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Any restaurant open at 5pm I wouldn’t even set foot in. Sure sign of a tourist trap - Italians are extremely conservative in their food habits and wouldn’t dream of eating at that time. Eating at 8pm you can easily be finished and back home by 11pm. Besides it’s not like people have a full meal out every night - it’s too expensive before we even come to times.
There no rule: I'd say one goes to bed anytime from 9 to 2, and wakes up anytime from 5 to 10, I'd say, depending on their job (if any) or going to school, day of the week, time in the year, age, family customs, health and so on.
What time do people go to bed and wake up in your country?
I live in US and I have 8-5 job, so I go to bed between 10-midnight and wake up 6:30. I have dinner between 6-7 and breakfast at 7-8in the morning. Most of my friends have same routines as me, but of course, I'm not saying this is for everyone in US. 😊
I have a job in Rome, I get up at 7, take my kid to school, take the metro and am in the office at 9. I work until 6-7 then come home, eat dinner around 8, bed about 11.
Yeah, we have a mandatory lunch break (in my case 1h), so we get home a little late.
On one hand it's nice to have a hot meal for lunch, on the other hand it would be nice to go home early...
No, theres a cultural influence for a habit. I can say that most people in my city (a metropolitan and full of worker/student) usually get up before 5.30 and go to bed around 10 up. Some people who do commuting or work in the FnB may wake up at 4 or earlier.
Since the dinner time is so late there, i wonder about my question. My country have a perfect 12 hour of sunlight though throughout the year hahaha.
If we’re talking restaurants… if they’re open and serving food at 5pm, then yes, I’d say they’re places catering to tourists and not Italians. If we’re talking bars serving aperitivo, light lunches and dinners (eg. pizza slices, panini, toast, salads, cicchetti if you’re in Venice) then they usually stay open all day long.
Depending on the establishment, some of them might stay open if they also operate as a bar I.e. serving drinks and light meals. But serving full meals out of traditional hours is a bad sign. There just isn’t the volume of Italian customers to sustain a functioning kitchen at those times, unless the kitchen consists of reheating or your clientele is tourists. In particular pizza out of hours (and really, before dinner time) is highly suspicious. A decent pizza needs a wood fired oven, that is expensive to run unless you're churning them out one after another.
Amazing osteria's and trattorias stay open through the afternoon until dinner because they can afford to pay the kitchen and wait staff through those hours.
Peak dinner time is about 8:30-9 from what I’ve seen as the hardest time to get a dinner reservation. They take their time eating so a meal lasts way longer than an hour and a half.
Night clubs don’t start getting packed until 12:30-1am.
The average Italian workers wake up at 7 or 7:30 am, sometimes even earlier. Also, we don't go to the restaurant every day, it is mainly for big occasions or for tourists. Economically speaking too, it's not affordable for the average family.
Personally I just order the first course and then I switch directly to the dessert/sweet, you're not forced to order everything in order
That makes sense. And thank you for telling me that I don't need to order all of them. I was wondering if I will be judged for order only first order second course. 😂
I’m really confused because I lived in the US many years and you also have different courses on the menu (appetizers, pastas, small bites, entrees, sides, desserts…) but you are not expected to order all of them. Most people get an appetizer and an entree and that is exactly what people do in Italy as well. Also not sure where you’re from, maybe some rural area in the US, but if you go to a city like LA or NY you’ll see that people work until 7pm-ish on average so no one has dinner at 5
>ltalian meals go like this: appetizers, first course, second course and dessert
Well, yes, but no. That's not an everyday thing. And in a restaurant you can do the whole meal in 30-45 min. if you want.
you can also eat only an appetizer and main course or whatever you want. Personally I prefer appetizer+first course and optional dessert.
The real point here is: WHERE in Italy? In Alto Adige at 19.30 all restaurants are already closing. In the south they're not open yet!
>Alto Adige at 19.30 all restaurants are already closing.
I don't think this is true unless you messed up the time. They definitely tend to open earlier for dinner from what I noticed (like 19:00), but thru definitely didn't close at 17:30.
