Ordering In Italiano!!

At Capogiro, we run our shop like traditional Italian bar.  In Italy, a bar is not a place to get drunk, but a kind of snack shop that serves coffee, espresso, cappuccino, rolls and pastries, sandwiches, and often gelato and other sweets.

Colazione is the Italian term for breakfast.  Cappuccino’s are an Italian favorite and in Italy, it is rare that a cappuccino is ordered after breakfast.  Espresso is the preferred drink after breakfast.  So how do you order a cappuccino for colazione?

Dica (you say):

“Vorrei un cappuccino per favore!”            or        “Un cappuccino per favore!”

Pranzo is the Italian term for lunch.  Pranzare is an Italian verb that means to have lunch or to dine.  Lunch is a big deal in Italy.  It is typically for shops to actually close for lunch and reopen after.  Like Capogiro, many Italian bars have freshly made sandwiches that customers are able to order out of the case.   So how do you order a sandwich?

Dica:

“Prendo un panino per favore!”     or        “Vorrei questo panino!”

Cena is the Italian term for dinner and cenare is the verb that means to have dinner.  Dinner is considered the main meal in Italy, so you wouldn’t go to a bar like you would for lunch.  Dinners are usually sit down family events or outings to ristoranti (restaurants).

It is not uncommon to mangiare gelato (to eat gelato) at any time throughout the day.  It is typical to get more than one flavor, which is why all of our sizes (piccolo, medio, e grande) offer customers a combination!  So how do you order gelato?

Dica:

“Prendo un piccolo/medio/grande gelato con (insert flavor name) e (another flavor name.)

I am a barista a 13^th Street Capogiro and I speak Italian, so if you want to come in and try out some Italian phrases I would be more than happy to converse with you or teach a few more phrases.  To any speakers out there that are more fluent than I am (and there are many) I always love to learn! 

-Tori