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Beyond the country’s borders, Italian food is often lumped into the pizza/pasta category; however, it offers so much more. What many don’t realise is that the food in Italy is exceptionally regional. Strongly influenced by local history, age-old traditions as well as the seasonality of produce, each region delivers its own specialities.
To add to the diversity, these regional differences in cuisine are often influenced by climate as well as geographical and economical factors, such as the presence of nobility. When you take a deeper look into Italy’s history, only having become a unified nation in 1861, as well as the long, narrow shape of the country sandwiched by the seas with mountain ranges in the north; it is hardly surprising that such diversity has made its mark on the menu.
In order to try the regional specialities and finest seasonal delicacies of every region, you’d need several lifetimes touring Italy (one can only dream). With limited space in our stomachs, the seemingly infinite amount of ‘must-try Italy foods’ could make one panic at the thought of deciding which Italian dishes to prioritise. That’s where this guide comes in handy.
As well as helpful tips and Italian traditional food customs, we’ve incited the help of our Local Designers in Italy to gather together a selection of the best dishes in Italy to try on your trip. Whilst this list is in no way exhaustive or complete, it does detail the heart and soul of Italian cuisine and the best food experiences in Italy!
Grab your fork, let’s get stuck in.
Italy Traditional Food Customs – The Dos and Don’ts of Food in Italy
Whilst extremely laid back, Italians are very passionate people. That passion extends to traditions and customs around food in Italy. If you don’t want to get funny looks or have an urge to not look like a tourist, we’ve got you covered!
About the Menu
All Italian menus will be split into the following categories: antipasti (appetisers), primi (first course), secondi (second course), contorni (side dishes), dolci (desserts) and caffe (coffee) as well as drinks. Antipasti are an exciting part of the meal, as this is where you’ll find much of the regional variation and they enable you to try lots of different foods. However, bear in mind they can be filling!
In Italy, pasta, soup and rice dishes such as gnocchi, spaghetti, risotto and minestrone, come under the ‘primi’ section of the menu. Unlike Italian restaurants in your home country, these dishes aren’t huge as they are not intended to be the main part of your meal. However, depending on your appetite, this and some antipasti may be enough for you.
The second course (secondi) is your meat and fish course. Exactly as it sounds, this ‘dish’ is literally a chunk of superbly cooked meat or fish with nothing else. That’s where the contorni part of the menu comes in – your side dishes! Potatoes, grilled vegetables, salads, beans, and french fries are the most popular sides.
Top Tip: If you order a salad, it will come after the meal – your hot vegetables will come with the meal!
Last but not least is dessert (dolci) and coffee (caffe). Italian fruits, tiramisus and gelato will form the basis of the dessert menu, with tiramisu being the most popular dessert on the menu nationwide. If you order an espresso to complete your meal (this is very common), it will come after your dessert, not at the same time.
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Dos & Don’ts for Eating in Italy
Don’t…
- Don’t try to eat lunch after 2pm. Almost every restaurant shuts for the afternoon after 2pm and reopens around 7pm for dinner. Shops and supermarkets also close for the afternoon so make sure you time your meals and don’t get caught out hungry!
- Don’t order a cappuccino or latte after 11am. Milk-based coffees are considered breakfast in Italian cuisine so you’ll get a funny look ordering it in the afternoon or at night.
- Don’t order wine with pizza. Italians only drink beer and soft drinks with pizza, wine is reserved for antipasti and meals.
- Don’t ask for chicken or pineapple on your pizza – this is poor form in Italy.
- Don’t order spaghetti bolognese (or spaghetti with meatballs). These dishes don’t exist in Italy; instead, head to Bologna and order tagliatelle al ragu.
Do…
- Do skip dessert at the restaurant and head to a gelateria instead for a sweet stroll.
- Do avoid restaurants near top attractions as you’ll be paying for the location, not the quality of the food.
- Do a food tour! One of the best ways to truly experience the Italian food culture is a food tour with a local guide. By designing your trip with one of our Local Designers in Italy, only the best food tours will be included for you!
- Do ask a local or do your research to find out what to eat in each of the 20 Italian regions. The menus will be vastly different from each other in places like Puglia and Tuscany.
- Do drink coffee at the bar. Bars are open all day and are a popular place to enjoy a drink, alcoholic or not, and ‘chew the fat’ (have a chat). However, if you sit down, you could be charged up to four times the price!
- Do an olive oil tasting. You’ll never have experienced olive oil like it; head to a farm and enjoy this wonderful day out.
- Do a wine tasting. Italy and wine – need we say more?
- Do a cooking class to learn how to recreate popular food in Italy at home. One of the best food experiences in Italy is truffle hunting in the Alba hills and returning to a farmhouse to whip up a regional speciality!
