How Often Do People In Italy Eat Out?

goofytourist

goofytourist

New Member
Sep 30, 2011
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How often do Italians eat out at a restaurant? Is it closer to weekly, monthly or only on holidays or celebrations? If rarely then do most restaurants get their business from tourists?

I would think it would be closer to around monthly, as in randomly one day they decide to eat out. I know in some countries people never eat out, and I know in others people eat out a lot. So which is it?
 
Dining is like a religion for Italians, but I don't think they really eat in or out more than other cultures. Much like the rest of the world, it seems Italians eat out when they feel like having something prepared for them. Most Italian restaurants will be filled with tourists. However, during the day the small cafes will have a good mixture of tourists and locals. Italians love a cafe break during the day.
 
Yeah, I would assume the Italian restaurants would be filled with tourists. A nice stop at a cafe seems about right. I was just mainly wondering if there were any differences between where locals eat out and tourists. I would of course assume tourists would eat out more since it is all new to them.
 
Like most European cities, there seem to be cafes especially for tourists and others for the locals. I always make a point to seek out the ones that the locals use as they tend to be less expensive and more authentic.
 
I used to eat out at least once a week in Italy. Now that tax has gone up and other budget restraints in place that has now changed to perhaps every two weeks. Eating out in Italy is generally much cheaper than other European countries as food is a big player in the culture here.

Just avoid the tourist traps such as those in St Marks Square in Venice. Walk a couple of streets away and you will find the prices drop quite considerable. The same in Verona, those bars, restaurants that are right outside the Arena are expensive compared to those just a few more minutes away.

Just remember that most restaurants have a price list outside so you can decide before entering.
 
I think that most people eat at home. Occasionally they may eat at a restaurant but I do not think that it is very often. I think that it is when there is a celebration such as a wedding, then they eat at a restaurant.
 
I have two small restaurants under my window. What I can tell you is that they are FULL at noon and at dinner time. People of all ages go out to eat: teenagers, grown ups, old couples and they even bring babies (oh, the noise!).
Many say that people have no money or no time to go out these days but from what I see every single day out my window, Italians do go out to eat.
 
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