Asking about any ongoing promotions or special menus – Restaurant reservations Part 3 (Advanced) in Italian

❓🤝

Mi dica.

mee DEE-ka

How can I help you?

💬 Literally "tell me", in the polite form used with strangers. It's the standard way staff on the phone or at a counter invite you to say what you need.

See breakdown →

🙋‍♂️📖

Vorrei prenotare

vohr-RAY preh-noh-TAH-reh

I'd like to book

💬 Vorrei is the polite "I would like", softer than voglio "I want". Put any action after it unchanged: vorrei ordinare "I'd like to order".

See breakdown →

📅

Venerdì

veh-nehr-DEE

On Friday

💬 Italian uses no word for "on" before a day. Venerdì alone means "on Friday".

See breakdown →

📅🌙

Venerdì sera

veh-nehr-DEE SEH-rah

Friday evening

See breakdown →

🙋‍♂️📖📅🌙

Vorrei prenotare per venerdì sera

vohr-RAY preh-noh-TAH-reh pehr veh-nehr-DEE SEH-rah

I'd like to book for Friday evening

🇮🇹 Italians eat dinner late, and Friday and Saturday fill up early. Booking a few days ahead by phone is normal, even at modest places.

See breakdown →

❓📜✨

Qualche menù speciale

kwal-keh meh-NOO speh-CHAH-leh

Any special menu

💬 Qualche means "some" or "any", but the word after it always stays singular, even when you mean several: qualche piatto "some dishes".

See breakdown →

⏳📍

In questo periodo

een KWEH-stoh peh-REE-oh-doh

At the moment / in this period

🇮🇹 Restaurants often run seasonal menus built around truffles, mushrooms or game. Asking what's on in questo periodo is a natural way to find them.

See breakdown →

📜👅

Il menù degustazione

eel meh-NOO deh-goo-stah-TSYOH-neh

The tasting menu

💬 Italian puts the describing word second: menù degustazione is literally "menu tasting". Same pattern: menù bambini "children's menu".

See breakdown →

🍄

Al tartufo

ahl tar-TOO-foh

With truffle

💬 al is a + il, and on menus it means "made with" or "flavoured with". Swap in other ingredients: al pomodoro "with tomato", ai funghi "with mushrooms".

See breakdown →

📜👅🍄

Il menù degustazione al tartufo

eel meh-NOO deh-goo-stah-TSYOH-neh ahl tar-TOO-foh

The truffle tasting menu

See breakdown →

5️⃣🍽️

Cinque portate

CHEEN-kweh por-TAH-teh

Five courses

💬 portata is a course in a meal, from portare "to bring": it's what gets brought to the table. Singular is una portata.

See breakdown →

💶

A cinquantacinque euro

ah cheen-kwan-tah-CHEEN-kweh EH-oo-roh

For fifty-five euros

💬 Use a for a price: a dieci euro "for ten euros". euro never changes for plural: un euro, due euro.

See breakdown →

5️⃣🍽️💶

Cinque portate a cinquantacinque euro

CHEEN-kweh por-TAH-teh ah cheen-kwan-tah-CHEEN-kweh EH-oo-roh

Five courses for fifty-five euros

See breakdown →

🍷🚫➕

Vini esclusi

VEE-nee eh-SKLOO-zee

Wine not included

💬 esclusi "excluded" matches vini, so it ends in -i. Its opposite works the same way: vini inclusi "wine included".

See breakdown →

❓📅✅

È disponibile anche il venerdì?

eh dis-po-NEE-bi-le an-keh eel veh-nehr-DEE

Is it also available on Fridays?

💬 il venerdì, with il, means "on Fridays" in general. Without il, venerdì means this coming Friday.

See breakdown →

☝️

Solo

SO-lo

Only

See breakdown →

📅🔸

Solo in certi giorni

SO-lo een CHEHR-tee JOR-nee

Only on certain days

See breakdown →

❓📅✅❓📅🔸

È disponibile anche il venerdì, o solo in certi giorni?

eh dis-po-NEE-bi-le an-keh eel veh-nehr-DEE oh SO-lo een CHEHR-tee JOR-nee

Is it available on Fridays too, or only on certain days?

See breakdown →

😔

Purtroppo

poor-TROH-poh

Unfortunately

See breakdown →

📅🚫

Il venerdì no

eel veh-nehr-DEE no

Not on Fridays

💬 Putting no at the end is a quick way to rule something out: il pesce no "not the fish", oggi no "not today".

