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Italian Phrases to Use At Restaurant

Italian key phrases to use at restaurant when in Italy

In this page you will find a complete list of sentences that will make your life easier when at a restaurant in Italy.

Before going through the list, you might also want to know that..

  1. It is customary to be seated or to make a reservation,  especially at weekends.
  2. On paying, unlikely from many other countries a tip is not expected because included in the bill under the voice coperto. However, if the service was excellent you can leave a tip to show your satisfaction for the service.
  3. We have mostly four different types  of restaurants:

the proper ristorante: a place where you can expect a full-service, a touch of gourmet, a professional staff and a higher price. It’s the place to have a more sophisticated food. The atmosphere should me more sophisticated too.

la trattoria: less pricey and less formal than a restaurant, it is usually a family owned business. It’s the place to have the traditional and comfort Italian food. The atmosphere is usually rustic.

la pizzeria: a pizzeria in Italy works just like any other restaurants. You make a reservation for a table and then you order from the menu. Often antipasti are also served. 

la rosticceria (mainly in the South of Italy): it’s an informal take away place with none or few tables where Italians lie to buy ready to eat comfort fried food (arancini, calzoni, mozzarelle in carrozza and the likes)

 

PRENOTARE UN TAVOLO – BOOKING A TABLE 

Vorrei / Vorremmo prenotare un tavolo per domani sera alle 19 – I/ We would like to book at table for tomorrow night at 7 pm

Domani a mezzogiorno  – tomorrow at midday

Domani alle 13  – tomorrow at 1 pm 

Un tavolo per due – a table for two 

Un tavolo per tre  – a table for three 

Un tavolo per quattro  – a table for four

 

ORDINARE – ORDERING 

Potrei avere il menù?  –  Could I have the menu?

Posso vedere il menù? –  Can I see the menu? 

Potrei avere la carta dei vini? –  Could I have the wine list?

Potrei avere il menù dei dolci?  – Could I have the dessert menu?

Avete un menù per bambini? –  Do you have a children’s menu?

Avete un menù del giorno? –  Do you have a daily menu?

Qual è il piatto del giorno? –  What is the dish of the day?

Sul menù c’è ‘un antipasto della casa’, che cos’è? – On the menu I read ‘Antipasto della casa’, what is it?

Lei cosa mi consiglia? – What would you recommend me? 

Sono allergico/a a..  – I am allergic to…

Latticini – dairy products 

Glutine- gluten 

Sono vegetariano – I am a vegetarian 

Sono vegano – I am a vegan

Non mangio carne di maiale  – I don’t eat pork

Per me / Prendo / Vorrei  – I’ll have…

Un antipasto di mare

Spaghetti alle vongole

Una macedonia

Una porzione di patatine fritte  – a portion of.. 

– Una cotoletta

– Pasta

– Carne al sangue – rare meat

– Carne poco cotta  – medium rare

– Carne ben cotta  – well-done meat

Scusa, mi (ci) può portare… del pane? Una bottiglia d’acqua? Dell’olio?  – Excuse-me, could I have some..bread? A bottle of water? Some oil?

CAMERIERE – WAITER

Siete pronti per ordinare? – Are you ready to order?

Posso portarvi da bere?  – Can I get you something to drink?

L’acqua gasata o naturale? – The water sparkling or still?

PROBLEMI – PROBLEMS

La pizza è bruciata – the pizza is burned

L’insalata è scondita – the salad is undressed

La zuppa è fredda – the salad is cold

La pasta è fredda – the pasta is cold

C’è ancora molto da aspettare? – is our food long?

Stiamo aspettando da troppo tempo – we are waiting too long

PAGARE – PAYING

Il conto, per favore – The bill, please

Paga in contanti o con carta? – Do you pay cash or by card?

Pagate insieme o separatamente? – Do you pay all together or separately?

Posso pagare con carta di credito? – Can I pay by credit card?

Dividiamo il conto  – Les’s split it

 

COSE CHE POTRESTI SENTIRE – THINGS YOU MIGHT HEAR

Posso offrirle un caffè o un amaro? – Can I buy you an espresso or a liquor?

Il pranzo /la cena è di vostro gradimento? – Did you like the meal?

Tutto apposto? – Was everything alright?

Vuole qualcos’altro? No grazie – Do you want anything else?

The mysterious combination of the pronoun ci and the verb avere

The mysterious combination of the pronoun ci and the verb avere

Everybody agrees that the pronoun ci is, probably, one of the most mysterious words in Italian, and thus, I thought it would be great to dive, in this post, into the use of ci when used in conjugation with the verb avere: this is a very peculiar and common use of “ci” in Italian. 

