Eating "Simply" in Europe

Hey Judy,

Rome. I'm looking for restaurants that won't frown on my simple way of eating. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

"Rome is home" to many, many "family-style" eateries where you can order a pizza or a pasta dish, wine if inclined. You can order aqua minerale or frizzante (carbonated) or not at all.

If you don't want the bread they may put out on your table, just politely refuse it. (niente pane per favore)

Go off the beaten path so to speak (in Rome) and down little alley-way type streets -- around a lot of the major sites, you can discover little home-style, casual eateries that won't break your bank account or force your appetite to indulge.

If you order a pizza (Pizza Margherita was very popular), it will be "about" the size of a small / medium American style. You don't have to eat it all if it is too much, they won't frown.

Still, Italian pizzas are mostly thinner and lighter than most American ones. I love artichokes (carciofi), so I got a pizza with them on it. Delicious. I favored a restaurant near where I stayed (in the Termini area.) I was never disappointed.

You can order just a pasta dish -- say, Tortellini Bolognese, Amatriciana, Cacio e Pepe to name the most popular.

If you order Spaghetti, meatballs will not come with the dish. If you order a meat or poultry dish, veggies will come on a separate plate and usually a separate charge unless noted on menu.

Check out the appetizer section on menus -- there can be some choices with a mini version of a larger dinner.

If you are nearby Termini, check out the food court there. You can browse up and down the restaurant stalls and choose what you would like to eat. Lots of tables to sit. Expect much noise and crowding though.

If you are in the Vatican / St. Peter's area, walk around (5 minutes or so) to the Borgo area. You can find some neighborhood eateries there.

Campo de' Fiori has a lovely, little restaurant down one of the alley streets off the Piazza. I can look up the name and address if you want.

Bakeries also sell "pizza to go" so to speak. Watch this video from The Roman Guy (tour company) to get an idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUKa82QCFH0 They feature Trastevere, a neighborhood in Rome.

buon appetito!

I think you might like Vapiano. They do not have table service; you order your choice (pasta, salad, pizza, soup, etc.) at one or more of various "stations" and watch it made in front of you ( they use freshnpasta so it cooks in 2 minutes). Then you find a seat, either at one of the shared tables, or at a smaller one by yourself. The food is fresh and healthy, And you can add protein like grilled prawns, smoked salmon, chicken, or beef to a salad to make a meal. Check the menu:

https://de.vapiano.com/fileadmin/media/Menus/Menu_2019_August/DEEN_Menu_Card.pdf

They are widely known in Europe, outside of Italy. we discovered them in Vienna and also have dined at one in Basel when we wanted a simple inexpensive meal. My husband says their pasta dishes are good, and I like the arugula salad with added protein.

This will work for Berlin and Prague. I was surprised that they do not have one in Salzburg; the closest is Linz. And as I mentioned already, there are none in Italy ( understandably).

In Salzburg, you should be comfortable in a small casual Stube, where ordering just one dish for dinner is the norm. A common sight throughout Germany and Austria is the "Fitness Teller", a grilled chicken breast with nice salad. But in Austria I would have the Schnitzel at least once. ; ). If you are going this autumn, I would also look for something with local mushrooms ( Steinpilz is the German for porcini).

I can't help with Rome.

Go to a less formal sit down place where people don't typically linger for hours. That probably means something on the casual side. Then don't be afraid to ask for the check more assertively when you're ready, since you will be left pretty much alone. Or, alternatively, have a few drinks with your meal and read or journal and you'll see how fast those lengthy meals can go by. I've traveled alone many times and would be bored stiff during long meals if I wasn't reading or writing or sketching (or having those carafes of wine at the same time).

Judy, I've found it easy to eat "simply" wherever we've traveled. Great suggestions up thread! We are currently traveling in Prague and we have found multiple restaurants for a light dinner. There are 2 cafes in walking distance from our hotel that have wonderful food. Czech, pastas, quiches, skewered chicken, salads, etc. and desserts! We also tried a great Japanese restaurant around the corner from our hotel. I don't think you will have a problem finding what you want. Bon Appetit!

Our first trip to Italy was in 1984 and we were totally ignorant of formal dining customs. Only two days in Rome before moving on to our lodgings in the North that included meals. So, we just wandered down side streets near our hotel and found small, casual sit down places that spoke some English. We ordered what sounded good, served in the order we wanted. There was no attitude and we were absolutely delighted.

