Italians eat late (by Northern European standards) and take food timing seriously.
Plan your trip →Colazione (breakfast): 7–9am. At a bar: cornetto (croissant) + cappuccino, standing at the counter, €2–3. Takes 5 minutes. Italian breakfast is sweet, not savory. No eggs, no bacon, no toast. Pranzo (lunch): 12:30–2:30pm. The main meal (traditionally). Primo + secondo + fruit/dolce + caffè. Workers increasingly eat lighter (panino, insalata), but Sunday lunch is still the big event. Aperitivo: 6–8pm. The pre-dinner ritual. Spritz/Negroni + snacks. In Milan, the aperitivo buffet can replace dinner. Cena (dinner): 8–10pm. 7pm is early. 9pm is normal. 10pm is normal in the south. Restaurants open at 7:30pm but won’t be busy until 8:30–9pm.
Arriving at a restaurant at 6pm for dinner = eating alone in an empty room (or finding the kitchen closed). Arriving at 9pm = eating with Italians. Lunch at 11am = tourist cafeteria. Lunch at 1pm = real restaurant experience.