Translate a menu
How to translate an Italian menu to English
Italian → English
To translate an Italian menu to English, photograph it with a menu-translator app such as MenuGuide: each dish appears in English with the Italian name underneath, a photo of the dish, likely ingredients and the price in your currency. It also helps to know how an Italian menu is built (antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni), what the coperto on your bill is, and why a price per etto is only part of the cost.
Real menu lines, translated
| On the menu | Word for word | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peperoni ripieni | Stuffed pepperoni | Stuffed bell peppers | Peperoni are bell peppers. The pizza closest to an American pepperoni pizza is a diavola, topped with spicy salami (salame piccante). |
| Tagliata di manzo, rucola e grana | Cut of beef, rocket and grain | Sliced grilled steak on arugula with shavings of hard cheese | Tagliata means "sliced". Grana is a hard, aged cheese such as Grana Padano, not grain; rucola is arugula, called rocket in the UK. |
| Zuppa inglese | English soup | Layered dessert of liqueur-soaked sponge with custard and chocolate custard | Italy's cousin of the trifle: there's nothing English or soupy about it except the name. The sponge is usually soaked in alchermes, a red liqueur, so it contains alcohol. |
| Spigola all'acqua pazza (prezzo all'etto) | Sea bass in crazy water (price per etto) | Sea bass poached in a light broth of tomato, garlic and herbs, priced per 100 g | An etto (written hg) is 100 grams, so a whole fish costs several times the printed price. Ask how much yours weighs before it goes in the pan. |
| Saltimbocca alla romana | Jump-in-the-mouth, Roman-style | Veal escalopes topped with prosciutto and sage, cooked in white wine and butter | The name suggests it's so good it jumps into your mouth. It contains pork (prosciutto) as well as veal. |
| Carciofi alla giudia | Artichokes to the Jewish | Whole artichokes deep-fried until crisp, in the Roman-Jewish style | A speciality of Rome's old Jewish quarter, at its best from late winter into spring when Roman artichokes are in season. |
| Affogato al caffè | Drowned in coffee | A scoop of vanilla gelato with a shot of hot espresso poured over it | Some places add a liqueur, so ask if you avoid alcohol. |
| Spaghetti alla puttanesca | Spaghetti, harlot-style | Spaghetti with tomato, black olives, capers and often anchovies | The name is cheeky slang; the dish is a quick pantry sauce from Naples and Rome. Roman-style versions usually add anchovies, so it isn't always vegetarian. |
False friends
| On the menu | Looks like | Usually means | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| antipasto | anti-pasta | a starter, served before the meal | Pasto means meal: the antipasto comes before it, not instead of the pasta. |
| primo | prime, first-rate | the first course: pasta, risotto or soup | The main course of meat or fish is the secondo. |
| latte | a latte coffee | milk | Ask for a caffè latte or a latte macchiato if you want coffee in it. |
| una pasta | a plate of pasta | at a café, a pastry | Pasta as a dish is on the restaurant menu under primi. |
| panino | a panini, a pressed grilled sandwich | any sandwich made with a roll | Panini is simply the plural. It isn't necessarily toasted. |
| caffè | a cup of coffee | an espresso | A larger, milder black coffee is a caffè americano or caffè lungo. |
How to translate the menu
- Set English and your currency. Confirm English and your currency in MenuGuide. Prices are in euros in Italy, San Marino and the Vatican, and in Swiss francs in Italian-speaking Switzerland.
- Photograph one page at a time. Italian menus are often long, with pizza, pasta and wine on separate pages. Photograph each page straight on, then the specials board if there is one. If the waiter recites dishes that aren't written down (fuori menù), ask for the price.
- Find the coperto and the per-weight prices. The coperto line is usually at the bottom of the menu. Fish and Florentine steak are often priced per kilo or per 100 g (etto, written hg), so check the weight before you order.
- Choose your courses. You don't have to order every course. A secondo usually comes on its own, and vegetables or potatoes are contorni ordered separately. The Italian name stays under each translation, so you can see which section a dish belongs to.
- Order in Italian. Add your dishes to the order and show it to the waiter in Italian, or tap Speak My Order and let the app read it aloud.
