Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An informal restaurant or tavern serving simple Italian dishes.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An Italian eating-house; a cook-shop.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small, informal Italian-style restaurant.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian, from trattore, host, from trattare, to treat, from Latin tractāre; see treat.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Italian trattoria

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Examples

  • The trattoria was a former farmhouse, extensively renovated only a couple of years earlier.

    The Count's Blackmail Bargain Craven, Sara 2005

  • A trattoria is a casual, often family-owned restaurant - it's like a neighborhood café.

    Forbes.com: News April Dykman 2012

  • Few corners are cut and few accommodations made to timid eaters; this is not what the Italians would call a trattoria unlike the other places here, more or less, but a real ristorante, an establishment that focuses on traditional dishes done in the highest possible style.

    NYT > Home Page By MARK BITTMAN 2011

  • Few corners are cut and few accommodations made to timid eaters; this is not what the Italians would call a trattoria unlike the other places here, more or less, but a real ristorante, an establishment that focuses on traditional dishes done in the highest possible style.

    NYT > Home Page By MARK BITTMAN 2011

  • The doorman at the Film Center Building, in which the space is located, said construction work had been going on for the past two months and that a "trattoria" would be opening there.

    Archive 2007-03-01 Brooks of Sheffield 2007

  • The doorman at the Film Center Building, in which the space is located, said construction work had been going on for the past two months and that a "trattoria" would be opening there.

    Stirrings at Former Site of Studio Coffee Shop Brooks of Sheffield 2007

  • "I got collared by this huge security guard, and he said, 'If I ever see you anywhere near this track again, I'm going to throw you in the Alorton jail,'" Meyer said between sips of coffee at Maialino, his trattoria near Gramercy Park.

    A Lifelong Taste for Horse Racing Ben Cohen 2011

  • On top of this, there is a trattoria serving simple Italian dishes, where you can drink their wines at hardly any extra cost.

    A Taste of Italy Bruce Palling 2011

  • He was already seated by the time I arrived at the Milanese trattoria, where nearly all diners were squeezed two-by-two into white-tablecloth tables that nearly touched.

    The Jet Set Stacy Meichtry 2012

  • I got an introduction to her effect on people at a most unlikely venue: an outdoor trattoria in one of the old quarters of Rome.

    First Contact Marc Kaufman 2011

Comments

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  • Where you can eat well in Italy at a lower price than you would find at a "ristorante". If the car park is full of lorries then you know the food is good. The person who runs it should be called a "trattore".

    December 28, 2007

  • I had to look up lorry, which is a British term I've never heard used in America.

    December 29, 2007