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Eating in Europe is a bit different than in the USA. From eating times to length of meal to freebies and so much more. What Americans should prepare for when they travel to Europe and plan out their food tours and meals while they travel.
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0:00
Hey there fellow hungry travelers, Mark here with Walters World and today we're here in Stockholm, Sweden, and today we're going to talk about are some of the European food etiquettes that American tourists should know before they come to Europe so they have a better time devouring all the food here, whether it's the meatballs here in Sweden or the pasta in Italy or, I don't know, the pub grub in the British Isles
0:20
because I want to tell you one thing you need to know is when I see American tourists
0:24
one thing I see them get upset about is the idea of no free refills on soda
0:29
Yes, I'm sorry, my friends. Refills are not a thing here. Sometimes you might find it at Burger King here or there or something like that
0:35
But in general, Europe, no free refills. So when you get your soft drink, whether it's with your kids or yourself
0:41
know that that's the one you're going to get. You have to pay for each one, which might explain why you don't find so much ice in the glasses
0:48
and why Europeans don't like all that ice because they know more ice equals less soda
0:52
And I want that full glass of soda. So that's why number one is the no free refills because that's where I've seen the most, like
0:56
upset little tourists out there from the U.S. Another thing I think is important for Americans to know
1:01
is not everything that's on the table is for free. Hey, go to the U.S., they put bread and butter on the table
1:07
It's free. They put chips and salsa on the table. You ain't until you're about to explode and then your tacos come
1:11
Not everywhere in Europe is everything free. Now, some places, bread and butter is free. Like here, you're going, I'm here in Stockholm
1:17
where I just had lunch and they actually had a table. They're like, hey, there's a bread and butter table back there
1:21
If you want to get it yourself, it's totally fine. It comes with a meal. Oh, cool. But other places like in Portugal
1:26
you got to pay for that cheese that's on there, that ham that's on there. So just know not everything could be free
1:32
that you think might be free. So it's always good to ask. And when you sit down, another thing I think you need to realize
1:37
is the etiquette with water. Now, tap water is going to be fine anywhere you go in Europe
1:40
and you can order tap water. It's not a problem. However, a lot of places will ask you
1:44
would you like still water or sparkling water? And you might think, oh, no, sparkling I have to pay for. Still water should be tap water. It should be free
1:51
No, no, no, no, no. They're going to want you to pay for that. You got to pay for that one. So if you want tap water, you've got to ask for tap water, OK? That will be free
1:58
And again, here's my sweet example. They actually had them on the side like, oh, if you want water, just go over there and get it
2:02
Other places will bring it to you. But just have a heads up for it. Because if you start getting all those bottles of water, that two to four to five to six euros per bottle start to add up
2:11
Now, one of the things there's a big difference in Europe versus the U.S. is the tipping culture
2:14
Now, in the US, you know, people tip 15, 20 percent on every sit down kind of meal, right
2:20
Well, here in Europe, there's a lot of places where you don't tip or if you do, it's only a very little bit
2:24
Like here in Sweden, you don't tip. Finland, you don't tip. Germany, you might give them a few extra coins
2:30
Portugal, you might leave some, but you don't have to. But in general, tipping isn't really a thing
2:34
And if you're paying with credit card, they don't usually give you a spot to put the number in
2:38
So if you do want to leave a tip, because honestly, no one's going to stop you from leaving a tip if you want to
2:42
You need to tell them so when they put the number into the credit card machine, it goes into there
2:48
But I'll tell you, don't think that your credit card tip will actually go to your waiters here
2:53
So it's better to give them cash tips here in Europe versus the credit card thing
2:56
But in general, it's not a tipping culture thing here in Europe. Which leads into our next kind of thing, which is the customer isn't necessarily king when it comes to eating out in Europe
3:06
You want a special order? You want to change things up? It would more likely to say no here
3:10
However, I will give you this, if you do have allergies, they're awesome about that here in Europe
3:14
And that's a really great thing. But changing the menu items usually, no, they're not going to do that
3:19
If you are upset about things, oh, they aren't going to really care
3:23
Because service here, they make a good living wage. They make a good wage and they don't depend on your tips
3:29