Prices, charges and currency on Italian menus
- Decimal commas. 12,50 is twelve euros fifty. Some menus drop the cents: 12 or 12,5.
- Coperto. A fixed charge per person for bread and the table setting. It should be printed on the menu, and it isn't a tip. It's banned in Rome and the rest of Lazio, where bread may appear as a separate item (pane) instead.
- Servizio. Some restaurants, especially in tourist areas, add a service charge. It should also be shown on the menu; if it's on your bill, you don't need to tip.
- Prices by weight. All'etto or /hg means per 100 g and al kg per kilo. S.Q. (secondo quantità) means the price depends on the weight you're served.
- An asterisk. A footnote such as * prodotto surgelato marks ingredients that were frozen.
- Bars. Coffee drunk standing at the counter (al banco) usually costs less than the same coffee served at a table.
- Tipping. Not expected. Leaving small change or a few euros for good service is a kind gesture, nothing more.
One country, many menu words
Italian menus change from region to region, and so do the names:
- rucola is rughetta in Rome;
- Sicily's fried rice balls are arancini in some cities and arancine in Palermo;
- a Florentine schiacciata is close to what other regions call focaccia;
- in South Tyrol (Alto Adige) menus are often bilingual, so canederli sit next to their German name, Knödel.
Dialect names for fish change along the coast, too: when in doubt, ask to see the fish.
Allergens to watch for on Italian menus
Pine nuts go into pesto alla genovese, almonds and pistachios into many desserts and biscuits (cantucci, Sicilian pastries), and eggs into fresh pasta (pasta all'uovo). Anchovies hide in puttanesca, salsa verde and Piedmont's bagna cauda. Italy is well used to coeliac diners: ask for senza glutine.
MenuGuide flags dishes that may contain the allergens you've chosen. Allergen and calorie details are AI estimates based on the menu and typical recipes. They can be incomplete — if you have a serious allergy, always check with the staff.
Dishes to know
- Carbonara
- Cacio e pepe
- Amatriciana
- Pasta alla gricia
- puttanesca
- Pesto alla genovese
- Lasagne
- Gnocchi
- Risotto alla milanese
- Ossobuco
- Saltimbocca alla romana
- Bistecca alla fiorentina
- tagliata
- Vitello tonnato
- Parmigiana di melanzane
- Burrata
- caprese
- Bruschetta
- Arancini
- suppli
- carciofi alla giudia
- Pizza margherita
- Pizza diavola
- ribollita
- Tiramisu
- Panna cotta
- cannoli
- affogato
- Spaghetti alle vongole
Frequently asked questions
How do I translate an Italian menu to English?
Photograph the menu with a menu-translator app. In MenuGuide each dish appears in English with the Italian name underneath, a photo of the dish, likely ingredients and allergens, and the price in your currency. Photograph long menus one page at a time, and look for the coperto line and any prices per etto (100 g) before you order fish or steak.
What is the difference between primi and secondi?
Primi are first courses, usually pasta, risotto or soup; secondi are main courses of meat or fish. A secondo normally comes without vegetables, which you order separately as contorni. Italians don't always order both: a primo and a contorno, or an antipasto and a secondo, is a perfectly normal meal.
What is the coperto on an Italian bill?
The coperto is a fixed cover charge per person for bread and the table setting. It's common in much of Italy, must be shown on the menu, and appears on the bill as coperto or pane e coperto. Rome and the rest of Lazio don't allow it. It isn't a tip, and once it's on the menu it isn't optional either, but it does mean nobody expects a tip on top.
What does all'etto or hg mean on an Italian menu?
All'etto and hg both mean "per 100 grams". Fish, seafood and some meats are priced this way, so the final price depends on the weight of what you're served; a whole fish of 600 g costs six times the printed figure. Al kg means per kilo. Ask the waiter how much your portion weighs before you order.
Do you tip in restaurants in Italy?
Tipping isn't expected in Italy. The coperto and, at some restaurants, a servizio charge are already on the bill. If you were happy, rounding up or leaving a few euros in cash is appreciated, but there's no percentage to follow and no one will chase you for it.
