Eating meat off the bone

by Mom
(New Jersey)

My daughter was recently in a restaurant where she ordered veal milanese, when she was almost finished, she picked up the veal bone and bit the meat off the bone and her dinner companion said that was inappropriate behavior and you should not eat the meat off the bone. We would like to know if that is correct.


Aug 03, 2011
Eating Meat Off Of The Bone...
by: Kevin (Modern Manners and Etiquette)

Great question.

According to etiquette and manners rules, the answer to this question depends on a few things.

If the meal was something casual (chicken wings, chicken drumstick, ribs, etc.), then it is perfectly acceptable to pick it up and eat the meat off of the bone. If the meal was something more formal like a steak or something else that had a bone, it would be inappropriate to eat the meat off of the bone.

It also depends on the location of the restaurant. Some restaurants are more formal than others. If it is a more formal restaurant, it would be inappropriate to eat the meat off of the bone even if it were a "casual food." The more casual the restaurant, the more acceptable it is to eat the meat off of the bone.

The simple rule of thumb is that if you are questioning whether it is acceptable or not, it is always better to err on the side of caution by cutting the meat off of the bone.

Hope that helps!