What are You Really Paying for in an Italian Restaurant?
First some history: if you’ve spent any time whatsoever vacationing in Italy, then you’ve certainly spent a portion of your afternoon or evening dining in an Italian restaurant. And if you have ever eaten a meal in a restaurant, then you may have noticed a little something written on your bill: a small line itemized at the top of the receipt that reads “pane’ e coperto”, the price of which is usually about 2 or 3 euro. “Pane’ e coperto” stands for “bread and cover” which refers to the basket of bread on your table and also the table-cloth, plates, glasses and silverware you eat with.
This may seem insignificant to you as a tourist. After all, we’re only talking about 2 or 3 euro which is only about 3 or 4 dollars. The question is – “should you be paying for bread if you don’t eat it and should you be paying an automatic cover-charge for your table which coincidently is the same whether you eat a full 5 or 6 course meal or only settle for a plate of spaghetti?”
Let’s transition to the “here and now”: this issue – which actually reflects a specific expense for restaurants both big and small – recently evolved into a new law for Italian restaurants that basically says: “charge for bread only if it’s requested and get rid of the cover chargeâÂ?¦” That was interpreted by many eateries as simply incorporating the cover charge across the board into their menu items. For example, there’s no cover-charge on your bill, but all the prices on a restaurants menu are now .15 euro-cents higher. This type of move has not exactly been greeted with a round of applause from Italian government officials, yet neither has anything been done to halt this particular practice. What is not acceptable is when a restaurant raises its prices by nearly a euro on nearly all of the items on its menu as a response to abolishing the cover charge. Problem is, not many tourists are keen to what’s going on and even if they are aware of the bread and cover charge it’s not like they can’t eat. Somewhere along the line you’re going to have a meal.
This is not the first time an effort has been made to abolish the bread and cover charge. According to Francesco Angelis, Director of the Puglia Regional Association of Small Businesses, back in 1995 the government (at the time) ruled the same thing: no more cover charge at Italian restaurants. So what happened? The minister of the economy for the European Union ruled that Italy was operating “outside the norm of the rest of the countries in the Union” Who by the way all charge extra for bread and table cloths. So less than 3 years after the “no cover” rule was made, the law was reversed.
Who knows if the same thing will happen this time. It’s still too early to tell. My hunch – as an ex-patriot living in Italy – is that in the bigger cities like Rome, Milan and Florence, tourists may notice the end of the cover charge. And they may have to ask for bread. In the smaller cities and towns I’d wager it’s business-as-usual.
However, having said that, YOU as a tourist and visitor should not hesitate to ask when you go into a restaurant. Tell them you don’t want bread (if you truly don’t) and ask in advance if there’s a cover charge for the table.
Which brings me to another issue – that of tips. In America, the concept of tips is to cover the basic wage of the waitress, busboy and dishwasher. You’re encouraged to leave a tip. I’m not sure what it is anymore, because it’s been a while since I’ve been in the states. But usually it’s a couple of dollars. The Italian cover charge for your table fills that need quite well. So, if I may be so bold, don’t feel like you need to leave a tip if you’re already paying for the plate and silverware you eat with.
Who ever thought the art of eating a meal could get so complicated?
