14 Types Of Restaurants In Italy, Explained

Dining in Italy is the best way to experience Italian food, and unless you've fallen into a tourist trap, you'll find it's world famous for a reason. Of course, if you can't make it to Italy, check out the best Italian restaurants in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles instead. Understanding the different kinds of Italian restaurants can be confusing and even intimidating for travelers. English speakers understand what a pizzeria is, but what's the difference between an osteria and a trattoria? If there are so many kinds of restaurants, which one is actually a ristorante? Why do Italians go to a bar at 8 am?

The precise distinction between the kinds of restaurants isn't always clear to Italians, either. Some types of establishments had very different historical origins, but the lines have become blurred over time. Others may be a combination of more than one kind of restaurant.

The choices may be confusing at first, but with a little knowledge of the types of Italian restaurants under your belt, it will be easier to choose what kind to try (or, better yet, try them all!). Then all that's left will be to sit back and enjoy a meal with excellent food and wine, breathtaking views, and good company that is the magic of Italy.

A trattoria is, generally speaking, a restaurant that is more formal than an osteria but less formal than a ristorante. The name is derived from the French word "traiteur," which means host, making the real distinction between an osteria and a trattoria a bit blurry. The trattoria also has popular origins as it was frequented by travelers and workers as a more economical alternative to a restaurant. Compared to a ristorante, a trattoria is more affordable, and the décor and the level of service is simpler but welcoming.

The trattoria has certain characteristics that have been preserved over time and continue to attract food lovers, whether they be locals or tourists. You can expect an informal atmosphere, high-quality dishes made with local ingredients, and a wide selection of Italian wines. The difference between a trattoria and an osteria, besides the former having a larger menu, is that a trattoria is traditionally family-run. Recipes, which are prepared in a homemade and simple style, may be passed down through the generations, and one family's version of a dish may differ from the same dish offered in other establishments in the area.

The pizzeria is a restaurant with table service, a menu, and a "pizzaiolo" (pizza maker), often working with a wood-burning oven. It can range from informal to fancy. A pizzeria only serves pizza, but many restaurants will serve pizza as an option along with a full menu of appetizers, first and second courses, and desserts. There is also "pizza al taglio," an informal establishment selling pizza by the slice. Slices will be wrapped in a convenient piece of cardboard or wax paper to keep your hands clean.

Pizza is one of the Italian foods best known abroad, but the genuine article may be different from what non-Italians expect. For starters, everyone gets their own pizza, which is served on a large plate and, according to the True Neopolitan Pizza Association, must not exceed 35 centimeters (13.8 inches) in diameter. When consumed at table, it is eaten with a knife and a fork. Despite Italians' love of wine, they pair their pizza with beer (or soda) because it's considered an informal food. Italian pizza has a lighter taste than its American counterpart because it's not made with tomato sauce but with simple tomato pulp or puree, which can be jarred or fresh. Leave your craving for Hawaiian pizza at home! While Italians may turn up their noses at pineapple topping, they are perfectly content to eat "pizza würstel e patatine" (pizza with hot dog and french fry topping). which according to Vanity Fair, is an Italian invention.

An "agriturismo," or farm stay, is a way to experience Italian hospitality off the beaten path. Small farms in Italy began struggling in the 1950s, and to safeguard the country's traditions of independent, local production of products like wine and olives, Italian law created allowances for the newly created agriturismo, in which rural buildings, many abandoned, could be converted into accommodations. Many are modest establishments run by working farmers who need additional income and who make extra rooms in their farmhouse available, and others focus on luxury for tourists. You may be accommodated in an extra bedroom, a converted outbuilding, or separate dedicated structure. In addition to room and board, many will also provide experiences in the countryside, such as horseback riding and cooking classes. This is an opportunity to experience Italian rural life firsthand, including at mealtime.

Meal ingredients are often the products of the farm itself, whether that be cheese, wine, olives and olive oil, vegetables, fruit, honey, chestnuts, eggs, chicken, pork, or beef. Prices are more affordable than staying in a traditional hotel with a restaurant, and you'll taste the kind of dishes the locals themselves prepare and eat, which are unpretentious and excellent. Don't expect the same meal in one agriturismo as you'd find in another one across the country. Italy has strong regional culinary traditions, and you'll enjoy the food and wine of the region (or often that one part of the region).

The "paninoteca," or sandwich shop, takes its name from the Italian word for sandwich: "panino". When in Italy, don't order a panini, unless you're planning on eating more than one. "Panini" is the plural form of the singular "panino." Certain kinds will be heated up for you first (and marked with those characteristic brown lines) on what's known in the United States as a panini maker, but in Italy is just a plain old sandwich grill.