That's so weird! I've only been to Val Gardena towns (Selva, Ortisei and Santa Cristina) during peak winter season but restaurants there were definitely open until later times.
I'm currently near Bolzano and generally have no problems finding places that stay open later here, both in Bolzano and in surrounding towns. Maybe some smaller villages have places that are only open during the day? I've yet to come across that myself, though...
Don't worry, you'll find plenty of places to eat, and to be honest after several rounds of aperitivo you might not want an evening meal. The Google restaurant search facility has an 'open now' filter and combined with the reviews you will find good places to eat. The street food and pizza is great, and many bars will offer a snack menu. We make heavy use of this and double check opening hours and menus with the official website.
The menus can confuse with antipasti, prima, secondo, carne etc... But think of it as types of food and preparation rather than courses. E.g. Little morsels, pasta based, meat or fish based with sides, pizza, dessert etc. I might have two antipasti and a dessert or just a pizza, or antipasti, pasta and a dessert. Some pasta dishes are large, some are smaller, but you can add to your order I'd you are still hungry.
The more independent local orientated places - shops and restaurants, will often shut between 3 and 6pm, and some bars only open at 5pm. I factor this time in for relaxing back at my accommodation or sightseeing. Most places have opening hours and booking systems, if you find a highly rated place you really want to visit, either pop in when open and book a table, for later or another day or book online.
I really love "enoteca" wine bars which serve local wines and will usually do platters of local meats or cheeses with bread, and olive oil.
You will have a wonderful trip :) and it's OK to go to bed early!
Thanks!! I've seen enoteca before but didn't pay attention. Now I will look out for it.
I actually plan to relax back at my accomodations around 2-5 when tourists are out and about most but I might change things up a bit.
Consider that the usual 9-5 jobs in Italy are actually 9-6. For some it's 10-7. Other work overtime quite often and leave the office around 7. So yeah, 7:30 is very early, restaurants have no point being open before then.
Also, people will maybe hang out for aperitivo after work and won't sit to eat dinner before 8:30/9. I don't think I've ever made a restaurant reservation before 8pm, ever.
10-7 schedule in summer is good only if you’re an office worker. Everyone else without a cushy job, especially factory workers, have different working hours in summer,usually one single shift from 5/6 am to 2/3 pm. Unless it’s a big warehouse or machining/turning company, the poor fucks have at least 3 shifts all year long
When go to dinner 8 I am usually the first and only one. At around 9 the restaurants fill up, even with kids and all. I assume they don’t go to bed before midnight.
Agree with everyone else, no restaurant open at 5pm is not worth going to. First rule of travel is to not expect wherever you’re going to adhere to the norms of wherever you’re from. Eat later, you’ll be fine.
I'm a bit of stickler when it comes to my plan. 😂 I usually plan for what to see, where to eat, which bus to take, where to watch for sunrise/sunset, etc but it doesn't mean I won't change my plan if locals recommend something. I totally want to explore what locals think is good. At the same time, I think my plan, which I redid 3 times and spent hundreds of hours researching places/learning do/don't, is good.😊
That's a full course meal that you have there, usually you only have primo or secondo, but both would be a lot of food. And yes, traditional Italian restaurants will be closed between 4-7pm.
The company that I work for starts at 9am, I would say between 8-9 is the standard start of the working hours.
I would say between 10 and 11, some very busy ones might go to 12
Edit: however most will be at their peak between 7:30-9, if you plan to go around that time it's better to make a reservation
It varies with the region, northern tend to eat slightly earlier than southern.
On average, most Italians don’t have dinner before 8pm. Bed time also varies a lot, 11pm is a good proxy.
Which leads me to ask: What time do restaurants open in your country for 7:30pm to be considered late? And which country are you from? (I'm thinking maybe Germany or Nordics but I don't think restaurant as 7:30pm is so unusual there either? At least not in Denmark or Berlin)
Most restaurants open for lunch and remain open through dinner, then close at 9 or 10 on weekdays and maybe 11 or midnight on weekends. Some will go to just bar service around 10pm or 11pm and then do drinks only from there on out. Some do a parsed down "late-night" menu.
