italiano · A2 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
At a restaurant
Reserve, order courses, explain a dietary need, and ask for the bill.
Understand the choice
Italian menus organize food as antipasto, primo, secondo, contorno, and dolce. A diner can select only some courses; the vocabulary describes sequence, not obligation.
Core rule: Vorremmo softens a plural request; per gives party size and prendere is idiomatic for choosing dishes.
Notice it in context
Vorremmo un tavolo per due e poi il conto, per favore.
We would like a table for two and then the bill, please.
Vorremmo carries noi and courtesy; un tavolo is the request; conto is the later bill.
Come antipasto prendo la bruschetta e come secondo il pesce.
As a starter I will have bruschetta and fish as the main course.
Antipasto and secondo label courses; prendo makes the order.
Il cameriere porta il contorno e spiega il menù.
The waiter brings the side dish and explains the menu.
Cameriere acts; contorno and menù are objects.
What to remember
- Il conto is the restaurant bill; la fattura is a formal invoice.
- Coperto is a per-person cover charge shown on many menus.
Common trap: Do not call the waiter il servitore; cameriere/cameriera is normal.