Do you take reservations or do you just come directly?
di-ret-ta-MEN-te — five syllables, stress on fourth.
When planning to visit a popular pizzeria and wanting to know if they take advance reservations or operate on a walk-in basis.
Many famous Neapolitan pizzerias do not take reservations — they operate on a first-come-first-served basis, producing legendary queues. Others have adopted booking systems. Always check before planning an evening around a specific pizzeria.
Accettate prenotazioni?
Do you accept reservations?
Direct and clear — the standard way to ask
C'è coda fuori?
Is there a queue outside?
Ask when calling ahead to understand how long the wait might be
Quanto si aspetta senza prenotazione?
How long do you wait without a reservation?
At famous pizzerias, the wait can be 1–2 hours on weekends
The queue outside a famous Neapolitan pizzeria is a social institution. People wait 1–2 hours for Sorbillo or Di Matteo, spending the time chatting, drinking aperitivos from nearby bars, and bonding with strangers. The queue is part of the experience, not an inconvenience — or so Neapolitans claim.