Some places close from 3pm to 5pm to switch over to dinner service, then start dinner service at 5pm. Some restaurants just open for dinner some days and that usually happens around 5. A restaurant will lose an entire seating if they open at 7:30. Most restaurants will try to turn their tables at least 3 times in a dinner service. 45-90 minutes per seating. 7:30 would be an extremely odd time to open your restaurant here in the states.
I'm in the US and I would make a dinner reservation for 6-7pm, no later. Maybe 5:30. I'm not a night owl, but there's at least one restaurant here that was closing when we were still there at 8.
I'm in US (Midwest, to be precise) and other 2 comments pretty much describe the dining culture I'm used to.
I think all restaurants here open by 5 and most people I know start their dinner between 5:30-6:30. If I eat out (normal dinner, not a special occasion one), I would get to restaurants before 6, finish the meal around 7 and back home by 7:30 everytime. In a couple of states that I've been, restaurants slow down around 8 and many close at 9 or 9:30. I didn't say that this is true everywhete in US. I'm sure restaurants in big cities open until later.
my question at this point is: if you have dinner at around 6/6:30 pm (which is very early for italian standards) but still go to bed at around 11 pm/midnight (which is basically what we do here in Italy as well)... don't you get hungry again in the meantime?
and if so, is it normal to snack late in the evening before going to bed? I'd assume no, since you were concerned about going to bed with a full stomach.
How does it work? Do you eat a lot for dinner?
It may sound like a crazy question but I hate going to bed hungry, i usually snack around midnight (but that's just me)
Enjoy life, find a classic bar, go for some nice drinks ( negroni, martini) before dinner and get to meet the local crew, ask them for a restaurant and you will have your best meal you could imagine. Works every time
Dinner time is between 7.30 pm and 10 pm according to which day of the week it is and where you’re in the Country.
People going out to drink after dinner do not even meet before 10.30/11pm.
Night Clubs are usually close before 11pm.
The average italian starts working between 8-9 am and usually go to sleep between 11 pm and 2 am.
What kind of question is that? There are almost 60 million Italians. Some are larks, some are owls, some work or study early in the morning, some work (or have fun) late in the night. So?
Yes, average dinner time is quite later than wherever you're from, but this too is very variable within the country. For instance, in Rome, at 7.30 restaurants might begin to warm their ovens, since a normal meal time is 8.30-9.
Didn't mean to offend anyone with my question. I asked a general question and however people responded to me, it's fine. I'm here to learn more about Italy and Italian people as I plan my trip. Thanks.
>Didn't mean to offend anyone with my question
Of course, no offence taken. It's just that your questions are so general that personally I wouldn't know how to answer. There are just too many variables: parts of Italy, age, job, health, holiday or working, even living alone or with other people!
Dinner time varies significantly between north and south (earlier in the north, later in the south). In my personal experience, rarely do people have a standard meal like the one you described when they eat at home
During the week I wake up at 8:15 and go to bed at 11:30 PM. During the weekend I usually wake up at 9:30/10 and go to bed at 1 AM. Dinner is always between 8 and 8:30 PM.
> It left me wonder what time Italians go to bed and when they wake up for work?
Standard office working time in Italy is 9:00 - 18:00 with a paid lunch hour starting at 13:00. That means most Italians wake up between 7:00 and 8:00 depending on commuting time. Most of us go to bed between 21:00 and 23:00, depending on personal preferences on sleep schedule.
Usually we don't dine in restaurants 7 evenings out of 7. For most Italians it's one or two times per week, with Friday and/or Saturday evening being the most selected options.
>My understanding is ltalian meals go like this: appetizers, first course, second course and dessert
We eat a full/traditional meal only on important occasions and/or when you meet with friends and want to eat well. Nine times out of ten an Italian will simply order an appetizer plus a main dish (either first or second couse, not both) plus dessert, but only if it's good. Appetizer plus one main dish is the most selected combo since several decades.
