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solo traveler dining in rome and cinque terre dont wanna get taken for a ride

I dont want to get ripped off or try something unexptected. I will bring a pocket guide for translations so i hopefully wont order anything unappetizing, i'm not a picky eater. ive just heard horror stories about people getting ripped off and overcharged when eating out. Any suggestions, dining locations or food recommendations are greatly appreciated. thanks for your feedback.

Posted by
13809 posts

Gosh, I've never felt I got ripped off eating solo. In Monterosso in the CT I love Cantina di Miky at one of their outdoor tables overlooking the beach and the sea. I do not speak Italian, but am vegan and have a phrase book with me and with the help of the servers have never gotten something I couldn't eat. Since I am vegan, I did wind up with some fall-back things to order, usually pasta arribiata (if the pasta was eggless), a soup, insalata mista or grilled or roasted veggies. The prices were clear and I never was charged for something I didn't order.

I did see a recent post regarding some folks in Italy ordering fish that was per etto which is a weight and their bill was way more than expected so be aware of that.

I also had a delicious meal at Ristorante Belvedere in Monterosso which is very seafood based.

Where are you staying in Rome? That might help narrow down suggestions.

Do be aware that all restaurants have a menu with prices posted outside. Look over the menu carefully before you go inside and know that you order sides separately so that can feel like it runs the price up.

Posted by
8 posts

Staying at hotel sonya Roma. Does anyone have any good restaurant recommendations in the surrounding area?

Posted by
7049 posts

I think learning some Italian before your trip is invaluable to avoid miscommunications or feeling like you're been ripped off - be sure to know the prices of everything you're ordering beforehand so there are no surprises. I traveled to Italy solo and had no problems but I took Italian classes beforehand for at least a year...that doesn't work for everyone, but do the best you can at studying the pocket guide until you feel more or less comfortable.

Posted by
15679 posts

Ditto for Cantina di Miky: great place with helpful servers. Waitstaff all spoke enough English to manage, and the owner's partner (wife now, I believe) is an American.

I wouldn't go to Italy with the expectation of being ripped off: taking advantage of customers isn't good for business in this day and age of internet reviews. More often, tourists just don't understand the customs, such as paying for the bottle of water on the table, a "coperto" overhead fee added to the bill (not uncommon in the Cinque Terre, and perfectly legal if stated on the menu), or per etto or gram pricing on seafood. Foreigners are just as baffled by all the taxes added to goods and services in the U.S.

Both the towns of the CT and many restaurants in Rome are well used to dealing with tourists from all over the world so go with an open mind.

Posted by
703 posts

for a one month holiday in Italy we did not find the language barrier that much of a problem. most people spoke english, or there was generally someone on staff that could speak some english ,also ask for a menu in english, they are fairly common in Europe. as a back up I loaded language translation apps on my phone/ipod. the most interesting app is WORDLENS it allows you to hover your phone over text eg: a menu and it converts the text to english as you view it. its rather freaky when you first use it, but can be great when you have no idea. it doesn't work perfectly but good enough a conversion that you know what you are ordering. we have used it for various languages. and it doesn't need to be on-line to work.

I think you might find extra charges added to your bill, eg: a service charge added. for example in London (UK) recently we ate at an Italian restaurant where the menu had an extra service charge plus another charge ( that I can't remember now) on top off the written prices. it just proves you need to read the fine print, before you sit down ( read the menu often outside the door)

the other one can be ordering water, they may offer to get you water but unless you specify they may bring you a large bottle of the most expensive bottled water, so check first. try and be specific about what you want to order. on the other hand we found bread was 'generally' supplied on the table at no 'extra' cost.

hope this helps

Posted by
13809 posts

Yes, I stayed at Hotel Sonya and loved eating at Taverna Urbana. I see the reviews on TA vary wildly but I had a good experience. I tried some Italian with my RS guide book and pointed to things. At the end of the meal the Mama, who I think was the cook, came out to look around. We thanked her for the good food and she just beamed. She spoke no English, the waiter spoke a little but was extremely helpful.

http://www.ristorantetavernaurbana.com/#_=_

I had also asked for recommendations from the front desk and they suggested Antica Boheme which is right around the corner. I did not like that restaurant as it was one where the waiter was miffed that I did not order several courses and kept trying to shove the menu at me to order more. I would not go there again. I did feel we were charged appropriately.

