Eating with young teens

In Italy bars are like cafes, anyone can eat/drink there. Some places offers some chips/peanuts with a drink but it's something just to snack on, it's not a meal. There are some places that offer an appertivo - a small buffett with typically an alcoholic drink. There is usually a minimum price for the drink + buffet and I have ordered a non-alcoholic drink as my drink.

Curious to know where you read that, and for which country. I haven't seen anything like a happy hour buffet similar to the US ,except for a some substantial snacks in a business oriented hotel in Milan. A restaurant in the Dordogne gave my son a dish of ice cream once, and a Paris restaurant gave the same kid about 4 refills of milk, but that's it for free food. Am I going to the wrong places?

It's pretty common in Italy. It's pretty much just snack foods and the size of the spread can vary but I have seen crostini, bruschetta and foccocia in some bars along with the chips, olives and corn nuts. I don't do it but have seen some folks just come in and grab a few handfuls of food without ordering a drink.

We were reading about "enoteche" (wine bars) and wondered if the teens could also enter. Saw a very good article about these in Milan in the cooking magazine "La Cucina Italiana." Thanks for the info. If anyone else has more info, we would appreciate it!

Yes teens can enter wine bars. For anyone unfamiliar with the appertivo: http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/rome-tip-aperitivo-hot-spots-on-a-budget.html and http://www.venere.com/blog/rome-aperitif-bars/

There's no restrictions on kids going to these types of places. If you wanted to order a glass of wine for your kids no one would say anything either.