See breakdown →

😞📅🚫

Purtroppo il venerdì no

poor-TROH-poh eel veh-nehr-DEE no

Unfortunately not on Fridays

See breakdown →

📅2️⃣➡️4️⃣

Dal martedì al giovedì

dahl mar-teh-DEE ahl joh-veh-DEE

From Tuesday to Thursday

💬 "From... to..." is dal... al..., where da + il becomes dal and a + il becomes al. Same pattern with dates: dal primo al dieci "from the 1st to the 10th".

See breakdown →

☝️📅2️⃣➡️4️⃣

Solo dal martedì al giovedì

SO-lo dahl mar-teh-DEE ahl joh-veh-DEE

Only from Tuesday to Thursday

See breakdown →

🏖️📅

Nel fine settimana

nel FEE-neh set-tee-MAH-nah

At the weekend

💬 nel is in + il. fine settimana is literally "end of week", and you'll also hear the English weekend.

See breakdown →

📜🦐🐟

Il menù di pesce

eel meh-NOO dee PEH-sheh

The seafood menu

See breakdown →

😔💔

Ah, peccato.

ah pek-KAH-toh

Oh, that's a shame.

See breakdown →

📝✅

Va ordinato

vah or-dee-NAH-toh

It has to be ordered

💬 va + a word like ordinato means "has to be done": va pagato "has to be paid", va prenotato "has to be booked".

See breakdown →

🍽️👥

Da tutto il tavolo

dah TOOT-toh eel TAH-vo-lo

By the whole table

🇮🇹 Tasting and set menus in Italy are often for the whole table only. It's worth asking before you book a group.

See breakdown →

🍽️👥❓🦐📋

E il menù di pesce va ordinato da tutto il tavolo?

eh eel meh-NOO dee PEH-sheh vah or-dee-NAH-toh dah TOOT-toh eel TAH-vo-lo

And does the whole table have to order the seafood menu?

See breakdown →

✅

Sì

see

Yes

💬 The accent matters: sì means "yes", while si without it is a different little word meaning "oneself".

See breakdown →

🍴👥

I commensali

ee kohm-mehn-SAH-lee

The diners

🇮🇹 commensali is the slightly formal word staff use. Customers usually just say persone "people": siamo in quattro persone.

See breakdown →

🍴👥

Da tutti i commensali

dah TOOT-tee ee kohm-mehn-SAH-lee

By all the diners

See breakdown →

✅🍴👥

Sì, da tutti i commensali.

see dah TOOT-tee ee kohm-mehn-SAH-lee

Yes, by all the diners.

See breakdown →

🤔🍲⚠️

Se ci sono intolleranze

seh chee SOH-noh een-tohl-leh-RAHN-tseh

If there are any food intolerances

💬 ci sono means "there are", and c'è means "there is": c'è un menù speciale? "is there a special menu?"

See breakdown →

↪️

Però

peh-ROH

However

💬 però can go in the middle of a sentence, set off by commas, like English "though". The accent matters: stress falls on the end (peh-ROH).

See breakdown →

🔄🍲

Possiamo adattare qualche piatto

pos-SYAH-moh ah-daht-TAH-reh kwal-keh PYAHT-toh

We can adapt some dishes

See breakdown →

⚠️🍲↪️🔄🍽️

Se ci sono intolleranze, però, possiamo adattare qualche piatto.

seh chee SOH-noh een-tohl-leh-RAHN-tseh peh-ROH pos-SYAH-moh ah-daht-TAH-reh kwal-keh PYAHT-toh

If there are intolerances, though, we can adapt some dishes.

See breakdown →

👌

Perfetto

per-FET-toh

Perfect

See breakdown →

👤🚫🌾

Una di noi è celiaca

OO-na dee noi eh cheh-LEE-ah-kah

One of us has coeliac disease

💬 una and celiaca end in -a because the person is a woman. For a man it would be uno di noi è celiaco.

See breakdown →

👍👤🚫🌾

Perfetto, perché una di noi è celiaca.

per-FET-toh per-KEH OO-na dee noi eh cheh-LEE-ah-kah

Perfect, because one of us is coeliac.

🇮🇹 Italy is very aware of coeliac disease, and many restaurants handle gluten-free requests well. Saying celiaco or celiaca is taken more seriously than just saying you avoid gluten.

See breakdown →

➡️

Allora

ah-lloh-rah

Then

See breakdown →

📅4️⃣

Prenoterei per quattro

preh-noh-teh-RAY pehr KWAH-troh

I'd book for four

💬 The -ei ending means "I would", which softens a request: prenoterei "I'd book", prenderei "I'd have". It's the same ending as in vorrei.

See breakdown →

🕣

Alle otto e mezza

AH-leh OT-toh eh MED-dzah

At half past eight

💬 Times use alle because you're counting hours, which are plural. The exception is one o'clock: all'una.