So their service isn quite up to what you probably expecting Now certain places you do get better service like I find in Italy and Portugal people are very friendly So that kind of comes across here in Scandinavia
3:40
You know, the people are a little bit more distant, more reserved, and that kind of goes in their service. But just know, customers are not king, okay
3:45
Just have that in your mind. And one time I've seen people get kind of upset with that
3:50
It's another thing you need to realize is don't be surprised with how you order your pizza
3:56
because in the U.S. if you order a pepperoni pizza it's a pizza that just has pepperoni on it that's
4:01
it however I remember when I lived in Finland and I ordered a pepperoni pizza and it came with peppers
4:06
and tuna fish and slices of salami and I'm like what's going on just realize your pizza might have
4:12
a name to it that has different ingredients so read the ingredient list and that goes for a lot
4:16
of things you think are traditional foods like I remember one time one of my friends she got a
4:21
tomato salad now having lived in Europe and having lived in Portugal where this was I knew that a
4:25
tomato salad was literally just cut up tomatoes. She thought it was like a lettuce salad with some
4:30
tomatoes and she had tears in her eyes. So just make sure you realize that the nomenclature is
4:35
very important that you read all the things there. Now, one of those things I love and hate about
4:40
going out to eat in Europe is the idea that, well, eating out isn't a marathon, which is awesome
4:45
You're there to enjoy. You're there to eat. You're there to talk with your friends. It's much more
4:50
of an experience than a rush to shovel down all the food and get the next table and get the tables
4:54
turned over. So if you have a table, you have a reservation, no one's going to rush you. But that
4:59
can be frustrating when you want to order like, hey, could I order or could I get the bill? Those
5:03
kind of things you need to realize that it takes a longer time. So if you're in a hurry, make sure
5:08
you let them know, hey, I've got a theater performance I got to go to, we got to go catch a train in a little bit. So they kind of go a little bit faster, because that's where I see
5:14
some people get upset, because I'll see them looking around, where's that waiter? I want to get my bill. I want another beer. What's going on here? It's just things are a little bit different
5:22
And I know it kind of goes on with that customer is not king, but I think the marathon versus the
5:27
sprint when it comes to eating and the experience of eating is important to know the difference
5:31
And that's why when you go to a restaurant, you see that a table has a reserve sign on it, and it's relatively early in the evening. You might want to ask them, hey, when is that
5:37
reservation? Because a lot of times they only have one reservation for the day. They only have one happen in case people go too long. And they're like, oh, that reservation is at nine o'clock
5:44
I'm like, well, it's six o'clock now. What if I promise to get my whole family, we'll even be out
5:49
of here within an hour. And we'll be out of here by seven. So you have two hours like to make more
5:53
money off that table or do whatever, leave it there. Okay, now make sure you're out in time
5:58
But that's one of the things I've actually done quite a few times like, hey, we're going to be eating quickly. I just want to feed the kids. We'll get out of here before the eight o'clock
6:04
sitting or the nine o'clock sitting. So that's something you can use. That's like a little hack
6:08
I do to sometimes get a seat at a restaurant and knowing that I'm not going to have the three hour
6:12
dinner, but only like the 35, 45 hour long dinner. So that could be something to think about
6:16
Because you know in the U.S. they're like turn those tables as much as they can like until you're there to get it
6:21
Then they put the reserve sign down. Now if you're traveling Europe with their kids I think another important thing to mention in terms of the food etiquette and going out to eat is don't really expect a kid's menu
6:30
Well some places it's getting a bit better like if I'm in the UK I'll see a kid's menu here and there
6:34
Even in France I see it pop a little bit. But a lot of places there isn't a kid menu
6:38
Now you can ask them make a smaller portion of a meal that's on the menu for the kids
6:43
Now, there's no guarantee they'll give you a smaller price, but they'll give you a smaller portion size
6:47
That's one thing I think is important to realize, like the sharing aspect of things with your kids
6:52
Because, yeah, getting the dino nuggets, it's not going to pop up on the menu, okay
6:56
Maybe it does somewhere. I'm sure some of the cows are like, well, I had dino nuggets to be chins at this barbecue place
7:02
Yes it can happen But in general it a little bit tougher And I think going along with that kind of serving size idea I don think you have to realize in Europe the serving sizes are much smaller You might understand why they are a lot smaller than we Americans
