That feeling when your plate arrives at an Italian restaurant and you instantly regret your order – we’ve all been there. Maybe it’s the $24 margherita pizza that’s basically bread with tomato sauce, or that $28 pasta dish you could’ve made at home for $5. Well, you’re not alone. Restaurant pros and Italian chefs have some strong opinions about which dishes are actually worth your money and which ones you should skip. Ready to save some cash on your next Italian dinner out? Here’s what you need to know.
Margherita pizza is rarely worth the high price tag
When you’re at an Italian restaurant and see margherita pizza on the menu for $20 or more, you might want to think twice. Sure, it’s a classic Italian dish, but it’s also one of the simplest pizzas out there. We’re talking about just three main ingredients: tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves on pizza dough. That’s it.
Many chefs agree that margherita pizza, while delicious when done right, is often marked up significantly compared to its actual production cost. The ingredients are relatively inexpensive, and the preparation is straightforward. At home, you could make this same pizza for about $5-7 worth of ingredients.
What makes the restaurant markup even harder to swallow is that many places don’t use premium ingredients for their margherita pizzas. They might use pre-shredded mozzarella instead of fresh buffalo mozzarella, or dried basil instead of fresh leaves. The sauce might come from a can rather than being made from scratch with San Marzano tomatoes.
If you really want to order pizza at an Italian restaurant, look for options with more complex toppings or specialty ingredients that would be hard to recreate at home. These dishes often provide better value for your money since they involve more preparation and higher-quality ingredients that justify the restaurant markup.
Skip the overpriced chicken parmesan
Chicken parmesan might be a crowd favorite, but here’s something that might surprise you – it’s not even a real Italian dish. This creation is actually Italian-American, born in the streets of New York City, not the kitchens of Naples or Rome. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, many restaurants charge premium prices for what’s essentially a basic breaded chicken cutlet with sauce and cheese.
Professional chefs often avoid ordering chicken parmesan at Italian restaurants because they know it’s one of the highest-markup items on the menu. The ingredients – chicken breast, breadcrumbs, sauce, and cheese – are relatively inexpensive, yet restaurants often charge $25-30 or more for this dish.
Many restaurants use pre-breaded frozen chicken cutlets to save time in the kitchen. The sauce is often made in large batches and stored, losing its fresh flavor over time. And the cheese? It’s usually the same pre-shredded mozzarella they use on pizzas, not the premium aged parmesan you might expect given the price.
If you’re craving Italian chicken dishes, consider ordering something more authentic like chicken marsala or chicken piccata. These dishes typically require more skill to prepare and often use fresher ingredients, making them a better value for your money. Plus, they’re harder to recreate at home, which makes them more worth ordering at a restaurant.
Basic pasta dishes that cost too much
Walking into an Italian restaurant and seeing spaghetti bolognese priced at $26 might make you do a double-take. And you should, because basic pasta dishes like this are often some of the most overpriced items on the menu. The math just doesn’t add up when you consider that a box of pasta costs about $2 and making meat sauce at home costs maybe $8-10.
Restaurant industry experts point out that simple pasta dishes like spaghetti bolognese, basic marinara, or plain alfredo sauce are incredibly cheap for restaurants to make. The profit margins on these dishes can be astronomical, sometimes marking up the price by 500% or more.
What’s worse is that many restaurants don’t even make their pasta fresh. They use the same dried pasta you can buy at the grocery store. The sauce might be made in advance and reheated, and some places even use pre-made sauce bases. This means you’re paying premium prices for food that’s not significantly better than what you could make at home.
Instead of ordering these basic pasta dishes, look for pasta options that feature fresh, house-made pasta or complex sauce preparations. Stuffed pasta like ravioli or tortellini, or dishes with seafood or multiple premium ingredients are more likely to be worth the higher price tag since they require more skill and better ingredients to prepare properly.
Garlic bread is not worth the markup
That basket of garlic bread might smell amazing when it arrives at your table, but at $8-12, it’s one of the biggest ripoffs in Italian restaurants. Think about it – it’s just bread (often pre-made or frozen), butter, garlic, and maybe some herbs. The cost to make it? Probably less than a dollar per serving.
Many restaurants use garlic bread as a way to mask lower-quality bread products. They might buy bulk frozen bread, slather it with garlic butter (often pre-made), and mark it up significantly. Some places even use powdered garlic instead of fresh, yet still charge premium prices.
Here’s something that might surprise you – garlic bread isn’t even traditionally Italian. In Italy, bread is typically served plain or with olive oil for dipping. The garlic bread we know is another Italian-American creation, yet restaurants often present it as authentic Italian cuisine to justify higher prices.
If you want bread with your meal, many Italian restaurants offer complimentary bread service. If not, consider ordering bruschetta instead. While it might cost more, it usually features fresh toppings and better quality ingredients that make it more worth the price. Or simply skip the bread altogether and save room for your main course.
Mozzarella sticks are not authentic or worth it
When you see mozzarella sticks on an Italian restaurant menu for $12-15, you might want to pause. Despite being a popular appetizer, mozzarella sticks are about as Italian as fortune cookies are Chinese. They’re an American invention that somehow got lumped into Italian restaurant menus, and they’re usually not worth the money.
