I have been out the whole morning visiting the archeological sites of the ancient city of Aquileia. I may have not heard about this city before but it was one of the Roman empire’s most important cities. It was hard to believe that I only started my Northern Italy trip this morning. It was a great start to my visit but I think I need to keep moving. In all that touring, I realized that it was already past noon and I needed to find a place to have lunch. On the way to the River Port of Aquileia, I saw a restaurant not too far away and I thought that I should try to see if they are any good. At least the reviews say they were good.

Ristorante La Capannina is a restaurant not too far away from the River Port of Aquileia. I still made my way back to the car first before driving back all the way to the restaurant. That way I can leave as soon as I am finished with lunch. I went in the restaurant and realized that it was a big high end and I actually almost backed out but I reluctantly went in because I was already being ushered in. The restaurant was beautifully done and there were several tables inside. I think this would be a place for people from Aquileia to eat if they have a celebration.

I got to familiarize myself with the Italian menu and found out that there are usually the primi and the secondi. As the names might imply, these would be the first and second dishes. The primi is not the appetizer, that is called something else. The primi is literally the first course, usually something lighter, while the secondi can be considered the mains and it would be more substantial. I was watching out for my wallet and thought that I couldn’t afford to do a two course meal for now. I went for a secondi of grilled fish.

I know was in Italy but I try to make it a point to eat non-pasta or non-pizza dishes whenever I can. In my mind, pasta and pizza are too easy to access anywhere that I won’t want to be waste a meal eating something that I might even make. I know, I’m not an Italian chef nor am I a whatever kind of chef either but the point is, I would try to avoid pasta or pizza whenever I can if only to sample other dishes which Italy has to offer.

As for my meal? It was honestly nothing special about it. It was perfectly grilled fish and the flavor isn’t anything special. I guess I should expect this since you can’t really grill fish that many ways. It was seasoned perfectly and there weren’t a lot of bones. The fish in this case is turbot, which I have never heard of. It is one type of those flat fish and thankfully isn’t that bony. I’ve had similar fish before and the meat tends to be quite tender and sweet. This was no exception. I think for the price it was a okay since this is fish in Italy, so the price might probably be standard here. Apart from the price, there wasn’t much for me to complain about. If you live in Aquileia, I think this would be a nice place to bring family and friends to. For travelers on a budget, there are more affordable places in town.

One final thing to know about eating out in Italy is the coperto. This is commonly added to the bill whenever eating at a restaurant. I tried to send back appetizers which I don’t really like or even want, partly to get out of paying for it, but that is actually part of the coperto whether I consume it or not. This is a common thing here and there is no getting away from it. One may think of it as a tip or probably just a cover or service charge. I rationalized that at least with coperto, you actually get food. Over the next few days I would be eating in Italy, I have come to accept it as a part of eating here. It is not a massive amount just something you need to factor in whenever you decide to go out.

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