My first time in Rome I was not very impressed with food there, especially after hearing about how amazing Italian food is. It wasn't until I went back and had an Italian (my now husband) show me where to eat that I realized it is very tricky eating out in Rome. There are so many tourist traps that it's sometimes hard to find a place that serves quality food.
So here are a few tips I once wrote up on Quora:
Make friends with a Roman and go too his/her Mama's house for lunch. I mean that in all seriousness. My first time in Rome I found food to be mediocre, my second time I spent eating mostly at my now husband's parents' house and found food to be amazing.
With limited time in Rome I get it's not realistic to count on befriending a Roman and getting invited to eat at home (though you would be surprised how friendly Romans outside of the tourism industry can be) so I'll focus on how to have a better experience.
- Once in Rome, ask people where they go for dinner or lunch. Talk to the shop owner, the guy working the corner store, taxi driver, whoever looks friendly.
- Look at which restaurants are full of locals (keep in mind just because you hear Italian spoken doesn't mean they are locals, there are a ton of domestic tourist in Rome, too). This doesn't always work since Romans tend to eat at home when possible or go to restaurants not necessarily in the city center.
- When in a restaurant be friendly, but if you see they are busy don't be overly chatty. I like going off peak hours for more relaxed service, going earlier also beats the crowds without worry that their best dishes are sold out. Keep in mind early for an Italian might not be early for you if you are used to a noon lunch time or dinner before 8:30 PM.
- Always start by greeting the server or host with a few words in Italian, even if all you know is buongiorno. They know you don't speak fluent Italian, but even just saying grazie every time the server brings you something puts people in a better mood (don't you feel better when someone thanks you for your efforts?).
- Unless you are a wine aficionado stick with the table wine, usually a great value and good quality. There are strict regulations for wine in Italy, often more rigid than what you'd find back home, as a result, table wines tend to be better quality than price equivalent wines you find in the United States.
TripAdvisor does have some pretty good suggestions, I've asked around and many suggestions have been "Roman" approved. My first time in Rome TripAdvisor was nowhere near as popular as it is now. With that said, keep in mind negative reviews for otherwise excellent places can be influenced by many factors and should be taken with a grain of salt. Also, some of the better places aren't always the ones with the most reviews, they're likely to be buried down lower in the ranking since less tourist know about them and so they have less reviews. Here's a tip, use the Italian version of Tripadvisor, this will bring up reviews from Italians first.
So here are a few tips I once wrote up on Quora:
Make friends with a Roman and go too his/her Mama's house for lunch. I mean that in all seriousness. My first time in Rome I found food to be mediocre, my second time I spent eating mostly at my now husband's parents' house and found food to be amazing.
With limited time in Rome I get it's not realistic to count on befriending a Roman and getting invited to eat at home (though you would be surprised how friendly Romans outside of the tourism industry can be) so I'll focus on how to have a better experience.
- Once in Rome, ask people where they go for dinner or lunch. Talk to the shop owner, the guy working the corner store, taxi driver, whoever looks friendly.
- Look at which restaurants are full of locals (keep in mind just because you hear Italian spoken doesn't mean they are locals, there are a ton of domestic tourist in Rome, too). This doesn't always work since Romans tend to eat at home when possible or go to restaurants not necessarily in the city center.
- When in a restaurant be friendly, but if you see they are busy don't be overly chatty. I like going off peak hours for more relaxed service, going earlier also beats the crowds without worry that their best dishes are sold out. Keep in mind early for an Italian might not be early for you if you are used to a noon lunch time or dinner before 8:30 PM.
- Always start by greeting the server or host with a few words in Italian, even if all you know is buongiorno. They know you don't speak fluent Italian, but even just saying grazie every time the server brings you something puts people in a better mood (don't you feel better when someone thanks you for your efforts?).
- Unless you are a wine aficionado stick with the table wine, usually a great value and good quality. There are strict regulations for wine in Italy, often more rigid than what you'd find back home, as a result, table wines tend to be better quality than price equivalent wines you find in the United States.
TripAdvisor does have some pretty good suggestions, I've asked around and many suggestions have been "Roman" approved. My first time in Rome TripAdvisor was nowhere near as popular as it is now. With that said, keep in mind negative reviews for otherwise excellent places can be influenced by many factors and should be taken with a grain of salt. Also, some of the better places aren't always the ones with the most reviews, they're likely to be buried down lower in the ranking since less tourist know about them and so they have less reviews. Here's a tip, use the Italian version of Tripadvisor, this will bring up reviews from Italians first.
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