Real Italian, part 3. After the restaurant, the place an Italian walks into every day: the bar.
The flow is the same as last time: you order, you have it, you pay. But it’s over in a minute and you need very few words. What changes is what you order, and two things that don’t exist at a restaurant: the price changes if you stand or sit, and in many bars you pay first.
Same structure as last time: first the scene, then the explanation of everything. Lines with “oppure” are two ways of saying the same thing; the amber lines are used only when that situation comes up.
The Italian bar isn’t an evening place: it’s where you have your coffee standing up, in the morning, before work. It opens at six and by then it’s already full.
Part one: the scene
From here to the end of the scene, it’s Italian only: these are the lines exactly as they’re said at the counter. The explanations come afterwards.
(You walk in. There’s a long counter on the right and the till near the door. Nobody shows you to a seat: at the bar you just go up to the counter.)
Barista: Buongiorno! Mi dica.
Cliente: Buongiorno. Un cappuccino e un cornetto alla crema, per favore.
oppure Buongiorno. Un caffè, per favore.
Barista: Al banco o al tavolo?
Cliente: Al banco, grazie.
oppure Al tavolo, grazie. Quanto costa al tavolo?
Barista: Subito. Altro?
Cliente: Un bicchiere d'acqua, grazie.
oppure No, grazie.
Now the scene splits into two paths, depending on the place. Some bars let you pay at the counter at the end; in many others you pay first, at the till. You only take one of them.
First path — you pay at the end, at the counter
Cliente: Quanto le devo?
Barista: Tre e ottanta.
Cliente: Ecco a lei. Lo scontrino, per favore.
Second path — you pay first, at the till
The amber lines below are used only in this case. The first question settles everything: Italians ask it too when they walk into a bar they don’t know.
Cliente: Mi scusi, pago prima o dopo?
Barista: Prima alla cassa, poi mi porta lo scontrino.
Cassiera: Dica pure.
Cliente: Un cappuccino e un cornetto alla crema.
Cassiera: Tre e ottanta. Ecco lo scontrino.
Cliente: Grazie.
From here the two paths become one again
Cliente: Grazie, buona giornata!
Barista: Grazie a lei, arrivederci!
Part two: the explanation of everything
Let’s go through the same scene bit by bit: what to order, where to drink it, how to pay, and the habits nobody tells you about.
1. What to order at the bar
A bar has no restaurant dishes. It has a different, shorter list.
caffè — espresso
An espresso in a small cup. In Italy, caffè always means this, and you drink it in one go.
caffè lungo · caffè macchiato · decaffeinato — longer · with a drop of milk · decaf
Three common variations: with more water, with a drop of milk, without caffeine (also called deca).
cappuccino — cappuccino
Coffee and frothed milk. With a cornetto, it’s the Italian breakfast.
cornetto — Italian croissant
The Italian croissant: vuoto (plain), alla crema (custard), alla marmellata (jam), al cioccolato (chocolate).
spremuta — freshly squeezed juice
Orange juice squeezed on the spot. Bottled juice is called succo.
tramezzino / panino — sandwich
The bar’s light lunch. The first is soft triangular bread, the second a bread roll with a filling.
A word of warning: in Italian latte means only “milk”. If you ask for “un latte”, you’ll get a glass of milk. Milky coffee is latte macchiato.
2. Standing or sitting
This is where a bar differs most from a restaurant. The same coffee is cheaper al banco (at the counter, standing) and more expensive al tavolo (at a table). In touristy squares it can be two or three times as much.
It isn’t a trick: it’s a charge for the table service. Both prices must be displayed, and you can ask before you sit down, just as you’d ask the time.
Quanto costa al tavolo?
How much is it at a table?
Real prices in Puglia: at the counter, a coffee costs 1.20–1.50 euros, a cappuccino 1.50–2, a cornetto 1.20–1.80. At a table in a touristy spot it can be two or three times as much. If it’s displayed, that’s a legitimate price too.
Italians in a hurry drink standing at the counter and are out in a minute. Sitting down isn’t rude or forbidden: it just costs more, and it’s more about spending time than about drinking.
3. How to pay: before or after
In small bars you have your drink and pay at the counter at the end. In big bars, station bars and many downtown bars, you pay first at the till and hand the receipt to the barista, who only then starts making your order.
You can’t tell which from outside, and there’s no way to guess. You just ask. Italians do too.
Mi scusi, pago prima o dopo?
Excuse me, do I pay before or after?
Quanto le devo?
How much do I owe you?
Always take the receipt: the bar is required to give you one. With it in your hand, a price mistake is sorted out in ten seconds.
Lo scontrino, per favore.
The receipt, please.
Bars have no cover charge (coperto), and no tip is needed. Some people leave the small change in the dish, but that’s up to you.
4. Three bar habits
Cappuccino is a morning drink. Italians don’t have it after lunch: milk is too heavy, they say. But if you order one at 3 pm, nobody will say a word.
Coffee is drunk in one go. The cup is small because you drink it standing up in a minute and leave.
At the counter, a glass of water is usually free. Just ask, and it comes with your coffee.
Un bicchiere d'acqua, per favore.
A glass of water, please.
5. The same bar changes with the time of day
An Italian bar has three faces a day, and the words change with them. In the morning it’s breakfast: coffee, cappuccino, cornetto. At midday it becomes a snack bar: sandwiches, panini, salads. From 6 pm it’s aperitivo time: a drink (often a spritz) with snacks included in the price.
Un caffè e un cornetto, per favore.
A coffee and a cornetto, please.
Uno spritz, per favore.
A spritz, please.
An aperitivo costs 5–8 euros in the south, a bit more in big cities. Many Italians make a dinner of it. It’s also the time when most conversations start at the bar: if you want to try out your Italian, this is the time.
This week’s practice
1. Choose two drinks and learn their names. caffè and cappuccino are enough.
2. Make sure you can say Un cappuccino e un cornetto, per favore. just as it is.
3. Learn the difference between al banco and al tavolo: the price changes.
4. Practice the payment phrase: Mi scusi, pago prima o dopo?
5. And the words for when you leave: Grazie, buona giornata!
6. On Wednesday we’ll go through both the restaurant and the bar from start to finish: a review of episodes 1 and 2 as well.
Printable PDF
Below is the one-page PDF for the bar: drinks, the two prices and how to order.
Every Wednesday at 9 pm Japan time we talk Italian online for an hour, for free. You’re welcome to just listen.
→ Episode 2: at the restaurant
Photos: bar counter Wilfredor (CC0), cornetti and brioches Eli6179 (CC BY-SA 4.0), cappuccino Leontereyes (CC BY-SA 4.0) / Wikimedia Commons
