Italian restaurant menu

The Italian order

An Italian menu follows the order of the meal:

1. Antipasti: cured meats and cheeses, carpaccio, parmigiana, arancini, burrata.
2. Primi: pasta, risotto, gnocchi, soups.
3. Secondi: meat and fish.
4. Contorni: side dishes ordered separately, if you have them.
5. Dolci: tiramisu, panna cotta, cannoli.
6. Wine and, at the end, coffee, grappa or limoncello.

Nobody has to order something from every section, but the order helps guests understand what’s a starter, what’s a main and what’s a side. If your restaurant lives on pizza, see the pizza menu guide: there, the centrepiece is different.

Primi: fresh pasta, dried pasta and risotto

They’re the heart of the menu:

• Tell fresh from dried pasta if you have both. A section note (“Fresh pasta made every morning”) or one word in the description is enough.
• The pasta shape in the name: tagliatelle, pappardelle, spaghetti, rigatoni. Guests choose by shape too.
• The sauce in the description, with two or three key ingredients: “Clams, garlic, chilli and white wine”.
• The risotto’s cooking time: if it takes twenty minutes, say so.

If a pasta dish can be ordered as a starter or as a main, use two price columns in that section, “Starter” and “Main”.

Italian names, English descriptions

The Italian name gives character and is how guests recognise the dish: “Ossobuco alla milanese”, “Saltimbocca alla romana”. The English description explains what’s on the plate: “Veal, prosciutto and sage”.

Avoid half-translations such as “Spaghetti with vongole”: either the whole name in Italian or the whole name in English. And if a word could confuse (guanciale, ’nduja, cacio), clarify it in the description with a familiar term: “cured pork cheek”, “spicy spreadable salami”.

Contorni and lunch menus

In Italy, secondi are often served on their own and sides are ordered separately. If you work that way, say so in a note in the secondi section and create a contorni section with prices: patate al forno, verdure grigliate, insalata mista. If your secondi already come with a side, you don’t need that section: just name it in the description.

If you offer a set lunch (primo, secondo and dolce at a fixed price), don’t mix it with the main menu. Put it on a separate A5 sheet, with its price, what’s included and the serving times. The set lunch menu guide explains how.

Allergens in an Italian restaurant

• Gluten: pasta, bread, arancini, the flour used to dust secondi and many dolci.
• Eggs: almost all fresh pasta, carbonara, tiramisu and breaded dishes.
• Milk: Parmesan, pecorino, mozzarella, ricotta, butter and cream.
• Celery: the soffritto (onion, carrot and celery) behind ragù, ossobuco and many stocks.
• Sulphites: the wine in risottos, stews and sauces, as well as the wines on the list.
• Tree nuts: pistachio, hazelnut and the walnuts or almonds in some pestos.
• Fish and molluscs: anchovies, the tuna in vitello tonnato, clams, squid, cuttlefish.

Celery is the allergen most often forgotten in Italian cooking, because you can’t see it on the plate. If your ragù or your stock contains it, mark it. In the US, celery isn’t one of the nine major allergens, but guests with the allergy will still ask.

As for gluten-free pasta: if you cook it in the same water as ordinary pasta, it stops being gluten-free. Say so clearly in the note.

Writing tips

• One featured dish per section at most: the seasonal risotto or the house speciality.
• No empty adjectives: “exquisite” or “like nonna’s” say nothing; the technique and the ingredient do.
• If you charge for bread or a cover charge (coperto), put it on the menu with its price. It mustn’t appear on the bill by surprise.
• Italian wines on a separate list if you have more than ten; if you have only a few, on the same menu, by the glass and the bottle.

Format and style

• A4 in two columns: antipasti and primi on one side, secondi and dolci on the other.
• Booklet if you add contorni, wines and coffees.
• Slim A4 for a small restaurant with narrow tables.

The template’s style is Milano, with fashion-magazine type and lots of contrast, closer to an elegant osteria than a pizzeria. If you prefer a traditional Italian family feel, try Trattoria. More in menu templates.

Make it in MenuDesign

Open the Italian menu template, add your dishes with Italian names and English descriptions, mark the allergens and download the PDF. If you get a lot of visitors, you can translate the menu from the same editor. Free, with no sign-up.