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Your Essential Guide to Dining Your Way in Italy
Italy's reputation as a carb-and-meat paradise makes vegetarians nervous, vegans worried, and those with food allergies genuinely anxious. The reality is far more accommodating than the stereotype suggests.
Here's what you need to know — and how our Travel Planners ensure you eat well, safely, and without stress.
Vegetarians eat exceptionally well
Italian cuisine is built on vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and yes — pasta and bread. But the vegetable tradition runs deep. Ribollita (Tuscan bread soup with cavolo nero), panzanella (bread salad with tomatoes), caponata (Sicilian aubergine stew), parmigiana di melanzane, countless preparations of artichokes, courgettes, peppers, and beans. Antipasti spreads are often predominantly vegetarian without trying to be. Caprese. Bruschetta. Grilled vegetables. Fresh mozzarella. The cheese course alone could constitute a meal. Tell your server "sono vegetariano/a" and you'll find accommodation easy. Many trattorias will prepare pasta with seasonal vegetables on request, even if it's not listed. Italian hospitality wants to feed you well.
Vegans require slightly more navigation — but it's manageable
Traditional Italian cooking uses butter, cheese, eggs, and occasionally meat stock in ways that aren't always obvious. But awareness is growing, particularly in cities and tourist regions. Useful phrases: "senza carne, senza pesce, senza latticini, senza uova" (without meat, fish, dairy, eggs). Many restaurants now understand "vegano." Pizza without cheese exists and is surprisingly good when the toppings are excellent. Pasta with tomato sauce, aglio e olio, or vegetable-based sauces work well. Gelato alternatives — sorbetto, and increasingly plant-based options — are widely available. The coast offers advantages: grilled vegetables, salads, and bean dishes feature heavily in southern Italian and seafood-restaurant menus.
Low-carb is harder, but not impossible
You'll be swimming against the culinary current — pasta, bread, and risotto are foundations, not afterthoughts. But Italy also offers exceptional grilled fish, seafood, and meat. Vegetable antipasti. Salads that aren't apologies. Cheese.
Coastal regions and Sicily tend toward lighter, vegetable-forward eating. Request "senza pane" (without bread) and "solo secondi" (just main courses) if you're skipping the primo. Servers may look puzzled, but will comply.
Allergies and intolerances: eating out
Food allergies are taken seriously in Italy. EU regulations require restaurants to provide allergen information, and staff are generally trained to handle allergy requests — particularly in tourist areas where they encounter them regularly.
Communicate clearly and early. When you sit down, tell your server about your allergy before looking at the menu. The Italian word for allergy is "allergia" — "Ho un'allergia a..." (I have an allergy to...) followed by the ingredient. For serious allergies, emphasise that it's "molto grave" (very serious) or "anafilattico" (anaphylactic).
Most restaurants will check with the kitchen and guide you to safe dishes. Some may offer to prepare something specifically for you. If staff seem uncertain or dismissive, trust your instincts and choose another restaurant — though this is rare.
Our Travel Planners can provide you with an allergy card in Italian — a written explanation of your specific allergies that you can show to restaurant staff. This removes any ambiguity and ensures nothing is lost in translation. For severe allergies, we can also call restaurants in advance to discuss your needs and confirm they can accommodate you safely.
Supermarket shopping
If you're preparing some meals at your villa, you'll likely do some supermarket shopping — and this is where EU allergen legislation becomes your friend.
EU law requires all 14 major allergens to be clearly highlighted on packaging. These must be emphasised in the ingredients list — typically in bold, italics, or a different colour. The 14 allergens are: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide/sulphites, lupin, and molluscs.
This makes scanning ingredient lists relatively straightforward, even if your Italian is limited. Look for the bold or highlighted words — they're the allergens. "Può contenere tracce di..." means "may contain traces of..." for cross-contamination warnings.
Italian supermarkets — Conad, Coop, Esselunga, Carrefour — typically have dedicated "free from" sections (often labelled "senza glutine" or "senza lattosio") with clearly marked allergen-free products. Larger stores have better selections; smaller village shops may be more limited.
If you're arriving at a villa with specific dietary needs, let us know in advance. We can arrange for the kitchen to be pre-stocked with suitable products, or provide a list of nearby stores with good free-from selections.
Villa chef services: the easiest solution
For guests with dietary requirements, your villa chef is often the simplest answer.
