Why Traditional Italian Restaurants Won't Always Smother Your Food In Cheese Like Olive Garden

It is no secret that Americans love their cheese. From loading it onto nachos to haphazardly taking a hunk of mozzarella and deep-frying it into a mozzarella stick, folks in the U.S. can't get enough of the creamy dairy product. Many restaurants have taken notice and cater to that. Olive Garden was once America's top casual dining restaurant, and it isn't shy about topping its Italian American menu items with a generous amount of cheese. Yet, if you were to sample the cuisine from various regions of Italy, you would quickly notice that Italians don't harbor the same adoration of it as we do.

Kevin O'Donnell, chef and owner of Giusto, a "freestyle Italian" restaurant with two locations in Providence food hall Track 15 and Newport, Rhode Island, clued us into why you won't typically see traditional Italian cuisine drowned in dairy. One primary reason is that Italians consume a plentiful amount of seafood, and they aim to appreciate the flavor that fish offers the palate. "Many times the flavor of seafood is so delicate that a cheese would overpower the flavor of the seafood," O'Donnell said. "In pasta, I prefer no cheese with seafood to let the flavor of the seafood come through in a clean, fresh way."

However, O'Donnell pointed out that any rule can be bent. "I think there are some exceptions like a mild, soft cheese like burrata, mozzarella, or stracchino served with a bolder fish like sardines, tuna, or anchovies," he said. "In this case the cheese is the vessel and the fish seasons and complements the cheese." Still, it doesn't always have to act as a vessel to be enjoyed with Italian food.

As exceptional as regional Italian food may be, the heart wants what the heart wants. It might be tempting to reach for some parmesan and smother your dish in delicious, salty cheese. But would an Italian chef scorn your decision to play with their perfection on a plate? Not necessarily, according to Kevin O'Donnell. "I think it might just mean that you are used to eating food from a restaurant that may not taste delicious to begin with, and are accustomed to automatically put a lot of cheese on top to make it taste good," he said.

That sounds like a diplomatic way of saying some of us are eating at restaurants that might not be up to par, but maybe I'm reading too much into the response. "It could also just be that you love cheese so I would not take offense to it whatsoever." Okay, now I don't feel so uncultured — who can deny a pure, unadulterated love of cheese?

So, it's okay to want it — maybe that's just your red, white, and blue showing through — but is it rude or offensive to the chef to ask for it, specifically? "No, it is not rude to ask for cheese at a restaurant if you don't see it," O'Donnell said. "We are here to make you something delicious and we want you to enjoy whatever you eat." That kind of accommodating attitude is what got Giusto a James Beard nomination in 2024 for outstanding hospitality. While you may not find traditional Italian cuisine topped with extra cheese, don't let anyone tell you that you're wrong for wanting it. "If you think cheese will make you enjoy the food better then that's great."