Eating solo and wanting to be healthy by not over stuffing yourself every night can be a challenge in the tourist districts of big cities. The "white tablecloth" places just aren't for us. I prefer more casual places at home, and on vacation as well.

In Rome, aperativo buffets are common at 6-8PM. You buy a (slightly overpriced) drink and have access to a buffet of snacks that can make a light meal.
In Salzburg, beer gardens are great. Food is self serve and you can eat as little as you want and stay as long as you want. Sternbrau and Augustinier are two I went to. Sternbrau also has a sit down restaurant.

A general suggestion is to make your main “restaurant meal” lunch and do the bakery/picnic meal at dinner. Restaurants are often more used to smaller or less elaborate meals at lunch than at dinner.

Berlin is easy, just look at the menu on the door. They do not do long, drawn-out meals. Meat, starch and maybe a veg. or salad. In and out the door in an hour or less. Look for seasonal specialties like pumpkin soup or risotto, Pfifferlingen (Chanterelles) and pasta, Käse Spätzle which we call German mac and cheese but ten times better.

I agree with your observations. I have switched to a bigger sit down lunch and picnic/grocery/salad/sandwich for dinner. This seems to work well for me because it gives me a rest stop and I tend to walk off the lunch in the afternoon sightseeing. Plus, you can have very delicious foods at lunch time. More and more restaurants are opening for lunch in Europe.

in Berlin you can have that for every cuisine, price class and style. Just go int a restaurant and order from the menu. Done. Even more expensive restaurants would fulfill your wish if you say clearly that you just want a quick simple dinner. For higher end local specialties try Borchardt near to Gendarmenmarkt or Zur letzten Instanz. Simple good German kitchen but also intl. things you will get at Nolle or Giraffe. These are four of exactly 687 places (kidding) you can choose from. Have a good time.

As a solo senior I tend to eat menu of the day set lunch and then simple dinner iin my room or ideally on my balcony. In the past I have found a myriad of choices at deli sections of local grocery stores and even convenience stores. Often I opt for a budget room with a kettle/ hot pot so I can make cup of soup to go with my bread and cheese. Food trucks and street stands and food courts enable you to select a few items and "graze" -such fun to sample something unique or local. ENJOY!

Find where the tourists are eating--then walk away in any direction where you'll still find a place to eat.
Look for places with no English and you don't hear English.

What nonsense! This is the stuff of cliches which actually bears no resemblance to reality and makes me wonder if people who write such stuff actually have any experience to back up their assertions. Take Prague for example, a group of friends and I, on one of long foodie weekends, ate in several well regarded restaurants where not only was English spoken but it was also filled with tourists from all over the world. The food was excellent although it would not fit in with the requirements of the OP.

Simply because a restaurant is patronised by tourists doesn't automatically make it a bad restaurant. The fact that you may hear English being spoken and therefore is a sign to avoid the place is ridiculous. I know a fantastic salumeria near to the Vatican where you'll find some of the best porchetta and charcuterie in Rome. When we visited we heard mainly English being spoken, the staff spoke English and the menu was in Italian and English, the food and wine was sublime, the place a "blink and you'll miss it" virtual hole in the wall and an absolute gem in a city crammed full of excellent bars, restaurants, trattorias, pizzerias etc.

Taking the "go where the locals go" approach can be dismissed as nonsense by comparing it to somewhere like Chuck e Cheese in the US, an establishment almost exclusively patronised by locals but quite clearly not somewhere to be considered.

I know a fantastic salumeria near to the Vatican where you'll find some of the best porchetta and charcuterie in Rome.

JC, do you recall the name of the place? I would like to check it out.

I am of the sit down lunch/picnic dinner school of thought, but then I also rent apartments so can eat in comfortably. Some cities have turned their old fresh food markets into high end eateries with stalls where you may pick up a glass of wine, another has tapas (Spain), perhaps another is cheese or sliced meets....jambon (ham) is king in Spain. You buy your bits and find a place to sit and eat. Total control over quantity. A little slow though as line ups can be a little long - as it is a popular meal or pre-dinner hang out with friends. Not sure whether your cities have them, but may be worth checking out.