Almost all of our villas offer private chef services, and this is where dietary needs become genuinely stress-free. Before your stay, we share all dietary requirements with your chef — allergies, intolerances, preferences, dislikes. Menus are then tailored specifically to your group.
Villa chefs are experienced in accommodating allergies and can source appropriate ingredients, prepare meals safely, and create dishes that don't feel like compromises. Whether you're coeliac, dairy-free, nut-allergic, or following a specific eating plan, your chef works around your needs — not the other way around.
This means you can relax completely at meal times. No explaining, no checking, no anxiety. Just beautifully prepared food that you know is safe to eat.
Tell us your dietary requirements when you book, and we'll ensure your chef is fully briefed before you arrive.
Dining with children
One thing that surprises many families: dedicated children's menus are almost unheard of in Italian restaurants. Italian children typically eat what adults eat — perhaps a smaller portion of pasta or a shared plate, but the same food.
This can be wonderful if your children are adventurous eaters. It can be challenging if they're not.
Most restaurants will accommodate simple requests — plain pasta with butter, grilled chicken — but don't expect chicken nuggets, fish fingers, or the familiar children's menu staples. Italian dining culture simply doesn't work that way.
Your villa chef solves this entirely. Chefs can prepare child-friendly meals tailored to your children's tastes and eating habits. If your family prefers, the chef can arrange two sittings — an earlier, simpler meal for children, followed by a more relaxed adult dinner once little ones are in bed. This gives everyone the meal they want, at the pace that suits them.
Let us know your children's ages and preferences, and we'll ensure meal times work for the whole family.
Coeliac disease and gluten-free eating
Here's something that surprises many visitors: Italy is one of the best countries in the world for coeliac travellers.
Italy has one of the highest rates of diagnosed coeliac disease in Europe, which means awareness is exceptionally high. The Italian Coeliac Association (AIC) has been active for decades, and gluten-free eating is well understood across the country — not as a lifestyle trend, but as a genuine medical necessity.
The phrase you need is "senza glutine" — and you'll find it works almost everywhere. Many restaurants offer gluten-free pasta and pizza bases as standard. Some have dedicated gluten-free menus. Pizzerias with separate preparation areas for gluten-free bases are common, particularly in tourist regions.
Gluten-free products are widely available in supermarkets and pharmacies. In fact, Italian pharmacies often have dedicated gluten-free sections — a legacy of the condition being treated as the medical issue it is. Look for the crossed-grain symbol (Spiga Barrata) which indicates certification by the Italian Coeliac Association.
Cross-contamination awareness is generally good, but varies by establishment. For strict coeliacs, ask specifically about separate cooking equipment and preparation areas: "Avete una cucina separata per senza glutine?" (Do you have a separate kitchen for gluten-free?)
Our Travel Planners can recommend coeliac-friendly restaurants in each area you're visiting — establishments we know take cross-contamination seriously and have proper protocols in place. We can also book ahead and confirm arrangements, so you arrive with confidence.
Kosher and faith-based diets
Essenza can accommodate Kosher, Halal, and other faith-based dietary requirements — but these need careful advance planning.
It's crucial to inform us of these requirements as early as possible, ideally when you first enquire. Specialist chefs who are trained and certified in Kosher or Halal preparation need to be booked at the outset, and sourcing appropriate ingredients in some regions requires lead time.
With sufficient notice, we can arrange everything: a chef experienced in your dietary laws, properly sourced ingredients, and a kitchen setup that meets your requirements. It takes more coordination than standard dietary requests, but it's absolutely possible — and we've done it many times before.
If you have faith-based dietary requirements, please mention them in your very first conversation with us. The earlier we know, the better we can ensure everything is in place for your arrival.
The key in all cases
Communicate clearly, early, and without apology. Italian restaurants want you satisfied. Dietary requirements are part of modern hospitality, and most establishments handle them professionally.
You won't eat exactly as you do at home. But you'll eat well — and discover Italian dishes you'd never have found otherwise.
Your Essenza Travel Planner is here to help. We can call ahead to restaurants, explain your needs in Italian, confirm what's possible, and ensure you have allergy cards, phrase guides, and recommendations tailored to your specific requirements. Your villa chef will be fully briefed on every dietary need. During your stay, our concierge team can assist with any dining challenges that arise.
You focus on enjoying the meal. We handle the details.