This list could go on and on! If you want someone on your side at all times with local Italy food tips, then design your Italy trip with one of our Local Designers who will be able to guide you through all of these dos and don’ts on Italy food tours!
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Top 10 Traditional Italian Dishes to Try & Where to Try Them
For the sake of making sure we don’t end up writing a book on the most popular food in Italy, this list will leave out the cheese, cured meats and focaccia (and other bread). If you plan to go wine tasting in Italy or have a penchant for sharing a few appetisers with a glass of wine then you’ll be sure to taste some of the finest Italian cheese, cured meats and bread.
So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here is the list of top food to try in Italy!
1. Pizza in Naples
Nowadays, pizza can be found all over the world but nowhere does pizza taste better than its true home of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Arguably a staple food of Italy, there is a debate over whether pizza or Ragu alla Bolognese (keep reading) takes the title of the national food of Italy. Whilst the latter may win the title, there’s nothing quite as satisfyingly Italian as feasting on an authentic ‘pizza Napoletana.
In Italy, toppings are kept simple to allow the fresh, rich flavours of the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil to shine through. Perfectly patriotic, you’ll notice this pizza represents the colours of the Italian flag. With a thicker crust than those you would be served in Rome, true Napolitan pizza is an experience in itself. Enjoy!
Top tip: Italians rarely share a pizza so order a whole one to yourself and savour it all!
2. Ragu alla Bolognese in Bologna
If you come to Italy looking for spaghetti bolognese, you won’t find it because it doesn’t actually exist. The closest dish to what we know as spaghetti bolognese is Ragu alla Bolognese, a tomato meat sauce in Bolognese style prepared with carrots, onion, celery and beef or pork. Despite pizza nudging its way in, Ragu alla Bolognese is technically the national dish of Italy.
To try this dish, head to Bologna in the Emilia Romagna region, one of the best places to visit for food and wine in Italy. Oh and you won’t see any spaghetti here, this dish is only ever served with tagliatelle. Also, if you wish to try a very special wild boar ragu, explore the neighbouring Tuscany during our 11-day essential Tuscany tour.
3. Risotto in Milan
From one traditional food in Italy to another; risotto is a deliciously creamy dish made by toasting the rice in a hot pan with lashings of butter and onion before gradually adding a rich stock to cook the rice until a soft moreish texture is formed.
There are a wide variety of risotto recipes in Italy including ingredients such as fresh seafood and porcini mushrooms, but for the finest risotto, you have to head to Milan, Lombardy in Northern Italy. Risotto alla Milanese is made using meat stock, bone marrow, cheese and a dose of saffron! *Chef’s kiss*
4. Carbonara in Rome
A Roman speciality; if you’re only going to try one pasta in Italy (which is highly unlikely), make sure it’s traditional Roman carbonara. Made using just four simple ingredients: guanciale (an Italian cured meat made with pork jawl or cheek), eggs, pecorino romano cheese and black pepper. That’s it – simple and delicious yet incredibly hard to master.
Those that use bacon instead of guanciale and use cream to thicken the sauce are considered a travesty. However, even in the home of carbonara, it’s still possible to encounter these substitutes. To better your chances of a life-changing version of this classic dish, get a recommendation from a local, or even better, design your Italy food tour with one of our Local Designers in Italy!
5. Truffles in Alba
A revered member of the mushroom family, truffles grow underground in the wild. In order to grow, truffles need incredibly specific conditions and can only be found in specific areas at certain times of the year. To hunt them down, truffle experts —often with their trusty truffle-hunting dogs— scale the countryside in the rare hope of finding them which happens to make them one of the most expensive ingredients in the world.
The best place to experience truffles is in the town of Alba in the Piedmont region of Italy. This Italy tour to Alba showcases the best food in Italy with a truffle-hunting experience followed by a lunch with your newfound ‘white gold’ at a local farmhouse afterwards!
6. Bistecca alla Fiorentina in Florence
This dish is a classic example of why the best food in Italy is region-specific. If you’re going to eat a steak during your time in Italy, make it a Bistecca alla Fiorentina! This specific cut of meat is a huge T-bone steak cut five centimetres thick from a specific cow, a Chianina cow, raised in Tuscany. This dish can only be exclusively enjoyed in Florence or the Tuscany countryside.
Best served very rare after being cooked for a few minutes on each side, this dish is meant to be shared between two or more people.
7. Gelato and Cannoli in Sicily
Sicily food is another world of its own. This enchanting Mediterranean island with its fertile, volcanic soil produces some of the best food in Italy. Its desserts are no exception.
The exact origins of gelato are said to date back to 1686 when a Sicilian fisherman perfect the first ice cream machine. Now widely commercialised, authentic, natural gelato is something you should seek out on your Sicily trip. Nothing beats a stroll through town with a belly full of wine and great food to a local gelaterie for a scoop or two of Sicilian Pistacchio di Bronte DOP gelato.