See breakdown →

📅4️⃣🗓️🕣

Allora prenoterei per quattro, venerdì alle otto e mezza.

ahl-LOH-rah preh-noh-teh-RAY pehr KWAH-troh veh-nehr-DEE AH-leh OT-toh eh MED-dzah

So I'd book for four, Friday at half past eight.

💬 For clock times, use alle + the hour: alle otto "at eight". Add e mezza for half past, or e un quarto "quarter past".

See breakdown →

👍

Benissimo

beh-NEES-see-mo

Very good

💬 Adding -issimo boosts a word: bene becomes benissimo. It works on many describing words too: buono becomes buonissimo "really delicious".

See breakdown →

📝🚫🌾

Le segno anche la celiachia

leh SEHN-yoh an-keh lah cheh-lyah-KEE-ah

I'll also note the coeliac disease for you

💬 le here means "for you", in the polite form, and goes before the verb: le segno "I note for you". Same pattern: le porto il menù "I'll bring you the menu".

See breakdown →

👍📝🚫🌾

Benissimo, le segno anche la celiachia.

beh-NEES-see-mo leh SEHN-yoh an-keh lah cheh-lyah-KEE-ah

Very good, I'll also note the coeliac disease for you.

See breakdown →

📛❓

A che nome?

ah keh NOH-meh

Under what name?

See breakdown →

🙏

Scusi

SKOO-zee

Excuse me

💬 Scusi is the formal form. With friends you'd say scusa.

See breakdown →

📛❓🙏

A che nome, scusi?

ah keh NOH-meh SKOO-zee

What name is it under, please?

🇮🇹 Tacking scusi onto a question is a courteous softener here, closer to "please" than an apology.

See breakdown →

🙏💯

Grazie mille

GRAH-tsee-eh mee-leh

Thank you very much

💬 Literally "a thousand thanks": mille "thousand" never changes form here.

See breakdown →

ℹ️✅

Per tutte le informazioni

pehr TOOT-teh leh een-for-mah-TSYOH-nee

For all the information

💬 Italian makes "information" plural: le informazioni, with tutte and le matching it. One single piece is un'informazione, as in Posso chiedere un'informazione? "Can I ask something?"

See breakdown →

🙏ℹ️

Grazie mille per tutte le informazioni.

GRAH-tsye mee-leh pehr TOOT-teh leh een-for-mah-TSYOH-nee

Thank you so much for all the information.

🇮🇹 Grazie mille is the everyday warm thank-you in Italy and doesn't sound over the top. It's a natural way to wrap up a call with a restaurant after they've explained their menus or offers.

See breakdown →

🙅‍♂️

Si figuri

see fee-GOO-ree

Not at all

💬 si figuri is the polite form, used with someone you'd address formally. With friends it becomes figurati.

See breakdown →

👋🗓️

A venerdì

ah veh-nehr-DEE

See you Friday

💬 a plus a time or day is how Italians say "see you then". Swap in others: a domani "see you tomorrow", a presto "see you soon", a stasera "see you tonight".

See breakdown →

🌙✨

Buona serata!

BWOH-nah seh-RAH-tah

Have a good evening!

🇮🇹 Say buona serata when leaving or hanging up, wishing someone a good evening ahead. buonasera "good evening" is the greeting you use on arrival.

See breakdown →

👋🗓️🌙

A venerdì allora, buona serata!

ah veh-nehr-DEE ah-lloh-rah BWOH-nah seh-RAH-tah

See you Friday then, have a good evening!

💬 buona serata is said when parting and wishes someone a pleasant evening ahead. buonasera is the greeting you use when arriving or answering the phone.

See breakdown →

🙏↩️

Grazie, altrettanto.

GRAH-tsye ahl-tret-TAHN-toh

Thanks, you too.

🇮🇹 altrettanto "likewise" is the natural reply when someone wishes you a good evening or meal. It works the same in formal and casual situations.

See breakdown →

Restaurant reservations Part 3 (Advanced): Asking about any ongoing promotions or special menus.

Key Phrases

Skills You'll Learn

Lesson Roleplay

Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases

Guides for Italian learners

More from "Restaurant reservations Part 3 (Advanced)"

Confirming the reservation details, including date, time, and number of guests.

Requesting accommodations for special occasions, such as birthdays or anniversaries.

Similar Italian Lessons

Essential communication

Getting around and shopping

Dining out

Essential communication

Getting around and shopping

Dining out

Get the Full Learning Experience

Pronunciation Feedback

Spaced Repetition

Immersive Roleplaying

Lessons for Your Situation

What Learners Are Saying