In a previous post we have been discussing differences in the way restaurants in Rome operate as compared to those from (mainly!) North America.

This new installment takes a step back and looks at what is outside the establishment you are considering for your meal in Rome. In other words: what does the sign say?

Most people visiting Italy knows enough words to navigate the cities they will be visiting. One of them is “ristorante” – restaurant! Easy enough, no?

Well, yes and no: while ristoranti (plural!) are certainly the most common type of eatery you will find around your accommodation and while exploring the city, they’re not the only ones.

Chances are you will come across bistros (“bistrot”), cafeterias (“tavola calda“), cafes (“bar“)…

However, you’re also going to see “piadinerie” (places that only serves this type of delicious flatbread), “prosciutterie” (specialized in prosciutto and other cold cuts), “vinerie” or “enoteche” (wine bars, where some food is also served, usually just to nibble on), and obviously “pizzerie” (where, it goes without saying, the focus is on pizza).

Overwhelmed yet? You don’t have to be! With this post we want to help you to be able to tell apart the main three types of “eating outlets” you will see while in Rome (there are just minor differences with the rest of Italy).

What is a osteria/hostaria?

We begin with this one word for historical reasons: a “osteria” (literally an “inn”) was, in ancient times, a place where only wine was served, on account of there being an “oste”, the tavern keeper who sold it by the jug. Customers could bring food with them, usually just bread and cold cuts, and they paid for what they drank.

Osterie were extremely common in the Middle Ages, where they provided shelter, warmth and drinks to pilgrims and traders.

One famous and long-gone osteria in Rome was Osteria della Garbatella, from the nickname of the innkeeper lady who used to run it – “the graceful woman”. Such was its/her fame that eventually Garbatella came to indicate the whole district around the tavern.

Osterie have disappeared, but the name remains to suggest that the places that still use that serve food that is rustic and homely. Not a lot of care is given to presentation (although this is not an absolute), and the menu only has a few items on it. The alternative spelling hostaria usually indicates a place that is slightly more refined, without sacrificing on the humble roots of this type of establishment.

Watch out for unknowingly deceiving osterie! Osteria Francescana in Modena, one of the world’s 50 best restaurants, is an osteria in name only: this Massimo Bottura-owned restaurant is chic and extremely expensive!

What is a trattoria?

Again an ancient Italian type of inn, different from the osteria in that a kitchen was always present and food was served along with wine. The term comes from the French traiteur. Both French and Italians use the word to indicate a kind of eatery where dishes are simpler, prices tend to be lower than in a proper restaurant and you don’t need to dress up for your meal. Nowadays, trattoria and osteria can be used interchangeably.

We always recommend that you check before booking blindly at places called trattoria or osteria, particularly in the center of big cities like Rome: sometimes they are just there “for show”. And it can very well happen that someone took over a pre-existing business and left the old name on so as to maintain the old clientele.

This can be easily researched, even by simply checking the menus online, or the reviews on Google/Tripadvisor (receipts are bound to show up in the photo galleries, or past patrons may have mentioned the average price of meals).

Finally, what is a ristorante?

Whereas trattorie and osterie were originally places found in the countryside or areas not as densely populated as the center of a city, a ristorante is located (or should be) in a more urban setting. It’s also more modern, both in appearance and offerings.

It’s not uncommon to stumble upon a “ristorante-pizzeria”, meaning they also make pizza, which in turn can be a sign that the joint is more on the informal side. The observation would be the same with a “ristorante-trattoria” (although it’s a more rare sighting).

Generally speaking, though, don’t expect for these categories to be so strict – some ristoranti can be more like trattorie, particularly in more suburban areas: the three terms blend easily one into the other.

And what if an establishment has no specification at all?

Pipero, Giulio Terrinoni Per Me, Il Pagliaccio, Aroma – the signs on these well-known places in Rome don’t mention ristorante, nor osteria or trattoria.

It’s the latest trend in fine dining: when you can’t see a specification (however it will always appear on, for example, Google Maps!) you can be sure that what you’re looking at is a fine dining restaurant. The name, AKA the brand, should be enough for you to know that what you’re about to enter is extremely upscale, that there is a dress code and is run by a popular chef.