The paninoteca is a very informal place to eat, with counter service and small tables. It also serves hamburgers and fries, hot dogs, chicken wings, deep fried vegetables, salad, soft drinks, and beer. Italian sandwich bread ranges "pane casereccio" (a general term for classic crusty Italian bread in various shapes made in different regions with durum wheat), ciabatta, flat breads, baguettes, and a kind of softer round roll with square bumps on the top appropriately called a "tartaruga" (tortoise). There's even a popular kind of sandwich made on toasted white bread called, in fact, a "toast."

Another version of the paninoteca is the piadineria. It sells a sandwich called a "piadina," which is also the name of the bread — a round flat bread originally from a historical Central Italian region called Romagna. The bread is folded in half and filled with combinations of ingredients ranging from prosciutto crudo, mozzarella, and lettuce to salmon, smoked provola cheese, and mayo to roasted peppers and gorgonzola.

The "mercato" (market) is alive and well in Italy despite the appearance of modern supermarkets. Smaller towns may have one once a week, while cities host numerous markets every weekday morning and all day on Saturdays. This is where Italians shop for produce, bread, eggs, meat, fish, cheese, preserved food, and sweets. Prices are low and ingredients are fresh and flavorful.

Many cities have a large central market where you can also find delicious, characteristic, and inexpensive street food. Florence's Mercato Centrale is located on the first floor of the historic San Lorenzo Market. Don't miss sitting down to a bowl of "ribollita," a classic Tuscan soup made with Tuscan kale, white beans, and stale bread. In Livorno's Mercato Centrale, sample "cecina," a flat, baked chickpea dish similar to a large pancake that's served sliced. Ballarò, the oldest and largest market in Palermo, is well known for its street food.

Order "u pani câ meusa" (a sandwich made from veal entrails) if you're brave, or one with "panelle," Sicily's version of the chickpea pancake.

Another example is Torino's Porta Palazzo, the largest market in Europe. In and around the covered building at its heart are stalls selling inexpensive and delicious fish dishes, meat platters, pizza, savory pastries, Peruvian specialties, Moroccan tajine, and desserts. Not to be missed is a special building called the Mercato Centrale with about twenty stalls selling artisan beer, fish, burgers, bread, wine, bread, pasta, and pastry, to name a few.

The Italian bar is actually akin to a café. They are ubiquitous and seem to dot every street corner. This is where you'll see Italians lined up at the counter drinking their morning espresso or cappuccino. The focus of the bar in Italian culture is not just on the product consumed but on the experience and company, which is why you don't see Italians drinking coffee in take-out cups while hurrying down the street. Bars range from the small, no-frills versions frequented by local regulars to fancy historical establishments and those that offer full buffets at dinner time. The coffee will be excellent, regardless. Some are well-known for a particular product, like Caffè Al Bicerin in Torino, which serves their famous "bicerin," a hot drink made from coffee, chocolate, and cream, and which originated in the city.

Bars offer a selection of beverages, including coffee served in various ways, tea, fruit juice, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages. Go in the morning for a hot brioche (a breakfast pastry similar to a croissant that can be plain or contain fillings like chocolate, cream, fruit jam, or pistachio cream). At lunchtime, there will usually be a selection of pre-made sandwiches, but some will function as a tavola calda and serve hot, pre-made food or fresh dishes like pasta that can be consumed at a table. In the afternoon or evening, Italians stop by the bar for a drink or aperitif, with the focus, as usual, on good company.

A kebabbaro is a kind of very inexpensive Turkish fast food restaurant present in Italy that features döner kebab, a large piece of seasoned meat made with any combination of sliced veal, chicken, turkey, beef, and lamb. The meat is kept warm and rotates on a vertical spit in plain view ("döner" means to rotate in Turkish). It is not to be confused with the kind of kebab that refers to small cubes of meat roasted on personal-sized skewers.

The meat is shaved off in thin slices, dressed with your choice of lettuce, tomato, onion, white yogurt sauce, and hot sauce, and served with flat Arab bread either on a platter with rice and salad, in a sandwich, or rolled into a wrap. Vegetarians can have their sandwich or platter filled with crispy felafel instead. Often, a kebabbaro is also a pretty good pizzeria.

It's said the kebab originated in the Middle Ages when, during long voyages, Ottoman Empire warriors impaled meat on their swords before roasting it. The modern kebab actually comes from Germany, where Turkish immigrants created the dish. These shops are very popular in some parts of Italy, particularly in the cities of Torino and Milan, where they arrived in the 1990s with Middle Eastern immigrants. Not all Italians are happy with foreign foods, however, and the kebab shop was one of the non-Italian food establishments banned in Venice by Italian authorities in a controversial move purported to protect Italian heritage.

Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and Mashed.