suzy

My husband and I are light eaters and are perfectly content with a salad & a pasta for dinner, e.g. However, I read that in Italy one is "expected" to order 2 if not all 3 courses (antipasto, primo & segundo). Since I know one doesn't ask for "doggie bags" there (as we do here in the states), are we supposed to order a lot more food than we want?

cmt

No, you can order just the courses you want abd not more. I did, and no one ever bothred me about it.

Statia

We heard the same rumors before we went to Italy. We found that you can just order what you wish to eat and no one will shun you for it. After all, it's your dinner and your money.

dln

Suzy, if you are the paying customer, how could anyone force you to order more than you want?

DonnaD44

There have been many meals at which we have ordered two of the three courses--depending on our level of hunger. No one has ever sniffed at our choice of menu whatever we chose (antipasto and pasta for lunch OR pasta and meat/fish for dinner. On the occasions when we really splurged and ordered all three, the portions are such that we never had any leftovers.

capo

I'm quite sure that in Italy, as in France, you can remain at your table for as long as you want without being hustled out the door by the waiter. That being the case, it makes sense (to me anyway) why a waiter might not be all that excited by a couple ordering very little food (i.e. spending very little money) <i>IF</i> they then stayed at the table for a long time, taking up space that could have been used by people ordering more.

That being said, I don't recall ever getting any attitude from a waiter if we ordered just one or two dishes each. If you ever <i>did</i> get some attitude from a waiter, I don't see why you'd be under any obligation to give them your business.

NYCFoodSnob

Well, capo is almost there. Frankly, tourists who are light eaters (&quot;I'll just have a salad, grassyass.&quot should not sit their butts at a table in any of Italy's hard-core dining establishments (anywhere where locals love to eat) because Italians, much like the French, take food and eating rituals seriously. Don't forget, you're in Italy and it's their culture! If your not that hungry, eat somewhere else. There are numerous good choices where ordering one item is perfectly acceptable, especially in the larger cities.

Unlike in America, when you sit at a table in a locally popular Italian trattoria or ristorante, that table is yours for the evening or until you request &quot;il conto,&quot; especially in a place that requires reservations. DON'T be an inconsiderate, stupid tourist and sit down to only order one or two items. If you do, you may get rolling eyes and attitude from your waiter when much more insult is deserved. You not only insult the Italian culture but you short-changed the waiter and insulted his boss (which is oftentimes his father and/or mother).

StCirq

I have to agree in part with FoodSnob, though not quite so intensely - if all you want is a light meal, don't go to a ristorante where the norm is 3 or more courses. In general, the Italians won't look down their noses at you for ordering only one or two courses, but why should a fine restaurant seat people for 2 hours for only half the price?

You need to learn to distinguish between places that are going to expect you to order the full complement of dishes and those where one or two items are just fine.

If the restaurant has a menu (and they're always posted outside) that insinuates that you will order a primo, a secondo, and a main course plus dessert and coffee, and all you want is a salad, pick a less prestigious place where you can just enjoy a plate of pasta and a dessert.

capo

Grazie, NYC &amp; StCirq. I was wondering if light eaters might tend to get more attitude in &quot;finer&quot; restaurants so I was interested to see you, NYC, say &quot;hard-core&quot; (anywhere where locals love to eat) restaurants. Would you say, however, that light eaters would likely get more attitude in a &quot;hard-core&quot; fine ristorante than they would in a &quot;hard-core&quot; osteria or trattoria?

I'd also think it would depend on how busy the place happens to be. From my perspective, if I was a waiter, or owner, I wouldn't care as much if light eaters were at a table while other tables were empty. I would care if the place was packed.

lyb

I think NYCFoodSnob might just be a little hungry and that's why his attitude is, shall we say...a little ....RUDE!!!

If you choose not to eat a lot, you most likely won't be sitting at the table for that long, therefore, you won't risk, NYCFood Snob attacking you as you come out of the restaurant.

Don't worry about it....and remember the harsh advice came from someone who &quot;Snob&quot; is part of their login....

NYCFoodSnob

Oh please, lyb, what a drip of instant coffee you are. Stay away from me and watch your pronouns sweety.

StCirq isn't as intense as me and there's nothing wrong with that. I have little patience for stupid, whiny people. Are you listening, sweety?

It's true, Italians are nowhere near as smug as New Yorkers and I've always said they're very forgiving people. But, why be so thoughtless?

capo: Chances are, you really won't get much obvious attitude from the Italians in any eating establishment. (It's me you really have to worry about.) They are quite familiar with the ways of their American guests.

suzy

Thanks to all of you for your advice!

Because we're so active during the day when we're traveling, we just want a simple evening meal in some neighborhood cafe/restaurant before heading back to our hotel for the night. We won't be into fine dining nor &quot;lingering.&quot;
We'll be in Rome, Florence, &amp; Lucca. Any suggestions for places to eat for those of us who want to eat lightly?
Thanks.

lyb

NYCFoodSnob,

Watch my pronoun? I know mine is &quot;she&quot;,
but do you know what yours is?

Give your attitude a break, snobs are usually people who have to act as though they are better then everyone else because they are filled with insecurities!

By the way, you're saying you have no patience with yourself?

LeCanard

Suzy,
you don't have to worry about.
You can order how few courses you like at every elegant or tourist trap restaurant in Italy.
Doggy bags have no meaning as the servings here are not so unnecessary huge as in the US.

KathrynT

I, too, was worried about ordering less than a &quot;full&quot; meal in Italian restaurants but on our recent trip we encountered no difficulty at all with ordering whatever courses we liked. We even noticed Italians at other tables not ordering every course. Shame on those Italian grandmothers out for dinner with their friends and only ordering pasta and vino. What is this world coming to?

Italiano

Most of the American tourist Eat early Do to the time change Most restaurants in Italy peek dinner times are a lot later than home 9;00pm-11.00pm are peek time for the local to eat at night . So Restaurants will be prety empty between 6:00-8:00 and would welcome any business. Some do not open till 7:00 at night the ones open early cater more to the tourist trade .

Italiano

In Italy and some other european countries if you order dessert and coffee they are served sepreatly. Not at the same time like here. its A diffrent course and you will have to ask for the check they will not just say would you like anything else and slip the check on the table

Intrepid

Those of us who have actually BEEN THEREM have found that many of the restaurants in Italy will have a menu that is entirely a la carte..every item can be, and usually is, ordered separately, and that is expected so you may order as much or as little as you wish. Nobody is going to try to get you to leave the restaurant before you want to leave and since you paid for the meal you may occupy the table as long as you wish. Europeans are known for lingering over a meal or the wine, etc., so I would ignore the un-informed recommendations above about when you have to leave, etc. It really is unfortunate that snobs are so personally insecure that they have to worry about what everyone else thinks.

ellenem

I have found that most dishes served in restaurants in Italy are not as large as those in the US. The servings are sized more healthfully. The smaller size also allows for eating more than one course comfortably.

From the time of my first trip to Italy 20 years ago, we were always able to order as we pleased. Often we would order two pastas and then share a meat. Another note--chances are if you order a meat it will not come with vegetables. Vegetables are usually ordered separately from the contorni section of the menu.

sandi_travelnut

The only time I had this situation was in Cortona, I believe. It was cold and rainy and we stopped in a place to get a bowl of soup or something light and warm. The waiter informed us that we had to order all courses. We were very disappointed and had to leave. We never encoutered this any other time.