How To Host An Italian Dinner Party

Take guests on a culinary journey as you welcome them with a gorgeous Italian table setting and 4-course meal paired with specially curated wine selection. This is the ideal themed dinner party for entertaining at home.

The dinner party menu ideas are especially selected to recreate our time in Florence and Venice. And while we may not have the freshest clams from Venice or the Florentine (Chianina) steak from Tuscany, we do have premium Italian wines at about $15 and up per bottle, to complement the meal.

Italian Tablescape

The experience starts with the tablescape with details pulled right from the family-owned restaurants in Florence. There are so many elements that give this table a Tuscan vibe, and it doesn’t include a red checked tablecloth!

Set your table with a rustic but elevated look that’s more authentic to Italian-style dining. That includes a long, rustic farm table perfect for seating lots of family and friends.

Traditional Italian plates set the scene and instantly transport me to an Italian home brimming with people. Using my grandmother’s vintage silverware reinforces the presence of family and old world treasures.

On top of the plate give each guest an Italian candy or chocolate truffle as a party favor. I brought these back from the trip so it’s a fun way to give everyone a real treat from Italy!

At each place setting include name cards made from broken terracotta pieces, and a printed menu with wine pairing. The irregular shapes of the broken pottery are so interesting, don’t you think?

I love these place cards, and they’re easy to make. Just get a terra cotta pot and place it on a protective surface like a large wood cutting board. Cover it with a towel and use a hammer or mallet to hit it and break it apart into about 2-inch sizes. You don’t have to smash it with tons of force as it will break fairly easily. Use a marker to write the names on the terra cotta pieces.

Centerpiece Ideas

The terra cotta mimics the rooftops of Italian buildings and homes. Continue using it as a table runner down the length of the table. If you want to protect your table lay a fabric runner underneath like I did here.

Use larger broken pieces and lay them out in a free flowing pattern, overlapping pieces as you go.

Tuck in sunflowers at various intervals along the runner. They echo the sunflower fields we saw in Tuscany on our wine tasting tour. Add small bowls of olives and almonds to nosh on.

Potted rosemary is found on many restaurant tables, as well as bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to accompany the bread. Other centerpiece items commonly seen were candles, of course.

Provide baskets or bowls of community bread along with the best olive oil and balsamic vinegar for bread dipping. Decant them into pretty bottles so they look pretty on the table.

Dinner Menu

Everyone knows that Italian food is amazing, but there’s more to it than spaghetti and meat sauce, or lasagna. The pizza is divine, and there’s lots of beef dishes, as well as seafood dishes.

With that in mind, serve up a 4-course meal perfectly paired with Italian wine. Every course has a story in this Italian-style dinner. It covers different regions and their specialties with Tuscany and Venice being the two key locations.

1st Course – Cheese & Charcuterie

The blueprint for the first course was taken directly from our wine tasting tour. The appetizer course consisted of cheese, cured meats, and a small salad in the center of the plate.

In this case, I brought back some wild-boar salami that I bought in the market in Florence (it’s very popular in Tuscany). Unfortunately you can no longer bring back cured meats from travel abroad, but you can find similar items in higher end grocery stores or international food markets.

Add a few thin wedges of Parmigiana cheese, and a small slab of Gorgonzola dolce. Two Italian cheeses that offer very different flavor profiles and textures but go great with the salami and the wine I chose.

Add a tiny salad in the center of the plate and some crostini for a complete appetizer. For the tiny salad just dress it with a little bit of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar that’s on the table.

Wine pairing for charcuterie

Serve red Barbera wine with this first course. It’s grown in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions of Italy and is light in taste with flavors of berries. The high acidity in the Barbera grape makes it ideal to pair with rich salami and cheeses. I chose a Barbera d’Asti, which comes from the area around the town of Asti in Piedmont in northwestern Italy. This wine is always a crowd-pleaser.

As an alternative you can serve Prosecco. The bubbles are perfectly suited to cleansing the palate from the rich meat and cheese.

2nd Course – Spaghetti with Clams

The pasta course is directly inspired by a meal we had in Venice at a quaint restaurant tucked into the maze of alleyways. As I pondered the menu I asked the waiter for recommendations and he declared, “You’re in Venice, you have to get the clams!” So with that, I ordered and had an unforgettable meal of spaghetti with clams.

The Italians have a way of making even the simplest ingredients taste amazing! This is a lovely, light pasta course to serve an Italian dinner party.

Wine pairing for seafood pasta

Serve Pinot Grigio from Northeastern Italy with this pasta course. This light seafood dish demands a white wine with a clean finish. Since Venice is in the Northeastern part of Italy, I chose a Pinot Grigio from the Friuli region to the north. Pinot Grigio from Friuli naturally tends towards a creamier, richer style that pairs brilliantly with strong flavors.

3rd Course – Florentine-Style Steak

An authentic Italian dinner menu should include a Florentine steak. Tuscany has some of the best beef in the world from Chianina cattle, and they are proud of it. The steaks, aka La Bistecca, are a Porterhouse cut.

The thing that makes it so unique is how thickly it’s cut, how simply it’s prepared, and how rare it’s cooked. I re-created that experience with some Porterhouse steaks I got from the butcher. They’re not as thick as those in Italy but they introduce your guests to the taste and lifestyle.

An important thing to remember is that these are sharing size, so for a party of six you’d cook 3 steaks that are at least a pound each, with bone in. We followed these comprehensive instructions for cooking.

Serve the steak with a vegetable side such as green beans, broccoli, or roasted carrots or beets.

Wine pairing for steak

Chianti is king when serving La Bistecca! It’s the quintessential pairing in Tuscany. Get the highest quality you can afford so you get the best experience. Chianti Classicos should be easy to find, and if you are looking to splurge, grab a Chianti Classico Riserva. Made from Sangiovese grapes, Chianti Classico has the perfect amount of tannins and acidity to cleanse your palate after all that juicy steak.

4th Course – Biscotti & Berries

When we first arrived at our hotel in Florence we were welcomed with a tray of biscotti, berries, and Vin Santo wine. Not only was this a nice afternoon snack, it’s also a fantastic light dessert. This Italian themed party ends on a light note so you and guests can enjoy sipping on sweet after-dinner wine.

After three deliciously filling courses of Italian food, the last thing you want your guests to do is feel overly full. Serving a couple of biscotti with sweet Vin Santo dessert wine to dip them into, is a great way to finish the meal.

The wine is sweet, portions are small, and it’s meant to be sipped. It’s typically served in cordial or shot-style glasses which is how I serve it here.

Wine pairing for dessert

Vin Santo is a sweet dessert wine popular in Tuscany, however it’s produced in several regions. It’s viscous with light amber color and flavors of hazelnut, almonds, dried fruits, and honey.

PARTY TIP: Treat guests to a bit of Limoncello after dinner. This lemon liqueur is served after dinner at most restaurants, and was always included at no extra charge. Pour it into a shot size glass or cordial glass and sip on it as you linger into the night.

Include these authentic Italian dinner party ideas the next time you entertain at home. The foods are prepared simply and the wines are exceptional in taste and quality.

See more fun Italian themed party ideas.