Most restaurants use frozen, pre-made mozzarella sticks that cost them mere cents per piece. They simply heat them up and serve them with marinara sauce that often comes from a jar or food service container. Yet they charge premium prices for this simple appetizer.
The quality of cheese used in these pre-made mozzarella sticks is usually far from premium. Instead of fresh mozzarella, they typically contain processed cheese that’s designed to melt in a specific way. The breading is often made with cheap ingredients and designed for quick frying rather than flavor.
If you’re craving cheese at an Italian restaurant, consider ordering something more authentic like burrata or fresh mozzarella caprese when tomatoes are in season. These dishes showcase high-quality cheese and give you a better experience for your money. Plus, they’re more representative of actual Italian cuisine.
Carbonara dishes often disappoint
Pasta carbonara might seem like a safe choice, but many Italian restaurants in America serve a version that would make Roman chefs cringe. Real carbonara has just a few ingredients: pasta, eggs, pecorino cheese, guanciale (cured pork cheek), and black pepper. No cream, no peas, no chicken – yet many restaurants add these extras and still charge $20-25 for the dish.
Many chefs avoid ordering carbonara at restaurants because it’s often made incorrectly. Instead of using raw eggs that cook from the heat of the pasta (the traditional method), many places use heavy cream to create a sauce that’s easier to prepare in advance and less likely to scramble.
The quality of ingredients can also be questionable. Rather than guanciale, many restaurants use regular bacon or pancetta. The cheese might be pre-grated parmesan instead of freshly grated pecorino romano. These substitutions significantly reduce the cost for the restaurant while they still charge premium prices.
If you really want carbonara, look for restaurants that specifically advertise using traditional ingredients and methods. Better yet, save your money and learn to make it at home where you can control the quality of ingredients and preparation method. It’s not as hard as you might think!
Shrimp scampi rarely delivers value
Shrimp scampi sounds fancy, but it’s actually a pretty simple dish that restaurants often overcharge for. At its core, it’s just shrimp cooked in garlic, white wine, butter, and maybe some lemon juice. Yet many Italian restaurants charge $25-30 or more for what amounts to about $8-10 worth of ingredients.
Restaurant insiders note that many places overuse garlic to mask the quality of the shrimp. Some restaurants even use frozen shrimp that’s been sitting in their freezer for who knows how long. The excessive garlic helps hide any freezer taste or less-than-fresh flavors.
The portion sizes can also be disappointing. Many restaurants serve just 6-8 medium-sized shrimp in their scampi dishes, even though shrimp is relatively inexpensive, especially when bought in bulk as restaurants do. The rest of the plate is usually filled with pasta, which costs the restaurant just pennies.
When ordering seafood at Italian restaurants, consider dishes that showcase fresh fish or a variety of seafood, like cioppino or seafood fra diavolo. These dishes typically offer better value since they include multiple types of seafood and more complex preparations that justify their higher prices.
Fettuccine Alfredo misses the mark
The Fettuccine Alfredo served in most American Italian restaurants bears little resemblance to its Roman origins. The original dish, called fettuccine al burro, was simply pasta tossed with butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Today, restaurants serve a heavy cream-based version that costs them little to make but often carries a $20+ price tag.
Native Italian chefs point out that this Americanized version of Alfredo sauce is nowhere to be found in Italy. Many restaurants use pre-made sauce bases or heavy cream with pre-grated parmesan cheese, resulting in a gloopy, heavy sauce that’s a far cry from the light, silky original.
When chicken is added to make it “Chicken Alfredo,” the value proposition gets even worse. Many places use pre-cooked or frozen chicken breast pieces that are simply warmed up in the sauce. The pasta is often overcooked, and the whole dish can end up being a heavy, uninspired mess that’s not worth its price tag.
Instead of ordering Fettuccine Alfredo, look for pasta dishes that feature fresh, seasonal ingredients or house-made sauces. Dishes like penne arrabbiata or pasta al pomodoro might be simpler, but when made with quality ingredients, they offer much better value and a more authentic Italian experience.
Wine by the glass needs a second look
While not a dish, wine by the glass is one of the biggest money-wasters at Italian restaurants. A single glass of wine often costs what the restaurant paid for the entire bottle. When you see glasses priced at $12-15 each, remember that the bottle probably cost the restaurant $15-20 wholesale.
Industry experts reveal that restaurants typically price wine by the glass so that they recoup their bottle cost within the first two glasses sold. This means you’re paying a massive markup, sometimes as high as 400% over the restaurant’s cost.
There’s also the freshness issue to consider. Unless the restaurant uses a proper wine preservation system, that glass might come from a bottle that’s been open for days. Some restaurants even pre-pour wine during prep time, letting it sit for hours before service. This practice can affect the wine’s taste and aroma.
If you’re dining with others and plan to have more than one glass each, ordering a bottle is almost always the better value. Most bottles contain about five glasses, so sharing a bottle can save significant money compared to ordering individual glasses. Plus, you’re guaranteed a fresh pour from a newly opened bottle.
Next time you’re at an Italian restaurant, remember these tips. Skip the overpriced basics and seasonal-dependent dishes. Instead, focus on items that showcase the restaurant’s skill and quality ingredients – things that would be difficult or time-consuming to make at home. After all, going out for Italian food should be a treat, not a reason to regret spending your money. And remember, sometimes the simplest dishes, when made with care and proper ingredients, can be the most satisfying.