>so that maybe an hour and a half?
You can eat in 30/40 minutes without hurry if you have other plans (i.e. you have 60 minutes of paid lunch break or you have a train to board in 45 minutes) or if you don't want to talk too much at the table. For a "convivial" meal where people discuss and enjoy the social gathering +90 minutes is a minimum estimate.
>I live in US and most restaurants here, if not all, open by 5. Everyday, I finish my dinner around 6:30 at home or 7 when I eat out
Germans have similar habits in terms of eating times. In southern Europe you really don't want to eat in a restaurant that opens at 17:00 - it's probably a tourist trap.
When we were in Florence last year, most of the good restaurants wouldn't open until 7:30 or 8pm for dinner. It was crazy how busy the streets were during the day, then seeing them get much quieter for like an hour or two, then get busy again. Everyone is at home or spending time with family/friends around then before the dinner scene gets going. Seeing the amount of people on the streets just disappear for like 2 hours was new to me. We were usually having dinner earlier in the dinner hours (around 8pm) and those restaurants maybe had 1 or 2 other tables at that time. So we'd usually get a quieter dining experience.
When in Rome, I felt the dusk hours quiet wasn't nearly as drastic. It's possible that we had gotten used to the different routine by that point, and staying right down the street from the Coliseum probably had us in a slightly busier area for foot traffic.
You get uses to it pretty quick, and if you're traveling from North America, the time difference will probably have you waking up earlier in the day. But I wouldn't depend on being able to be predetermine what hours you'll be active. It will be dependent on how easily you adjust to the time zone difference
I often wonder how can Uk and Us people eat at 5pm! I would be starving by the time I go to bed and probably end up eating again which is not healthy 😂 I prefer eating at 8pm and going to sleep at 11, this is the usual routine in italy
I know from my travels to Italy most Italians eat at like 8ish 9pm. We did last May with my cousins. Most restaurants that are local may open later in the tourist areas they be open earlier.
I'm in Milano at the moment and I've also been thinking about dinner times and food "rules" A LOT.
I travel a lot so fasting is a good option to stay healthy (I normally have my last meals between 4-6pm).
Here in Italy it's been impossible.
I gave up trying and had a full sea-food platter at 830 pm tonight. When in Rome....
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Any restaurant open at 5pm I wouldn’t even set foot in. Sure sign of a tourist trap - Italians are extremely conservative in their food habits and wouldn’t dream of eating at that time. Eating at 8pm you can easily be finished and back home by 11pm. Besides it’s not like people have a full meal out every night - it’s too expensive before we even come to times.
If you’re smart you just have aperitvos for dinner because you had a big lunch. Or simply left overs if you don’t want to cook.
I wonder what time italians usually go to bed and wake up?
There no rule: I'd say one goes to bed anytime from 9 to 2, and wakes up anytime from 5 to 10, I'd say, depending on their job (if any) or going to school, day of the week, time in the year, age, family customs, health and so on. What time do people go to bed and wake up in your country?
I live in US and I have 8-5 job, so I go to bed between 10-midnight and wake up 6:30. I have dinner between 6-7 and breakfast at 7-8in the morning. Most of my friends have same routines as me, but of course, I'm not saying this is for everyone in US. 😊
It's not that different in Italy. But at home many would have dinner at 8 and go to bed at 10
Your 8-5 is our 9-6 or even 9-7
Right, thanks!
>Right, thanks! You're welcome!
I have a job in Rome, I get up at 7, take my kid to school, take the metro and am in the office at 9. I work until 6-7 then come home, eat dinner around 8, bed about 11.
Oh cool. Thanks for the details! I have 8-5 job in US and my routine is kinda similar to yours except your dinner time is a little later.
Yeah, we have a mandatory lunch break (in my case 1h), so we get home a little late. On one hand it's nice to have a hot meal for lunch, on the other hand it would be nice to go home early...
Around midnight and wake up around 7 and 8
It depends from a lot of factors, if you are a worker, a freelancer, an unemployed, a student, etc.