1. Ce l’ho. Non ce l’ho – I have it / I don’t have it 

I am sure you might already have heard the phrase ce l’ho and wondered what it meant. Or better yet, what does the ce mean in that sentence. Well, you will be relieved to know that…it means nothing.

“Ce l’ho” translates to “I have it,” so if you’ve used “l’ho” up to this point, you’ve been wrong.

Although it doesn’t really have a specific grammatical function, we add the extra “ce” in front of “l’ho” to improve the sound of the sentence.  This use, probably, stems from a desire to avoid the cacophony of using simply l’ho/le ho/li ho or its extreme brevity.

The rule applies every time the verb avere is preceded by a direct object pronoun (e.g., lo, la, li, le).

Hence, the sentences ce l’ho and non ce l’ho indicates that you have something or not.

  • Hai un cane? – Do you have a dog?
  • Ce l’ho – I have it 
  • Non ce l’ho – I don’t have it

Of course, the ce is also added in front of all the different forms of the verb, like in the following examples:

  • Hai una macchina? Sì, ce l’ho! – Do you have a car? Yes, I do (I have it)
  • Hai le chiavi? No, non ce le ho! – Do you have your keys? No, We don’t (I don’t have them)
  • Avete tempo? Non ce l’abbiamo! – Do you guys have time? – No, we don’t (we don’t have it)
 
  1. Ce l’ho con qualcuno – I’m angry at someone  

Let’s go one step further; by adding the preposition “con” to ce l’ho, we have created a completely new sentence.

In fact, the informal Italian phrase “ce l’ho con qualcuno” means “I’m upset or I’m angry with someone.”

  • Ce l’ho con il mio vicino di casa, perché parcheggia la sua macchina davanti al mio portone – I am angry with my neighbor because he parks his car in front of my door.

Avercela is not to be confused with the form of avere indicating possession, because it is always followed by the preposition con.

  • Ce l’ho – I have it
  • Ce l’ho con te – I’m mad at you 

Don’t forget that ci has many different other meanings, as follows:

  • “Ci” as a reflexive pronoun → ci svegliamo alle 6 – we wake up at 6 
  • “Ci” as a direct object pronoun →  ci conosci? – Do you know us? 
  • “Ci” as an indirect object pronoun → ci ha regalato un biglietto gratis per il concerto – she gave us a free ticket for the concert
  • “Ci” as an adverb of place →  ci vado il prossimo mese – I am going there next month
  • “Ci” as in the forms there is, there are → c’è, ci sono

 

5 Italian Sayings on love

5 Italian sayings on love

1. L’amore non è bello, se non è litigarello

There is no equivalent in English, although searching, I came across a quote by Shakespeare that sums up the meaning of the Italian provarb above. 

“The course of true love never runs smooth.”

When do Italians say “l’amore non è bello se non è litigarello?”

This Italian proverb pretends to ease the tension after a little quarrel by objecting that a relationship can’t always be “bella‘(or healthy) without a small fight from time to time. Of course, the hardest times make your relationship stronger. The adjective litigarello (originating from the verb litigare) is not used in any other expressions, but this one.

2. Chi s’assomiglia si piglia

Literally, those who are alike end up with each other. 

The proverb originates from the Tuscany dialect and means that those who have similar features (both in their bodies and their characters) are attracted to each other.

3. Sfortunato al gioco fortunato in amore

Literally: unlucky at cards, lucky in love. 

This Italian saying is often used to ease the pain of somebody who is losing while playing a game, usually playing cards. 

4. Il primo amore non si scorda mai

English: You never forget your first love. The proverb explains itself.

5. Al cuore non si comanda

English: Love is blind, or you can’t rule the heart. A person who is in love might not see the faults in his/her partner the way others might see them. It sounds pretty malicious, but I have heard it a few times.

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Learning Italian?

How to say “Should” in Italian

How to say “Should” in Italian

“Should” is translated into Italian with the present conditional of the verb dovere.

This is the conjugation of “should” in Italian.

  • io dovrei  – I should
  • tu dovresti – you should
  • lui dovrebbe – he should
  • lei dovrebbe – she should
  • noi dovremmo – we should
  • voi dovreste – you should
  • loro dovrebbero – they should 

Just like in English, “should” always triggers the use of the infinitive tense (the unconjugated verb).  In other words, the various forms of dovrei are always followed by an infinitive, in Italian.