Look for places with no English and you don't hear English.

I disagree with this statement unless that was your only experience.

There "may be" some restaurants in any large city in any country that will gear their prices and such toward the traveler -- Boston does the same thing. Still, there are many places to eat in Rome that are very good to excellent, fair in price, generous in serving and frequented by locals and travelers alike.

I frequented a Rome neighborhood restaurant a lot on both of my consecutive trips to Rome. Many locals as well as travelers came in. Most of the staff spoke English (and a couple of other languages as I observed.) If you did not get there by 8:30-9:00 PM, you had to wait a little bit for a table. There was also a lot of take out being ordered.

In Berlin you could run into restaurants with English next to the German in the menu but hearing English you can easily avoid that. Only locals or German tourists frequent these places.

I've seen it in Köpenick, to use one example, at a particular restaurant four times, the first time I saw it and only checked it out, the other times I went back for lunch, once for dinner too. Each time no anglophones there, and don't expect any to be there either.

If you want to avoid hearing English spoken, tons of places like that in Berlin...go to Karlshorst, Köpenick, the Jannowitzbrücke area, as in the famous Berlin song, "Bei der Jannowitzbrücke" I would suggest also the Pankow and Eckner. areas.

We are on the lookout for cafeteria-type restaurants. You buy each item separately. You want 12 items? You want 1 item? Buy what you wish. Usually these are working-class places, and there are no other tourists in them. The food quality varies, but we have never been displeased. We found such places in Budapest, Vienna, and Sarajevo.

Judy, you'll figure it out. You can manage dining just as you do in the US. The only frowning you might get is if you occupy a table and order nothing.

JC, do you recall the name of the place? I would like to check it out.

La Salumeria - www.facebook.com/lasalumeriaroma

Our first visit as a group of four was meant to be a quick bite to eat but four meat and cheese platters, four bottles of wine and two hours later we eventually decided to leave!

ha ha. thank you!

update -- Menu seems reasonable. Reviews are very high. And pictures are mouthwatering, lol. How did I miss that?

https://umedvidku.cz/restaurace/jidelni-listek/
https://www.restauracebredovskydvur.cz/en/jidelni-listek
a couple of places for you in the centre of Prague, I visit there several times a year and am often solo for part of the time.
you don't have to go to higher end place in the city these places are mid range and you can just have a starter or two instead of a main course .On some menus you will see Food to go with beer or something like that, these tend to be smaller plates of local stuff ,some hot some cold dishes but will give you a chance to try some real local food.Try the local beer and wine as well as Kofola the local version of coke.
let me know where you are staying in Prague and I can try and recommend places nearby.I was last in the city 10 days ago and will be back in January.

Twenty years ago bypassing a restaurant that had an English menu was probably a good idea. Today, with so many people speaking English as a second language, I don't flinch when I see an English menu.

I do flinch if every table has a blue and gold guidebook.

In Berlin, you can try the buffett restaurant near the top of KaDeWe department store. There are many stations and you can order as little or as much as you like. Very busy, resonably priced and tasty. A mixture of locals and tourists. Just be aware that you may have to share a table. That's normal in Berlin and most of Germany at these type of places.

Judy, we were in Berlin for 4 nights this summer, so not an expert by any means. I think you will find restaurants that you enjoy. We did not eat in fancy places. We did not plan in advance. We just set out for the evening and chose the restaurants based on cuisine and how the menu looked, and maybe looked at dishes people were eating as we walked by. You can order what you want. No expectation that you will order a multi course meal. Menus were always in English. We were happy with all of our meals.

I think you’ll enjoy Rome too. I love eating in Italy. Order what you want, in the order you want. If you just want one thing, go for it.

Frank II beat me to it, but department stores in many cities have great cafeteria/buffet style restaurants with good food and very moderate prices.

Thank you all for your great suggestions. I've mapped out the specific recommendations so I can try them on my trip. I also thank you for the suggestion of eating my main meal mid-afternoon and doing my picnic in the evening. It seems such a simple solution - I love it.

Uncle Gus - I would love specific recommendation in Prague. It's where I'm spending the most time this trip. I will be staying at Green Garland Pension in Old Town.

