Italian breakfast: what to expect – When discussing breakfast in Italy, we must first distinguish between hotel or B&B breakfast and Italian breakfast foods that can be purchased at a grocery store for an Airbnb stay. Breakfast prepared at home in Italy is typically straightforward.
- Traditional Italian breakfast beverages include coffee, tea, and cocoa milk for children, while the most common breakfast foods include bread with butter and jam, cookies, and cereals.
- This is the most likely breakfast you will find if you are staying with friends in a private home, plus a basket of freshly baked cornetti from the bakery! When staying in a hotel, the situation is very different.
In order to accommodate the preferences of international guests, hotels offer a breakfast buffet with a variety of cereals, pastries, bread, butter, jam, and croissants. It is very common in northern Italy to serve a savory breakfast consisting of charcuterie and cheese slices.
Occasionally, fruit is included, but this is not the norm. The standard hotel breakfast consists of a variety of breads and croissants, cakes (typically ciambellone, crostata, or apple cake), plain biscuits, yogurt, and cold cuts (ham, cheese). In Italy, a cooked breakfast is less typical. However, some hotels cater to large international populations, and most upscale hotels can prepare eggs in a variety of ways.
The traditional English breakfast or pancakes are hard to find and not a standard offering. When a hotel in Italy offers a continental breakfast, it typically consists of a buffet or coffee/tea with danish pastries, bread, and condiments.
How does an average day of eating in Italy look?
Lunch at 1 p.m. – The majority of lunch establishments in Italy do not open before noon, with many opening at 12.30. Lunch is served between 1 and 2.30 pm, after which restaurants close. In Italy, restaurants are not open 24 hours a day. If you find a restaurant serving lunch at 3 p.m., it is most likely catering to tourists. For lunch, we suggest: Make a reservation at a restaurant if you have been on your feet all morning or if the weather is hot. This will provide you with an opportunity to relax and cool off in air conditioning (check to ensure it has air conditioning!). If you wish to dine at an expensive restaurant, the lunch menu will almost certainly be less expensive, which is ideal for budget-conscious travelers.
- If you have a busy day or a large dinner planned, eat a light lunch.
- Those who are daring should try the local street food! Or, locate a cafe on a plaza.
- Purchase a sandwich at a paninoteca.
- Locate a bakery and order a pizza al trancio (which will be sold by weight).
- Obtain some bread from a bakery, some cheese and prosciutto from a salumeria, and some fruit from a street market if you want something quick and fresh, or if you have children who do not enjoy sitting in restaurants.
Find a bench, square, or park where you can enjoy your picnic. Lunch with natives If you can communicate in Italian, you can book a hot lunch prepared by an Italian mother through the new Rome and Milan-only startup SoLunch. Or, reserve with BonAppetour
Pizza – Although a slab of flat bread served with oil and spices has been around since long before the unification of Italy, perhaps no dish is as ubiquitous or emblematic of the country as the humble pizza. Pizza has long been a popular snack or meal, particularly in Naples, where tomato sauce was first introduced.
- In 1889, when Queen Margherita of Italy passed through the bustling city on a tour of her kingdom, she requested to sample the dish that so many of her subjects were eating.
- A local entrepreneur served her the now-famous combination of tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil, thereby creating (or, more likely, trademarking) the Margherita pizza.
Whether by accident or design, the Margherita features the same hues as the Italian flag. There are essentially two types of pizza available in Italy today: Neopolitan pizza and Roman pizza (though to be honest, many delivery places exist that is a happy medium between the two).
- The crust of Neapolitan-style pizza is thick and airy.
- Because the dough hasn’t been rolled out as far and there’s more filling, it tends to be slightly smaller in diameter.
- The crust of Roman-style pizza is paper-thin and slightly crisp (you don’t want it to be soggy!).
- It has a larger diameter but is typically lighter and contains less gluten.
Due to its association with Queen Margherita, Naples claims to be the birthplace of modern pizza, a claim that is contested throughout Italy. Regardless of the circumstance, the rule of thumb for ordering pizza in Italy is to opt for fewer toppings. You should also be wary of pizzerias that smother their pizzas in toppings, as this is frequently done to conceal the use of inferior ingredients.
- Fewer toppings demonstrate confidence in the product, as each topping must be exceptional.
- When in Rome, do as the Romans do, i.e.
- Eat Roman-style pizza, regardless of your personal pizza preference.
- When in Naples, it is only natural to imitate the locals.
- A traditional pizza margherita with a thick crust from Naples.
Image captured by Amanda Ruggeri
Is it impolite to leave food uneaten in Italy?
Yes, it is impolite to leave food on the plate in Italy. When serving food to yourself, be sure to start with a small portion; if you still feel hungry, you can serve a second portion. It is called maleducato, which in English means impolite.