For example:

  • dovrei mangiare – I should eat 
  • dovresti guidare – you should drive
  • dovrebbe pagare – she should pay
  • dovremmo correre – we should run
  • dovreste cucinare – you should cook
  • dovrebbero parlare – they should speak 

To make the negative form of “should”, should not/shouldn’t, it’s sufficient to place a “non” before the different forms of dovrei. 

  • io non dovrei  – I shouldn’t
  • tu non dovresti – you shouldn’t
  • lui non dovrebbe – he shouldn’t
  • lei non dovrebbe – she shouldn’t
  • noi non dovremmo – we shouldn’t
  • voi non dovreste – you shouldn’t
  • loro non dovrebbero – they shouldn’t

This form of the conditional is used especially to give a piece of advice or a recommendation to someone.

  • dovresti studiare di più – you should study more
  • non dovresti fumare così tanto – you shound’t smoke so much

How to say “should have done”

To say that you should have done something in Italian, you need to use the past conditional of the verb dovere, which is:

  • avrei dovuto + infinitive 
  • sarei dovuto/a + infinitive

This is a compound form, and so the choice of the correct auxiliary (essere vs. avere) depends on the nature of the verb that follows “dovuto.”

If the verb following is an intransitive verb, we’ll use the auxiliary essere and make sure that the participle dovuto agrees with the gender and number of the subject:

for example: 

  • sarei dovuto andare – I should have gone (m)
  • sarei dovuta andare – I should have gone (f.)
  • saremmo dovuti andare – We should have gone  (m.pl.)
  • saremmo dovute andare – We should have gone (f. pl) 

If the verbs that follows “dovuto” is a transitive verb, and so, to be conjugated with the avere auxiliary, the participle dovuto stays the same.

For example 

  • avrei dovuto fare – I should have done 
  • avremmo dovuto fare – we should have done

More examples using should or should have in Italian:

  1. Dovrei giocare a tennis – I should play tennis 
  2. Dovremmo iniziare un nuovo blog – we should start a new blog 
  3. Dovresti allenarmi più spesso- you should exercise more often  
  4. Non dovrebbe andare a lavoro perché è malata – she shouldn’t go to work she is sick 
  5. Non dovremmo spendere così tanti soldi – we shouldn’t spend so much money 
  6. Dovreste investire soldi in quest’azienda – you should invest money in this company 

The same sentences in the past

  1. Avrei dovuto giocare a tennis – I should have played tennis 
  2. Avremmo dovuto iniziare un nuovo blog – we should have started a new blog 
  3. Avresti dovuto allenarti più spesso- you should have exercised more often 
  4. Non sarebbe dovuta andare a lavoro perché è malata – she shouldn’t have gone to work she is sick 
  5. Non avremmo dovuto spendere così tanti soldi – we shouldn’t have spent so much money 
  6. Avreste dovuto investire soldi in quest’azienda – you should have invested money in this company

 

BELLO and BEL in Italian

BELLO vs. BEL/QUELLO vs. QUEL

Everybody knows that quello means that and bello means beautiful or nice.

And if you have been learning Italian for a while, you may have noticed that sometimes bello and quello are used in different forms.

In fact, it is not rare that bello becomes bel or begli or bei and quello becomes quel or quegli or quei.

Many students are not sure about the difference between bel and bello in Italian, or between quel and quello. Their use is easier than you think, and I’ll explain why in the followings sections.

 

Bello, bel, bei, begli

What is the difference between bello and bel/begli/bei?

When bello is positioned before a noun, it changes its ending in the same way as the definite articles (il, l’, gli, i).

In other words, the root of the adjective (be-) merges with the definite articles that would precede the noun, and so it results in the following variations: 

  • Bel libro – nice book 
  • Bell’albero –  beautiful tree
  • Begli alberi – beautiful trees
  • Bei libri – nice books
  • Bella donna – beautiful woman
  • Belle donne – beautiful women

If the adjective bello follows the noun or the verb essere, it doesn’t follow the above rule, but it will simply change its ending just as a regular adjective does.

  • Questa casa è bella – this house is beautiful
  • Queste case sono belle – these houses are beautiful 
  • Questo uomo è bello – this guy is handsom
  • Questi uomini sono belli – these guys are handsome

 

Quello, quel, quei, quegli

When does quello change its form and become quello/quel/ quei/quegli?

The rule for bello applies to quello too. 

If quello is positioned before a noun (and so it is used as an adjective), its spelling changes by merging its root with the definite articles (il, lo, la, i, gli, le) that would normally precede the noun, as in the following examples. 