7:16
because the serving size just aren't meant to feed an entire army for the week
7:19
They're meant for that one meal. Like I'm here. I had my meatballs and mashed potatoes and lingonberries with cucumber stuff
7:26
It was a perfectly portioned meal that I'm like, oh, well, I feel very, I'm not full
7:30
but I'm like perfectly satisfied. Like, satisfied is the greatest way to talk about food here in Europe
7:34
You're so satisfied afterwards, but I don't feel like I'm going to explode and blow up. Like, when you go out and eat in the U.S., it's like, my God, how do I take it all home
7:41
And that's one thing you need to realize is it's not as much of a, like, portion size that you're going to be sharing between two people some places
7:48
Someplace it is, but not all the time, okay? But it's more smaller sizes, also smaller drink sizes
7:54
Even if you go to fast food places, when you're thinking, I'm going to get a large Coke, the large Coke is probably the size of a medium Coke in the U.S
8:00
So be aware of that. And also, one thing, this isn't even in every place
8:04
Like here, you wouldn't see that in Sweden, but someplace in Europe. The idea of a shared table
8:09
I know living in Portugal, if anybody ordered anything, your friends would come and try some of it
8:14
They wanted to try it. They wouldn't even ask. And that's where I saw some people like, what the hell
8:18
My students were slapping people's hands down. I'm like, no, no, that's kind of normal sometimes here with friends and stuff
8:23
So be ready for possible sharing of food that you didn't realize was going to be there
8:28
Which can be good because then you can try the other stuff. but don't go overboard because the portion sizes, like if you eat half their pizza
8:34
that's not cool. Okay, not cool. That's not cool anywhere. Now another thing I think is important
8:38
in terms of the etiquette is how you pay. Now getting the bill, bill's at the end, but you'll
8:43
notice that getting the bill in different places, sometimes it's straightforward. Some places you
8:47
pay beforehand. Some places like you just get the waiter's attention, could I pay please? Oh sure
8:52
And then you'll pay and go and it could be either pay with cash or card. Visa, MasterCard are
8:56
everywhere. Tap and Go is really big. Some place like here in Sweden, like there's places that
9:01
don't even take cash. But there's other places I've been to like in Germany, where they only
9:05
took cash. So you got to be careful with that. Know what way you can pay because you're coming
9:09
with your Discover card and American Express. Your eating options are very, very limited
9:14
And just in general with the bill, it can be a true cultural experience. Like in Greece
9:19
if you ask for the bill, like, oh, you don't want anything more. Do you want a coffee? Like, no, I'm OK. I need to go. Can I get the bill? Sure, sure. And then they show up with like
9:25
a coffee anyway. And then they bring some yogurt and honey for you or a little cake or, of course
9:31
a shot of Uso. And you're like, I wanted to leave like half an hour ago. And they keep bringing me
9:34
stuff. Yeah, that's all free at the end. But then they're like, OK, now you can pay. But it is an
9:39
experience when you're paying at different places, whether it's trying to get the waiter's attention to let them know that you're done or waiting to make sure you have your coffee. I mean, it's just
9:45
it's a thing. And so don't get frustrated because that's where I see tourists sometimes get mad
9:49
is they're like, I wanted to leave because I want to ask for my bill and it's time to go
9:53
I want my bill. And then we didn't leave for another 30 minutes. That's more of a thing here
9:57
It goes to that like marathon versus Sprint when it comes to eating. Now for my vegetarian and vegan friends, I'm going to tell you right now, you have way
10:03
more options here in Europe. Whereas like in the US, I find sometimes there's like, oh, there's a vegetarian option on a
10:09
menu and maybe there's a vegan option, maybe, but usually have to go to like a specialty
10:13
restaurant for that. I find throughout Europe, vegetarian and vegan options show up a lot more often on normal menus
10:19
So that's kind of a nice thing. And also you'll notice the food isn't as colorful here in Europe. Like, you see your Fanta
10:24
and here it's like a dull orange. And you see it in the US, it's like, glows in the dark. You're
10:30
like, oh my gosh. And you'll notice the coloring here is much more like, tempered down, right
10:35
Because they don have all the like the GMO stuff and the extra additives and things I mean you can look online for all the stuff that you can eat in Europe but you can eat in the U And so that one of those things you got to think about So you really do feel like your food a little bit healthier when you here You don have as much of that greasy
10:48
grossness, right? Now, another small etiquette difference I want to talk about is actually how
10:52
you hold your utensils and how you use your utensils. Now, if I have a pizza in the U.S.