Right!? I'm very curious about this.
Why? What time does every person in your country usually go to bed and wake up?
No, theres a cultural influence for a habit. I can say that most people in my city (a metropolitan and full of worker/student) usually get up before 5.30 and go to bed around 10 up. Some people who do commuting or work in the FnB may wake up at 4 or earlier. Since the dinner time is so late there, i wonder about my question. My country have a perfect 12 hour of sunlight though throughout the year hahaha.
What's FnB?
Food n beverage, culinary
Ah, ok. In Australia, we usually refer to this industry as "hospitality".
I've heard this but what if they're open for lunch and stay open through dinner? Is that another red flag?
If we’re talking restaurants… if they’re open and serving food at 5pm, then yes, I’d say they’re places catering to tourists and not Italians. If we’re talking bars serving aperitivo, light lunches and dinners (eg. pizza slices, panini, toast, salads, cicchetti if you’re in Venice) then they usually stay open all day long.
Depending on the establishment, some of them might stay open if they also operate as a bar I.e. serving drinks and light meals. But serving full meals out of traditional hours is a bad sign. There just isn’t the volume of Italian customers to sustain a functioning kitchen at those times, unless the kitchen consists of reheating or your clientele is tourists. In particular pizza out of hours (and really, before dinner time) is highly suspicious. A decent pizza needs a wood fired oven, that is expensive to run unless you're churning them out one after another.
No. The only red flag is if their food is not good.
Amazing osteria's and trattorias stay open through the afternoon until dinner because they can afford to pay the kitchen and wait staff through those hours.
Peak dinner time is about 8:30-9 from what I’ve seen as the hardest time to get a dinner reservation. They take their time eating so a meal lasts way longer than an hour and a half. Night clubs don’t start getting packed until 12:30-1am.
Some clubs don’t even open before 11/11.30 pm
The average Italian workers wake up at 7 or 7:30 am, sometimes even earlier. Also, we don't go to the restaurant every day, it is mainly for big occasions or for tourists. Economically speaking too, it's not affordable for the average family. Personally I just order the first course and then I switch directly to the dessert/sweet, you're not forced to order everything in order
That makes sense. And thank you for telling me that I don't need to order all of them. I was wondering if I will be judged for order only first order second course. 😂
Nobody will care hahaha, you'll be surprised that Italians are very different from those shitty Italian-American stereotyping videos 😂😂
I’m really confused because I lived in the US many years and you also have different courses on the menu (appetizers, pastas, small bites, entrees, sides, desserts…) but you are not expected to order all of them. Most people get an appetizer and an entree and that is exactly what people do in Italy as well. Also not sure where you’re from, maybe some rural area in the US, but if you go to a city like LA or NY you’ll see that people work until 7pm-ish on average so no one has dinner at 5
>ltalian meals go like this: appetizers, first course, second course and dessert Well, yes, but no. That's not an everyday thing. And in a restaurant you can do the whole meal in 30-45 min. if you want. you can also eat only an appetizer and main course or whatever you want. Personally I prefer appetizer+first course and optional dessert. The real point here is: WHERE in Italy? In Alto Adige at 19.30 all restaurants are already closing. In the south they're not open yet!
>Alto Adige at 19.30 all restaurants are already closing. I don't think this is true unless you messed up the time. They definitely tend to open earlier for dinner from what I noticed (like 19:00), but thru definitely didn't close at 17:30.
last time i was in Val Aurina, I had a difficult time finding a place open at 19.30
That's so weird! I've only been to Val Gardena towns (Selva, Ortisei and Santa Cristina) during peak winter season but restaurants there were definitely open until later times.
Yeah, in touristic towns, yes. Sorry, I hate them 😂😂😂
I'm currently near Bolzano and generally have no problems finding places that stay open later here, both in Bolzano and in surrounding towns. Maybe some smaller villages have places that are only open during the day? I've yet to come across that myself, though...
