Regional Italian Cuisine Vocabulary: Order Like a Local

Every Italian region has its own cuisine, and its own words. Learn the names and the structure of an Italian meal, and you’ll order with confidence whether you’re in Naples, Bologna, or Milan.

The Structure of an Italian Menu

Knowing the course words is half of ordering:

• Antipasto: starter;
• Primo: pasta, risotto, or soup;
• Secondo: the main meat or fish dish;
• Contorno: side dish (ordered separately: grilled vegetables, potatoes, salad);
• Dolce: dessert;
• Coperto: the per-person cover charge on your bill.

For the full ordering experience, my table manners guide covers the social side.

The Regions and Their Stars

Naples and the South (Campania)

• Pizza margherita: tomato, mozzarella, basil;
• Ragù napoletano: a slow, rich meat sauce (different from Bologna’s ragù);
• Sfogliatella: a flaky shell-shaped pastry.

Rome (Lazio)

• Carbonara: egg, pecorino, guanciale (no cream!);
• Cacio e pepe: pecorino cheese and black pepper;
• Supplì: fried rice balls with mozzarella;
• Carciofi alla giudia: Jewish-style fried artichokes.

Emilia-Romagna (Bologna)

• Ragù alla bolognese: the famous meat sauce;
• Tortellini in brodo: stuffed pasta in broth;
• Lasagne alla bolognese;
• Mortadella: the original “bologna”.

Milan and the North

• Risotto alla milanese: saffron risotto;
• Cotoletta alla milanese: breaded veal cutlet;
• Panettone: the Christmas cake.

Sicily

• Arancini: fried rice balls (the round ones);
• Cannoli: ricotta-filled pastry tubes;
• Pasta alla Norma: eggplant, tomato, ricotta salata;
• Caponata: sweet-and-sour eggplant dish.

Puglia

• Orecchiette: ear-shaped pasta;
• Orecchiette con cime di rapa: with turnip greens;
• Burrata: creamy mozzarella cousin.

The “Same Food, Different Name” Phenomenon

Italy is a peninsula of local cuisines. The same ingredient changes name and treatment by region:

• Ragù: thick in Naples, silky in Bologna, and always regional;
• Pasta shapes: the same dough becomes orecchiette in Puglia, strozzapreti in Emilia, cavatelli in the south;
• Fritto misto: means different fried assortments in every coastal city.

This is one of the reasons locals say “mangiare regionale” (eat regional): every province has a claim to fame.

Ordering Like a Local

1. Learn the dish names: locals order by specialty, not by category;
2. Ask the waiter: Che cosa mi consiglia? (what do you recommend?);
3. Drink the local wine: every region has one;
4. Finish with caffè, and skip the cappuccino after dinner (see the café guide);
5. Watch for the coperto: that small cover charge is normal, not a trick.

To actually taste these regions with the language in your mouth, my free crash course covers food vocabulary in the first lessons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most typical regional dishes?
Pizza in Naples, carbonara in Rome, ragù in Bologna, risotto in Milan, arancini and cannoli in Sicily, orecchiette in Puglia.

Why does the same dish change across Italy?
Regional cuisines each have their own products, pasta shapes, and words.

How do I order like a local?
Learn course words and dish names, and ask ‘che cosa mi consiglia?’.

What’s the difference between primo and secondo?
Primo is pasta/risotto/soup; secondo is the meat or fish, with a contorno side.

What are contorni?
Side dishes ordered separately: vegetables, potatoes, salad.