Again, to all, thank you.

where you are staying is right in the heart of the old town,numerous places within spitting distance to try., the 2 places I have already mentioned are within very easy walking distance.
http://www.u3r.cz/cz/
this place is just round the corner, a modern Micro brewery and the food is very good in there.

http://www.upinkasu.cz/
this is another real favourite and they have a nice and unusual outdoor area,again easy walk from where you are,I was last in there just over 2 weeks ago.There are so many great places for food in that area and don't worry about ordering a small plate of food or a single course,have a coffee or a beer /wine.

In Prague one of the restaurants we enjoyed was Lokal, http://lokal-dlouha.ambi.cz/en/?land_off=1. A very casual affair with excellent food and beer, absolutely no-one will bat an eyelid if you only order one course.

As mentioned up thread we ate at Lokal in Prague this week. It was a block from our hotel. It's a fun place. They don't take reservations, but we went at about 6 pm. and waited for 10-15 mins. Lots to choose from the menu. We shared a table with a solo traveler who ordered one dish. No problem at all.

Lokal is very good, I have only ever been in the one in Dlouha but it was pretty good.
there is a chain of restaurants called Potrafena Husa owned by the Staroprammen brewery and I have been in loads of them through out the city and indeed other parts of the country, great for casual dining, good choice of meals and always pretty good service

It might not be strictly local, but there's often a Greek or Lebanese or Turkish takeaway place nearby where you can piece together a number of ala carte items that are both healthy and tasty for a meal the right size for you.

hey hey judy
you got the right poster with UncleGus, he knows the ins and outs. like reading his posts hoping one year i'll get to prague.
my friend took her grownup kids couple years ago, she loved prague. the beer was good and she had delicious pork knuckle, came on a skewer like on a rotisserie and cabbage. told me lots of food, could have taken "doggy bag" back to apartment.
enjoy and have lots of fun
aloha

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=04561DD18B01AA04EFB26A6C9EB565AB2BE6D6C4&thid=OIP.FatbdnQmzGv1NYomZCoMdQHaFj&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.tripstodiscover.com%2Ffiles%2F2017%2F12%2Fbigstock-Czech-Roasted-Pork-Knee-199189420.jpg&exph=600&expw=800&q=czech+pork+knee+images&selectedindex=0&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=1,2,6
Pork Knee, bloody delicious but far too much for one person.i often have it when with a group of people, put that in the centre and have a load of other dishes to share.heaven.

I travel on my own overseas quite a bit and it never occurred to me even once that a restaurant would not like that I typically only order a main course.

So my suggestion?

Enjoy your trip and put these kinds of worries out of your mind. You are making a big deal over something I have never experienced.

We would also suggest a couple of Cafes in Prague. Bakeshop- European, International, Healthy. They offer breakfast, Lunch. Au Gormand- French Cafe, Bakery, European. We had lunch & dinner here. Both places offer take away, delicious pastries and wonderful fresh food options. Both locations are in Old Town on Stare Mestro.

"We are on the lookout for cafeteria-type restaurants. You buy each item separately. You want 12 items? You want 1 item? Buy what you wish. Usually these are working-class places, and there are no other tourists in them. The food quality varies, but we have never been displeased."

This was me in Catania, Sicily. Acting local and eating local, cheaply.

Last night, here in Treviso Italy, we had prosecco, potato chips, and gelato for dinner --- fruit, vegetable, protein!

But actually, it seems like street food would solve your problem. I only know about Italy, but there is delicious and healthful street food available for dinner. It is not greasy junk food. In Verona, for example, a very busy hole-in-the-wall place sold big cups of bigoli (an extruded pasta that looks like thick spaghetti) with any of a dozen or so sauces. People were all around eating it while sitting on curbs and stairs or just standing up. In Rome there are all sorts of non-sit-down places or perch-on-a-stool places that sell pizza by the slice. In Testaccio in Rome, we always enjoy the folded-up sandwiches from Trapizzino. Our favorite such place in Rome, however, is Bonci's Pizzarium --- Bonci's pizza is not like Neapolitan pizza or Roman pizza, but its own style. You stand at tall tables on the sidewalk to eat it.

UncleGus, had dinner my first evening in Prague at U tri ruzi. Really great. Thanks for the recommendation.

glad you enjoyed it, did you have a look at the murals on the walls, they are quite fun