I’m sorry, but where have you ever finished anything more than a panino in 30 mins ? 🤣
And i think you saw north Italy, south is even later
I don't know if Rome is north or south, but we will be in Rome, Tuscany, Bologna, Venice. So the places I looked mostly north.
"north or south"... centre?
Yes that's kinda obvious. 😂
Don't worry, you'll find plenty of places to eat, and to be honest after several rounds of aperitivo you might not want an evening meal. The Google restaurant search facility has an 'open now' filter and combined with the reviews you will find good places to eat. The street food and pizza is great, and many bars will offer a snack menu. We make heavy use of this and double check opening hours and menus with the official website. The menus can confuse with antipasti, prima, secondo, carne etc... But think of it as types of food and preparation rather than courses. E.g. Little morsels, pasta based, meat or fish based with sides, pizza, dessert etc. I might have two antipasti and a dessert or just a pizza, or antipasti, pasta and a dessert. Some pasta dishes are large, some are smaller, but you can add to your order I'd you are still hungry. The more independent local orientated places - shops and restaurants, will often shut between 3 and 6pm, and some bars only open at 5pm. I factor this time in for relaxing back at my accommodation or sightseeing. Most places have opening hours and booking systems, if you find a highly rated place you really want to visit, either pop in when open and book a table, for later or another day or book online. I really love "enoteca" wine bars which serve local wines and will usually do platters of local meats or cheeses with bread, and olive oil. You will have a wonderful trip :) and it's OK to go to bed early!
Thanks!! I've seen enoteca before but didn't pay attention. Now I will look out for it. I actually plan to relax back at my accomodations around 2-5 when tourists are out and about most but I might change things up a bit.
Because the south doesn't work, so they have free time to do late dinner.
Consider that the usual 9-5 jobs in Italy are actually 9-6. For some it's 10-7. Other work overtime quite often and leave the office around 7. So yeah, 7:30 is very early, restaurants have no point being open before then. Also, people will maybe hang out for aperitivo after work and won't sit to eat dinner before 8:30/9. I don't think I've ever made a restaurant reservation before 8pm, ever.
Ah! 10-7 schedule for summer is not bad at all. I saw some places giving discounts for booking a table right at noon or 7pm, very interesting!!
10-7 schedule in summer is good only if you’re an office worker. Everyone else without a cushy job, especially factory workers, have different working hours in summer,usually one single shift from 5/6 am to 2/3 pm. Unless it’s a big warehouse or machining/turning company, the poor fucks have at least 3 shifts all year long
There’s no such thing as 10-7. Most of the times it’s 8-8 for office workers.
Office workers don’t work 12 hours a day my friend. At least,not in any company that I know of
Come to Milan…
Aah ok but Milàn is Milàn. Figa,fatturare!
When go to dinner 8 I am usually the first and only one. At around 9 the restaurants fill up, even with kids and all. I assume they don’t go to bed before midnight.
Wow.. 8pm is early then!
Haha yes, but tourists are known to dine earlier and most places appreciate it so we are gone when Italians come to dinner ;)
Agree with everyone else, no restaurant open at 5pm is not worth going to. First rule of travel is to not expect wherever you’re going to adhere to the norms of wherever you’re from. Eat later, you’ll be fine.
you're on vacation. adapt, stay out late, wake up late.
That's good advice!! I will try to see if I can adjust my plan on some of the days.
If you didn't adjust a plan that you made before you experienced the country, it wouldn't be a good plan.
I'm a bit of stickler when it comes to my plan. 😂 I usually plan for what to see, where to eat, which bus to take, where to watch for sunrise/sunset, etc but it doesn't mean I won't change my plan if locals recommend something. I totally want to explore what locals think is good. At the same time, I think my plan, which I redid 3 times and spent hundreds of hours researching places/learning do/don't, is good.😊
Rome is not the kind of place for that. First because Italy, and second because it's a city that rewards spontaneity.
That's a full course meal that you have there, usually you only have primo or secondo, but both would be a lot of food. And yes, traditional Italian restaurants will be closed between 4-7pm. The company that I work for starts at 9am, I would say between 8-9 is the standard start of the working hours.