You will likely have heard about these little rolls of deliciousness before reading about them here. What you may not know is that Cannoli are thought to have originated in Sicily’s Palermo during the Arab rule as a symbol of fertility. Sweetened ricotta cheese is piped into tubes of crisp pastry then decorated with nuts, chocolate chips and candied fruits. The result is incredible.
8. Carpaccio in Venice
When in Venice, Carpaccio is a traditional Italian food to be savoured. Made by thinly slicing meat or fish, sprinkling it with olive oil and Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings, carpaccio is then usually served on a bed of rocket leaves to be enjoyed as an appetiser. It’s origins are thought to date back to 1950 when the original beef carpaccio was first served in Harry’s Bar in Venice.
A gastronomic adventure into Venice food led by one of our Local Designers in Italy will be sure to delight and elevate your palate.
9. Pasta, Everywhere!
Whether is gnocchi in Sardinia, ravioli in Lazio, pappardelle in Tuscany, tagliatelle in Bologna, linguine in Genoa, tortellini in Emilia-Romagna or fettuccine in Rome; the best pasta in Italy can be enjoyed in every region. It is simply one’s mission to seek out the pasta speciality in the region you visit, grab a fork and dive in!
For the best food experiences in Italy, design your trip with one of our in-destination Local Designers who not only know the best restaurants to take you to, but they can also fill your trip with authentic, unique and local food and wine experiences that you won’t find anywhere else!
Top tip: Not everything is meant to be topped with parmesan cheese in Italy. If the dish is meant to be served with parmesan, you will be asked if you would like some.
10. Seadas in Sardinia
Sardinia food will spoil you with its incredible array of dishes which thrive off the ingredients grown on its inland fertile farmland. Whilst Seadas make the list of the best food in Italy, they may not be something you are familiar with. All the better that you get to become familiar with them for the first time in their home region of Sardinia.
Seadas are delicious Sardinian pastries that can be enjoyed as either a dessert or appetiser. Essentially, they are big ravioli filled with lemon-infused pecorino cheese (sheep’s milk cheese) then deep-fried and filled with honey. You’ll find these pastries all over Sardinia but make sure they are freshly fried so they can be enjoyed warm with a soft, melted cheese middle.
The Best Tours to Experience Food in Italy
So now you know what to try where, how about some trip inspiration to tie all of these wonderful food experiences and more, together?
We’ve got you covered with an array of fully-customisable tours to experience the best food in Italy!
Northern Italian Food Tours
7-Day Northern Italy Food and Wine
Top food highlights:
- Chef-led Piedmontese cooking experience in Alba
- Private tasting of hand-crafted cheese in the town of Castelmagno
11-Day Relaxed Food and Wine in Northern Italy
Top food highlights:
- Splendid wine tasting day in the Veneto countryside
- Private Parma food tour
Emilia Romagna Food Tours
9-Day Food Valley of Emilia Romagna
Top food highlights:
- Visit a local farm to see how salami is produced with a tasting
- Tour of the ‘Food Valley of Italy’ to try DOP products
Tuscany Food Tours
9-Day Umbria and Tuscany Foodie Escape
Top food highlights:
- Tour a local olive oil mill with a tasting
- Visit a dairy farm in Pienza to learn how to make pecorino cheese
Venice Food Tours
Top food highlights:
- Foodie walking tour of Venice with a local guide
- Guided cicchetti (street food) tasting in Venice
Friuli Venezia Giulia Food Tours
9-Day Foodie Adventure in Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia
Top food highlights:
- Exclusive cooking class in a renowned wine estate in Valpolicella with an Italian chef
- Prosecco tasting in the scenic verdant hills of Valdobbiadene wine country
8-Day Art, Food and Culture of Fruili Venezia Giulia
Top food highlights:
- Exquisite prosciutto tasting in the charming hilltown of San Daniele del Friuli
Sicily Food Tours
Top food highlights:
- Walking food tour of Catania led by a local expert guide
- Indulge in a rich and delicious tasting of cheeses in southeast Sicily
- Explore the food markets of Palermo with a local guide
Top food highlights:
- Visit a pastry laboratory to learn how to prepare Sicilian cannoli
- Taste the unique and unforgettable flavours of our traditional Sicilian cuisine in Erice
With so much beautiful food on offer, Italy food tours are popular for a reason. Make your trip different from anything else you’ll find by designing your trip with one of our trusted Local Designers who will use their local insight and destination knowledge to fill your trip with authentic, local experiences. Explore our Italy food tours for inspiration and connect with one of our Local Designers to start designing your journey!
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