lyv

I understand that in Italy there are many courses to a meal including appetizers, pasta, main dish (meat), etc. etc. Do they get annoyed if you just have say the appetizer and pasta or appetizer and small main dish?? All these courses for dinner are overwhelming and I am not a huge eater (especially later in the evenings)...suggestions anyone??

Howard

We've never had a problem. Worry not!

liz

Lyv, we never had any trouble just ordering a course or two. More and more this is becoming the norm as the whole world is turning a little more health wise. Have a great time!

Jon

Try splitting the antipasti or pasta course with your dinner date if you don't want that much food. It's your meal...you should order what you want. <BR>j.

Ed

No problem! <BR> <BR>In fact, that's one of the neat things about dining in Italy ... you can construct the meal the way you want. Italians normally eat a salad after the secondi, but you can have it first, American style ... the waiter won't blink. Tortelini in brodo is normally a first course, but if you're like my son you'll order it for dessert ... and again the waiter won't blink. <BR> <BR>Order what you want, when you want. <BR> <BR>And by the way, the plates of each course will, in general, be a bit smaller than you might expect. Italians seem to have this strange idea that quality is more important than heaping large quantities of so-so food on your plate.

sherry

When several of us were dining in Italy and each of us ordered differently, i.e some from salad or antipasti and some maybe only from main course, they were served in order. So maybe while I was having the antipasti, the others at the table were not eating and had to wait until the order in which their course would be served. Did I explain this ok?

s.fowler

Yup. You explained it perfectly. I think it was there way of telling you that more should have been ordered <BR> <BR>We ran into this in Paris at Thoumieux -- they were NOT happy when we didn't order a starter and just ordered a main dish .. and then dessert. My reaction -- tough noogies -- it's my dinner

Mel

These kinds of questions are exactly why I wish this forum had been here before I went overseas for the first time in 1994! Went to Italy and was REALLY confused about all the courses. The salads and pastas seemed so inexpensive--was there much? What's this? Meat NEXT? How would the waiter react if I didn't want the meat? We plunged forward and both ordered salads and pasta. No reaction whatsoever from any waiter, anywhere! It's a great question, lyv!

luvfood

I recall several years ago walking Rome, getting hungry around 3-4pm and stopping at a little restaurant with outdoor tables. They were really ticked off when we just ordered a plate of spaghetti each. It wasn't like it was their busy time so still don't understand the problem. It can be a little intimidating <BR>going to Italy and seeing all that food on the menu!!

s.fowler

One reason may be that they accept reservations in "seatings" that is at longer intervals between reservation "periods" than is the American custom. So if you don't order a full meal they can't easily make up for it by sliding someone into your table when you leave earlier than they expected.

Susan

Hopefully, things are changing in Italy. 5 years ago we ordered "just the primi" in a restaurant and the waiter was really put out. <BR> Our second trip, 2 years later, no one blinked when we ordered "just the primi."

Capo

That's always been my thought too, that it's due to the fact that there's less turnover during a lunch or dinner than you'd find at a restaurant in, for example, the U.S. So with fewer total diners, a restaurant would want more money per diner.

Mariarosa

Hi lyv! Something that has not been mentioned is that each course tends to be much smaller in Italy than in the United States and, priced accordingly, much cheaper than in the United States. Primi plates would often be $6-7 in moderate restaurants, secondi plates would often be $8-15, again, in moderate restaurants. I am not a big eater in the US (I weigh 110 pounds!), and I had no problem eating a primi, a secondi a contorni and a dolci. Part of the reason is beacuse the food was soooo good, and there were always so many things on the menu that looked good, and as I said, the portions were not that big, that we went ahead and ordered multiple courses. Besides we try to abide to the "when in Rome" rule and we noticed that Italians do tend to order multiple courses.

A.M.

Glad you brought that up. While in Rome,my friend and I( 2 women) had our dinners ruined twice by waiters who yelled at us and then made us wait for our dinner. It was awful. The first time we took it, the second time we walked out (terrified we'd be arrested or something.) You see we are both non meat eaters. We would order 1/2 liter wine and bread, she might order a pasta and I, the fish, 2 desserts and I like expresso. It really pissed me off because I felt somewhat intimidated, which I would never be at home. I wonder if their treatment of us was worse because we were women. Anyway, that's my sad story. <BR>A.M.

A.M.

Oh yeah, we'd always order a salad each, also. You can tell I'm still upset! A.M. <BR>

Tony

We had absolutely no problem ordering whatever we wanted in Italy. As little or as much as we ordered it did not matter. We found Italians to be the most flexible of any european country. We even commented to each other how easy they made it for us. Don't worry.

Paule

My husband and I would usually order only 1 each of each of the courses and then share them; in most cases, restaurant staff were absolutely accomodating and gave us no hint that there was anything wrong at all with our order. In one somewhat stuffy restaurant, we felt absolutely ignored by the staff because we weren't ordering what we were expected to. There was an Italian couple next to us who ordered lots of food and lots of wine, and the wait staff couldn't serve them fast enough; we, on the other hand, had to wait forever to get someone to attend to us. While the food was excellent, the service was not. But this was the ONLY time we felt that our style of eating was not appreciated.

sylvia

I can usually manage all the courses because the portions are not too large and there is often a longish wait between courses. If I'm not feeling very hungry, I'll say something like "saltero il primo". I've never had any trouble. <BR>You know, Americans can sometimes annoy waiters without meaning to. They also tend to be more demanding than the average European. I was in a restaurant in Venice when two Americans came in. As usual, bread was brought to the table. One of them got up, walked to the waiters' station, helped herself to a soup bowl and the oil and vinegar, walked back to the table and proceded to dip her bread in oil and vinegar. You could see the waiters bristling. I can't remember what dish she ordered but she asked for cheese on it. The waiter said politely that it was not the custom to put cheese on this particular dish and she shouted, "Look, I just want cheese, OK!" <BR>After that the head waiter just brought them the bill and they left. <BR> <BR>

Patti Suttle

Last summer my husband and I found it hard to just order a few of the courses and they would not go for sharing either. Sometimes you just are not that hungry. We went along with it for the most of the trip but by the end we just ordered what we wanted and did not take their flack. We loved Italy anyway and loved the food. But, sometimes all that food is overwhelming! <BR>Patti

Rex

As others have mentioned above, the issue of a party of two (or ten, or any number) ordering "some yes, some no" to different courses can result in some having nothing in front of them while others enjoy that course. When I have traveled with groups, I have found that most people are happiest eating simply in two "rounds" - - regardless of where the items fall on the menu. <BR> <BR>If it bothers you to have courses brought to some people and not to others, I have found that it can be helpful to go around the table and make your orders by "rounds" - - "primi" - - and then everyone order the item they want first (regardless of whether it comes from antipasti, insalate, zuppe, primi, secondi) - - and then "secondi" - - and everyone go around the table indicating their choice again. <BR> <BR>Waiters everywhere in Italy seem to deal with this very well, and everyone is eating something together. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>