What time do most restaurants close at night then?
I would say between 10 and 11, some very busy ones might go to 12 Edit: however most will be at their peak between 7:30-9, if you plan to go around that time it's better to make a reservation
Dinner starts at 8. Club at 11, sleep at 2, up at 8, work at 9, nap at 6, rinse, repeat.
It varies with the region, northern tend to eat slightly earlier than southern. On average, most Italians don’t have dinner before 8pm. Bed time also varies a lot, 11pm is a good proxy.
Thank you for answering me my bed time question!! 😊
Which leads me to ask: What time do restaurants open in your country for 7:30pm to be considered late? And which country are you from? (I'm thinking maybe Germany or Nordics but I don't think restaurant as 7:30pm is so unusual there either? At least not in Denmark or Berlin)
Most restaurants open for lunch and remain open through dinner, then close at 9 or 10 on weekdays and maybe 11 or midnight on weekends. Some will go to just bar service around 10pm or 11pm and then do drinks only from there on out. Some do a parsed down "late-night" menu. Some places close from 3pm to 5pm to switch over to dinner service, then start dinner service at 5pm. Some restaurants just open for dinner some days and that usually happens around 5. A restaurant will lose an entire seating if they open at 7:30. Most restaurants will try to turn their tables at least 3 times in a dinner service. 45-90 minutes per seating. 7:30 would be an extremely odd time to open your restaurant here in the states.
I'm in the US and I would make a dinner reservation for 6-7pm, no later. Maybe 5:30. I'm not a night owl, but there's at least one restaurant here that was closing when we were still there at 8.
I'm in US (Midwest, to be precise) and other 2 comments pretty much describe the dining culture I'm used to. I think all restaurants here open by 5 and most people I know start their dinner between 5:30-6:30. If I eat out (normal dinner, not a special occasion one), I would get to restaurants before 6, finish the meal around 7 and back home by 7:30 everytime. In a couple of states that I've been, restaurants slow down around 8 and many close at 9 or 9:30. I didn't say that this is true everywhete in US. I'm sure restaurants in big cities open until later.
Midnight or 1 am sleep, dinner at 8/9.
From responses I got, the bed time and wake up time is not much different from US. Most people I know here go to bed at 11-midnight.
my question at this point is: if you have dinner at around 6/6:30 pm (which is very early for italian standards) but still go to bed at around 11 pm/midnight (which is basically what we do here in Italy as well)... don't you get hungry again in the meantime? and if so, is it normal to snack late in the evening before going to bed? I'd assume no, since you were concerned about going to bed with a full stomach. How does it work? Do you eat a lot for dinner? It may sound like a crazy question but I hate going to bed hungry, i usually snack around midnight (but that's just me)
Most people will snack on something before bed or eat a large breakfast.
Enjoy life, find a classic bar, go for some nice drinks ( negroni, martini) before dinner and get to meet the local crew, ask them for a restaurant and you will have your best meal you could imagine. Works every time
Dinner time is between 7.30 pm and 10 pm according to which day of the week it is and where you’re in the Country. People going out to drink after dinner do not even meet before 10.30/11pm. Night Clubs are usually close before 11pm. The average italian starts working between 8-9 am and usually go to sleep between 11 pm and 2 am.
This is so real. I eat dinner around 5 and in bed around 10 so it will be a huge culture shock 😂
Same.
Same here!
What kind of question is that? There are almost 60 million Italians. Some are larks, some are owls, some work or study early in the morning, some work (or have fun) late in the night. So? Yes, average dinner time is quite later than wherever you're from, but this too is very variable within the country. For instance, in Rome, at 7.30 restaurants might begin to warm their ovens, since a normal meal time is 8.30-9.
Didn't mean to offend anyone with my question. I asked a general question and however people responded to me, it's fine. I'm here to learn more about Italy and Italian people as I plan my trip. Thanks.
>Didn't mean to offend anyone with my question Of course, no offence taken. It's just that your questions are so general that personally I wouldn't know how to answer. There are just too many variables: parts of Italy, age, job, health, holiday or working, even living alone or with other people!
