bread in restaurants

It is not rude, just considered weird as every meal in Italy is eaten w bread . There is no need to eat bread at meals, it is just something that every person does.
You can solve that problem by eating out much less often. There are groceries and small places where you can get sandwiches and veggies n fruits and cheeses.

I was in Italy for the entire month of May and was never charged for bread. The Italians, for the most part ,are very laid back, and probably do not care if you eat bread or not.

As I understood it when we were in Italy last year, the "bread charge" is sort of a cover charge. You can eat the bread or not, but I think (and could be wrong) that you'll still be charged a couple of Euros. Keep in mind though, you don't have to tip (the cover helps pay the server's wage), so you should just look at the "bread charge" as your tip and ignore the bread if you want to.

Eat the bread and count your blessings. Put some sale and olivio on it.

Yes, we were charged "pan e coperto" -- bread and cover charge of €2 per person whether we ate the bread or not. So we did not leave a tip and the waiters didn't find that unusual at all.

I just had this conversation at a party last evening! An acquaintance protested, with indignation, that she was "ripped off" multiple times in Italy at restaurants, and that she didn't want any bread, and thought the charges were totally unreasonable.

It's called "pane e coperto", specifically "bread and cover" charges; figuring 2 people will spend about 40E for a great "sit down" lunch, a 2E cover charge (each) is a 10% tip.

And, by the way, the bread can be fantastic... and if you're on one of those "low carb" diets, just lose it for the duration of your trip- just walk, walk, walk and you'll burn off all that bread.

Thanks for the info. Believe me, I LOVE bread, just wasn't sure about the charge/tip. I didn't want to look ignorant re: the charge/tip.

We just spent two weeks in the Sorrento area and in Abruzzo. No bread charges anywhere we went.

The pane e Coberto charge, since it is both cover and bread, is usually obligatory. Honestly, I have never seen a place that charged one that wasn't. Plus, as pointed out above, the bread is good.

Say AMEN to the bread!! I brought along some zip lock bags and stealthy took my bread to eat as a snack. Hey, when dinner is late compared to US standards, that bread is mighty delicious to tide you over til 8 pm.

Watch out for Venice as the "coperto" charges can be quite high although they are clearly posted on the menu. We visited one of Rick Steve's recommended restaurants in Venice and the coperto was 5 Euro PER PERSON!!!

Jennifer,

On the menus it says "pan e coperto" and the charge is per person. But, you don't have to tip as there is usually a service charge. Enjoy the bread! You'll do enough walking to work it off!

Kay

So if there is no cover charge, then do you tip? Is the general rule of thumb not to tip or are there times when you should?

We returned last week - there for 2 weeks - not charged for bread.

I'm wondering the same thing, Sandy - I thought that pane e coperto and servizio charges were different and that you tipped only when a servizio (service charge) wasn't automatically added to the bill (unless, of course, the service and meal were outstanding and you'd like to show extra appreciation). Hmmmm.......

The "cover" charge for sitting at a table rather than standing at the bar area is not the service charge. And, while some of you think you have never been charged for pPane/bread, you most likely have if you ever sat down at a restaurant. You may not have even been served bread, but you sat. It might be listed as something different on your bill and could range from 1.50 - even 5 Euro depending upon location/city.

Now I did discover a few tiny breakfast/lunch spots that did not charge a cover charge. This was well advertised in their window and on the menu.