Tourist visits Italy on holiday and is left horrified by popular menu item

A tourist visiting Italy from Australia has been left horrified by a popular menu item.

One of the best parts about visiting new countries is trying out different tasty cuisine.

And there's plenty of that in Italy, with mouthwatering pasta, pizzas and not forgetting the infamous gelato.

But one tourist was shocked to discover that one popular dish in Italy is something totally different in Australia.

Posting a TikTok, traveller Montana On Tour issued a warning to her fellow Aussies, explaining it doesn't 'look how it does at home'.

Montana was talking about a parmigiana, which is a classic Italian dish meaning 'eggplant parmesan'.

It's made with thinly sliced eggplant layered with tomato sauce and cheese, before being baked in the oven.

It seems Montana may have confused the authentic Italian dish with another delicious food - the chicken parmigiana - which consists of a breaded chicken breast covered in tomato sauce and cheese.

Both delicious, but very different.

Warning others, Montana said: "PSA, if you're an Aussie coming to Italy, if you order a parmigiana, it's not going to look like the one at home.

"It will literally look like this... it's a lasagne... with layers of eggplant and tomato.

"You're not going to get the pub parmi that you're used to."

Montana did admit the Italian version was better, adding: "It's way better here. Not joking."

Some of Montana's followers were quick to point out that the eggplant parmigiana also exists in Australia.

One wrote: "This is also in Australia at restaurants lol"

While another pointed out the difference: "You mean… a CHICKEN parmigiana?"

While a third said: "Chicken parmigiana is not a thing in Italy. Italians in Italy famously barely eat chicken at all."

The chicken parmy is a hugely popular meal in Australia.

A few years ago, LADbible Australia readers labelled it the best pub meal in the country.

It was crowned the winner out of 16 meals that you'd typically find at the pub.

The options ranged from snacks - like salt and vinegar chips or ribs, to more hearty orders like a beef burger and steak.

The four meals to make it to the semi-final were the parmigiana, steak, beef burger and fish and chips.

It was a final showdown between the parmy and fish and chips, however, the chicken based meal was victorious.