Osteria Vs Trattoria: What's The Difference Between The Italian Restaurant Styles?

It's no secret that Italian culinary tradition has the global food game on lock. Even Italian chain restaurants are good (Maggiano's Little Italy is our favorite, for the record). But when dining in Italy like a local, the country is dotted with different types of eateries categorized to help foodies get the exact type of dining experience they're looking to find. Today, we're exploring two types of informal Italian dining establishments — the osteria versus the trattoria — to find out what makes them unique and the better fit to satisfy specific cravings. 

While these casual eateries are fairly similar, a trattoria is generally more formal than an osteria but less formal than a ristorante, and with a greater emphasis on food than wine. Osterie, by contrast, focus on local wine and affordable pricing, with limited food menus. It wouldn't be incorrect to think of an osteria like a wine bar or pub more than a restaurant. They're cheaper than an enoteca, which is also wine-focused but more upscale, like one might expect from an American wine bar in a place like NYC. Contrarily, osterie are often furnished with large communal tables, further facilitating the gathering place social function. These establishments are less-abundant than trattoria in modern-day Italy.

Trattorie are the best places for a traditional, no-frills, family-style meal at an affordable price. Trattorie offer a wider range of dishes and greater emphasis on dining compared to osterie. However, trattorie are still more understated than a ristorante (a proper sit-down restaurant with structured courses and wait staff).

An osteria is a casual dining place that's all about gathering. In fact, osterie typically emphasize the gathering over the dining, offering limited but highly affordable food menus to accompany glasses of wine. Often, an osteria will not carry a printed menu, as the available offerings might change from one day to the next. The quick linguini with clams served today could be baked ziti tomorrow. As such, menu offerings are commonly displayed on a large board or handwritten on small papers. Alternatively, osterie are sometimes structured with an unchanging wine list and a deli counter for ordering food to take back to your table. Osterie that serve hot cooked dishes might be designated with a "Osteria con Cucina" sign out front.

The word osteria evolved from the Italian "oste," meaning "innkeeper," and the Latin "hospes," meaning "host." Historically, osterie only sold wine, permitting local foodies to bring their own food to drink with friends in public without having to shell out for a meal. Travelers and tradesmen would stop by osterie for a drink, snacking on whatever bread, cheese, or cured meat they had packed while resting and socializing with locals. Osterie were also frequently established near mines and construction sites, perpetuating the eatery's working-class feel — unpretentious and community-centric. Nowadays, bringing your own food to the eatery is considered a social faux pas at most osterie, with some exceptions — like the oldest osteria in operation, Osteria del Sole, which has been serving the community in Bologna since 1465. Here, folks can still bring outside food.

Compared to osterie, trattorie offer more of a focus on food than wine, typically uncomplicated regional fare made from in-season ingredients. Trattorie also tend to be family-owned establishments and, as such, the exact dishes served can vary greatly from one trattoria to the next, with different families showcasing different specialties and different local ingredients being readily available. In general, trattoria often focus on the cucina povera Italian culinary tradition, highlighting simple, flavorful, nourishing meals made from minimal ingredients. Trattoria might serve ribollita soup, wild boar ragu, other meaty pastas, or seafood entrees showcasing the coastal catch.

Like the osteria, the trattoria also serves up a fascinating history. The word trattoria is thought to have etymological roots in the French "traiter" meaning "to host" or "to treat." During medieval times, trattorie functioned as kitchens away from home for poor rural folks, who often lived in homes without kitchens of their own. These foodies would come to the trattoria with their haul of daily produce, and the establishment would charge a small fee to prepare them a meal from the ingredients. The trattoria has also served as breaking ground for women's equality, providing places of work outside of the home for mothers and grandmothers who historically faced limited opportunities for independent employment. Today, that permeating, comforting, accessible feel remains. If you're hungry for a home-cooked, traditional-style meal (probably made in a kitchen staffed by a real family), a trattoria is still the place to go.