Dinner time varies significantly between north and south (earlier in the north, later in the south). In my personal experience, rarely do people have a standard meal like the one you described when they eat at home
Never. They don’t sleep
Not that uncommon to start eating at 9pm, or even 9:30, at a restaurant.
When their moms tell them to
If we had to guess an average, 8:30pm dinner. Sleep by 11 pm.
Italian here, living in northern Italy. I usualy have dinner around 19.30 - 20.00, go to bed around 23.00.
During the week I wake up at 8:15 and go to bed at 11:30 PM. During the weekend I usually wake up at 9:30/10 and go to bed at 1 AM. Dinner is always between 8 and 8:30 PM.
> It left me wonder what time Italians go to bed and when they wake up for work? Standard office working time in Italy is 9:00 - 18:00 with a paid lunch hour starting at 13:00. That means most Italians wake up between 7:00 and 8:00 depending on commuting time. Most of us go to bed between 21:00 and 23:00, depending on personal preferences on sleep schedule. Usually we don't dine in restaurants 7 evenings out of 7. For most Italians it's one or two times per week, with Friday and/or Saturday evening being the most selected options. >My understanding is ltalian meals go like this: appetizers, first course, second course and dessert We eat a full/traditional meal only on important occasions and/or when you meet with friends and want to eat well. Nine times out of ten an Italian will simply order an appetizer plus a main dish (either first or second couse, not both) plus dessert, but only if it's good. Appetizer plus one main dish is the most selected combo since several decades. >so that maybe an hour and a half? You can eat in 30/40 minutes without hurry if you have other plans (i.e. you have 60 minutes of paid lunch break or you have a train to board in 45 minutes) or if you don't want to talk too much at the table. For a "convivial" meal where people discuss and enjoy the social gathering +90 minutes is a minimum estimate. >I live in US and most restaurants here, if not all, open by 5. Everyday, I finish my dinner around 6:30 at home or 7 when I eat out Germans have similar habits in terms of eating times. In southern Europe you really don't want to eat in a restaurant that opens at 17:00 - it's probably a tourist trap.
When we were in Florence last year, most of the good restaurants wouldn't open until 7:30 or 8pm for dinner. It was crazy how busy the streets were during the day, then seeing them get much quieter for like an hour or two, then get busy again. Everyone is at home or spending time with family/friends around then before the dinner scene gets going. Seeing the amount of people on the streets just disappear for like 2 hours was new to me. We were usually having dinner earlier in the dinner hours (around 8pm) and those restaurants maybe had 1 or 2 other tables at that time. So we'd usually get a quieter dining experience. When in Rome, I felt the dusk hours quiet wasn't nearly as drastic. It's possible that we had gotten used to the different routine by that point, and staying right down the street from the Coliseum probably had us in a slightly busier area for foot traffic. You get uses to it pretty quick, and if you're traveling from North America, the time difference will probably have you waking up earlier in the day. But I wouldn't depend on being able to be predetermine what hours you'll be active. It will be dependent on how easily you adjust to the time zone difference
One thing that worked for us was eating a big meal at lunch, and then a small, late (for us) dinner.
Dinner is around 8-9pm. I recommend adjusting to the local customs while traveling. You'll have a more authentic and convenient experience.
I often wonder how can Uk and Us people eat at 5pm! I would be starving by the time I go to bed and probably end up eating again which is not healthy 😂 I prefer eating at 8pm and going to sleep at 11, this is the usual routine in italy
I know from my travels to Italy most Italians eat at like 8ish 9pm. We did last May with my cousins. Most restaurants that are local may open later in the tourist areas they be open earlier.
I'm in Milano at the moment and I've also been thinking about dinner times and food "rules" A LOT. I travel a lot so fasting is a good option to stay healthy (I normally have my last meals between 4-6pm). Here in Italy it's been impossible. I gave up trying and had a full sea-food platter at 830 pm tonight. When in Rome....