box, on the top right of each page!

---

Header: Roma, Campo dei Fiori – Photo by Barbara Cesanelli