  • Quel libro – that book 
  • Quell’albero –  that tree
  • Quegli alberi – those trees
  • Quei libri – those books
  • Quella donna – that woman
  • Quelle donne – those women

The above varieties are possible only when quello is used as an adjective.

If quello is used as a pronoun instead of an adjective, the changes only reflect gender and the number of people in the group.

  • Quello è il mio gatto – That one is my cat
  • Quelle sono le mie amiche – those are my girlfriends

 

Buono, buon

What is the difference between buon and buono?

The same rule for bello and quello applies to the adjective buono.

Buono changes its endings by following the pattern of the indefinite adjective (uno, una, un, un’), when preceding a noun. 

  • un buon amico – a good friend 
  • una buon’amica – a good girl-friend 
Why is knowing your learning style important for your Italian?

Everyone says that you need to listen to a podcast or watch a movie to grasp the Italian Language or even doing an Italian immersion trip. What if it does not work for you? Is there something wrong with you? No. The odds are you are more of a visual learner than an auditory one.

Have you ever felt frustrated while taking an Italian language course? Have you ever experienced feeling lost amongst endless vocabulary lists, grammar rules, must-see Italian movies or audio lessons? A myriad of inputs, and nevertheless, that feeling of stagnating is still there?

Maybe you already know or perhaps not, but every single person learns differently. No secret recipe works for every learner of Italian. We are humans, very dissimilar one another and thus, we absorb information in a variety of ways.

If you feel or if you have felt a little bit like this, at some point of your Italian learning journey, it is likely that you have been using a studying method which is not ideal for you.

The thing is, every single person is born with a different learning style, hence, knowing what style suits you best, is crucial to learn how to learn Italian smartly and efficiently. Using the most suitable learning method for you is vital to make the most out of the time spent with Italian (or anything other subject you want to master).

you is vital to make the most out of the time spent with Italian (or anything else).

 

HOW MANY LEARNING STYLES ARE THERE? 

Neil Fleming, a New Zealand teacher, has divided people in three different styles of learning: a visual one, an auditory one and a kinesthetic one. The letter can coexist in the same person or one or two can be predominant. No need to say, knowing your prevalent learning aspect will pave your way to a more effective Italian language learning journey. .

If you don’t know yet what your learning style is, take the take the VARK test, designed by Fleming and start optimizing your Italian learning time.

 

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THREE LEARNING STYLES?  

Visual (or spatial) learning style

The typical visual person is the one that won’t remember a person name, but would definitely remember a personal appearance. Visual students learn efficiently through mental visualization. This means that they need to visualize what they study, in the shape of an image or a graphic or by writing down words. Visual students would better retain an Italian grammar rule while reading, rather than when listening to it, for instance.

Auditory (or musical) learning style

The typical auditory person is the one that remembers the people appearance but skips their names. Auditory students retain what they listen to and, thus, learn efficiently through conversation and listening activities, such as songs or podcasts. Memorizing endless wordlists without writing them down shouldn’t be a big deal for them.

Kinesthetic (or physical) learning style

The kinesthetic person is one that does not remember a person’s appearance or what he says, instead, he reminds people for what they do. Kinesthetic students tend to learn through experience. Doing is far more important than listening or reading. Learning on the move (using role plays or simulation) is one of their strengths.

 

WHAT ARE THE MOST PRODUCTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR EACH STYLE?

Visual learners:

  • reading (Italian novels, newspaper) for expanding the vocabulary
  • using a solid textbook for grasping the grammar
  • using pictures to describe situations
  • making vocabulary lists
  • working in small groups 
  • quiet study place

 

Auditory learners

 

Kinesthetic learners

  • role plays and simulations
  • learning on the move (e.g. through podcasts)
  • writing down on a notebooks or index cards the new words
  • storytelling

 

Why knowing your learning style is important? 

Long story short, knowing how your mind absorb information, will allow you to design your very own Italian learning routine. Using an approach which best suits your peculiarities, means that you will be most likely to maximize your linguistic potential and less likely to get bored, carrying out Italian learning activities that don’t suit you.

In my experience, the VARK test showed I am someone with a prevalent visual and kinesthetic learning style. This sums up my learning preferences: visualizing words, by writing them down, in the shape of lists. When learning German, jotting down and copying sentences helps me to magically memorize words with very little effort. Well, this is me! As an online Italian Language Coach, I have come across a great wealth of students with a surprising auditory style, who would learn anything just by listening to it. 

No matter what your learning style is, the secret for an exciting Italian language journey is to customize, as much as possible, your studying strategies to your potential.