10:57
it's already cut from me and I'm eating the slices with my hand. If I got a burger, I'm eating it like this. Yes, people eat like that here too. But you'll notice sometimes people use a fork and
11:04
knife with their hamburger like in scandinavia i've seen it a lot of times with pizza you go to
11:11
italy you're like wait they don't cut in the slice like the triangle stuff well you can get the buy
11:15
the slice but most of the time you're cutting with the fork and knife you know you have that but also it's how you hold the fork and knife in the u.s you know you poke it with your fork and
11:22
then you cut it with your knife and then you put your knife down then you switch hands you take the fork then you put it in your mouth europeans are much more efficient fork cut fork mouth mouth they
11:31
They don't put the knife down and switch hands. That's one of those things you'll see. So look for it next time you're here
11:36
You'll be like, oh, you're right. There's more shoveling here than switching
11:40
Interesting. And then I want to talk about this etiquette difference. And that's one of the things that I see a lot of people's hearts, you know, get broken
11:48
when they come here. And that is your idea of traditional food from a country might be very different than
11:54
the actual traditional food in the country you're going to. Because think about it. If you're in Wisconsin, you have all the Swedish immigrants that came here in the 1800s, right
12:01
Well, that's 200 years ago. No one's eaten the lütka fish here in Sweden anymore
12:06
I mean, some people, yeah, but it's not a thing. Whereas there, it's like, oh, you have the smoked fish. You have to have that
12:10
That's a thing. You know, there's a thing for my great, great, great, great, great grandparents, you know
12:15
when the Bingstens came over. Yeah, that's totally different, right? And that's another thing
12:19
It's like your spaghetti and meatballs, which I talk about ad nauseum. I apologize, but it's such a great example
12:24
In the U.S., it's always spaghetti and meatballs. That's how we roll. Well, in Italy, spaghetti is a first plate and meatballs are a second plate
12:32
And so they come at different times. They're not mixed together. And for the people that are going to say, well, there are some places to do that
12:37
Yes, there's like some place to do it. But in general, you don't see it. It's not a thing there
12:42
And that's just it. You kind of get disappointed. Like, oh, it wasn't the smorgasbord like I remembered back at home
12:48
And it's not like the spaghetti that I remember my Nona made it back in the day
12:53
Look, it's just different kind of stuff. And don't be disappointed by it. Just know there's different kind of things
12:56
my grandma she made the best chicken and noodles there was chicken and she's like and it's the
13:02
schpetzel the german noodles that my grandma my oma made for me that came over from the old country
13:07
i'm like oh it's so good so i remember coming to germany the first time i'm like oh where's the
13:11
schpetzel and the chicken and they're like schpetzel with chicken what kind of sick perverted person
13:16
are you schpetzel with cheese or schpetzel with bacon or something but not schpetzel with chicken
13:21
what weirdo but the thing was i was so used to that i was like heartbroken it actually took me a
13:26
couple years to really get back into eating the German noodles spetzle when I got to Germany
13:30
because I was so disappointed by it. So just realize you're going to have some of these differences. And, you know, what are some of the things you've noticed over the years when you
13:37
travel to Europe and comparing eating out in the US versus eating out in Europe? What are some of
13:42
those etiquettes you want to kind of think about? Because another thing I think is an etiquette one is actually looking at your phone usage. Here in Europe, people don't stare at their phone while
13:50
they eat. They're more interacting with people. Now, they'll look at their phone occasionally. I'm not saying they don't do it, but you'll see that people are more interacting while they're eating
13:57
versus sitting on their phone doom scrolling or, you know, it's a family of four and everyone's on
14:00
their phone. You don't have that as much here. So that's a nice little thing too. So what are those
14:05
little food etiquette differences you've noticed over the years in your travels? Let us know in the
14:08
comments below so people can have a better time enjoying the great food here in Europe or the U.S
14:12
or anywhere around the world. I wish y'all the best. I'll say bye from here in Stockholm, Sweden
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