Aperitivo: happy hour 2.0
Standard happy hour in the Netherlands (and other countries) often means: get your second cocktail for free, or at least have a percentage of euros taken off your percentage. In Italy, they do it bigger and better. With aperitivo. That means snacks. And sometimes even a whole buffet.
Aperitivo was the discovery when I was in Italy with my girlfriends. We couldn’t be dragged away from the Milanese bars. And not because of the delicious cocktails or wines, but because of the chorizo, pizza and mozzarella they had to offer. Hello happy hour 2.0!
Before the meal
Aperitivo, the drink you have before a meal, is an Italian tradition intended to “open” your stomach for the food. Traditionally, an aperitivo is a low-alcohol drink (with little alcohol, in other words), such as a Spritz (made with prosecco, Aperol and sparkling water). But these days, during aperitivo, people drink anything they can find in the drinks cabinet – and team gin and tonic is very happy about that.
There is more
And instead of a discount on your drink, your aperitivo also comes with a snack. What you get to eat varies from restaurant to restaurant. Sometimes it’s a bowl of olives or fruit. But some restaurants really go all out: hot and cold buffets with, for example, pizza, prosciutto, pasta and mozzarella. Sometimes the selection of food is even so extensive that it makes a perfectly good substitute for dinner.
Where and when?
‘What time can I attack this amazing buffet with my drink in hand?’, we hear you thinking. Aperitivo usually takes place between seven and nine in the evening. In almost every bar (in the big cities) in Italy you’ll find some version of aperitivo. We know exactly where you’ll be found from now on at the end of the day, during your trip to Italy. Cheers!
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