Ten Insights into Italian Culture: #8 – Meal/Drink For Here or to Go

In Italy, you can either have your meal/drink in place (mangio/mangiamo/mangiate qui), in which case there is an addition a cover charge for the table service (however, tipping is not required so it all amounts to the same cost); or you can have your meal/drink to go (da portare da via; or in British English: “take away”). (Readers outside North America: in the United States and Canada, the language used for mangio qui and da portare da via is “for here” or “to go.”) In the morning, most workers, being in a rush, have their morning espresso or cappuccino standing up at the bar (bars in Italy are a combination of café and pub), whereas people generally sit for lunch and dinner. Note that cappuccino time lasts until the late morning, and drinking a cappuccino after lunch is perceived by locals as very weird behaviour.

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