Italian restaurants and dining habits can be a bit mysterious to first or second time visitors, but soon you'll find they make perfect sense and start to wonder how you've survived until now, putting rice on the same plate as meat or having coffee at the same time as dessert.

Places to eat and drink

First off, there are a number of different places to eat:

autogrill: restaurant along the autostrada (motorway/toll road)—some are very good.

bar: besides drinks, many serve simple lunches, salads and sandwiches.

birreria: bar specializing in beer

braceria: steakhouse (from la brace, or grill)

enoteca: wine bar, generally serving plates of cured meats and cheeses etc.

focacceria: often a take-away, specializing in focaccia.