30-07-2025
Italian restaurant red flags revealed and how to know if it's a tourist trap – the garlic bread is a giveaway
PIZZA, pasta, Parmesan - everyone loves a taste of Italy. But how do you know a place is authentically Italian?
One expert has offered their advice on how to tell whether you're in a good Italian restaurant or not - from whether they have a beloved side dish on offer, to how long the menu is.
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Orazio Salvini, founder of Real Italian Restaurants, has revealed the telltale signs that some Italian eateries are not genuine - whether that be in the UK, or abroad.
And sadly for Brits, there's one tasty side dish that shouldn't be on the menu.
Orazio said: "If you see garlic bread listed as a starter, you're probably not in a good restaurant.
"This dish simply doesn't exist in Italy in the form Brits know it. What Italians actually eat is 'bruschetta' - toasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with good olive oil, sometimes with fresh tomatoes added."
There's more bad news for anyone who loves a carbonara with chicken and mushrooms.
Orazio added: "Real carbonara contains five ingredients: pasta, eggs, pecorino cheese, guanciale (cured pork cheek), and black pepper.
"If you see cream, peas, chicken, or mushrooms, the restaurant isn't following traditional recipes."
Another way to know whether or not you're at a good eatery is quite simple - all you need to do is glance at the menu.
According to Orazio, if the menu has lots on offer then it might be a sign that it's not authentic.
Most real Italian restaurants have small menus with dishes that change seasonally.
I visited the tiny island that is Italy's best kept secret and you can avoid the summer crowds
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If there are lots of various dishes on offer, then it could be a sign that the eatery is using frozen ingredients and that the food isn't fresh.
And when you order a seafood pasta, hopefully you won't be offered any Parmesan.
Orazio advised that "no Italian would ever add cheese to seafood pasta".
He even added that it's considered a "culinary sin" - so a definite no no.
Another sign of inauthenticity is if a restaurant is mixing specialities from across regions.
Areas like Sicily, Tuscany and Lombardy will have their own speciality dishes, and won't mix them with others.
If you really want to put a place to the test, ask a server about ingredients and cooking techniques.
The expert revealed that most authentic restaurants will happily divulge facts like where the olive oil is from, or which region a dish is from.
For more, check out the big mistakes everyone makes when eating pizza according to an Italian.
Check out the cheapest cities to eat and drink in Europe – where a restaurant meal costs as little as £4.
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