I also at at La Gallina Blanca which was delicious. I loved it because at least 3 different sets of local police/carabinieri/guys in uniforms came in for big stacks of carry out pizza. I thought that was a good sign. I was with family on that trip and there were big groups of Italian families from kids to grand parents at the other tables on the Friday night we were there.

I just looked on googlemaps and if you put in Hotel Sonya all of these restaurants show up.

editing to add: If you walk down Via del Viminale toward the Termini the closer you get to the station there are some restaurants with staff/touts outside trying to wave you in. I always walk on by those!

Have a wonderful time!

Posted by
4138 posts

We loved Gallina Bianca! It was a decent walk from our Rome hotel and the first place we had dinner in town. We sat outside and my husband was fascinated by the fact that we were actually sitting on the street. The website is mostly in Italian and seems to be a work in progress, but there are typical options and you can copy them and run them through Google translate to find out what they are. You can also explore other parts of the website for more information.

If you prepare ahead of time, you are far less likely to get flustered by the food choices and end up with something unexpected or unappetizing. I recommend that you look at this menu and others and figure out what would be unexpected or unappetizing to you as well as things that you might expect or find appetizing. You can keep those food words handy for when you order. And you can do Google translate and images searches to get more comfortable with what the dishes are called and what they look like.

You also need to understand the differences between a fixed price menu and individually ordered items on the carta, as well as the usual progression of the meal in Italy. One good thing about Gallina Bianca is that they don't pressure you to have all the courses. When I traveled in Europe solo (5 weeks in Italy my first trip), I found it impossible to eat something from every course or to sit there by myself and eat for a couple of hours. When I went back with my husband in 2009, we had no problem slipping into that slow dinner mode.

As for Gallina Bianca, I had a great pizza there with anchovies. I love anchovies, but only if they are hot and cooked in a pizza or other dish. You might hate them, as my husband does. He had a great chicken dish with lemon. Yes, the food was memorable.

I haven't traveled in Italy as much as many on the Forum have, but in a total of about 10 weeks over the years, I think I can say I never had a bad meal and I was never ripped off except by a possible slow count at a gelato place on the square in Venice. I caught them at it.

So long as you are prepared with the knowledge of what you are seeing on the menu/carta and how things work at restaurants in Italy, you will do fine.

Posted by
13809 posts

Lo's comprehensive post made me think of one more thing. You will have to ask for the check. You can say "Il conto per favore" or you can make the symbol of writing on your palm or you can say "check please" and they will probably understand. You may think they are ignoring you but they are not. The table is yours for the night and no one will rush you off. It can feel a little like ignore so you have to get past that.

Lo, so funny you ate at La Gallina your first night as did we. Such a fun place for our initial Italian dining experience!

Posted by
10344 posts

Not speaking the local language is not a problem in western Europe (including Italy) these days except in some parts of France.
Their tourist English will be better than your tourist Italian, and these conversations are generally going to be in predictable tourist situations (e.g., ordering in restaurants), where your Italian waiter is not going to invite you to discuss Michelangelo's artistic vision or the meaning of life.
Get Rick's $13 Italian phrasebook, it's small, keep it in your travel bag, and on the flight over, try to learn the "politeness phrases' in Italian.

Posted by
1573 posts

My wife and I spent 30 days in Italy and a no point did we feel that we were "ripped off" on any of our meals. Yes, there was one restaurant in Venice that we felt that the food did not rate the price they charged, but it was in accordance with their menu.

Posted by
146 posts

I am a solo traveler as well and I had a very bad experience at the restaurant, Via Venti in Monterosso last night - terrible service, 45 minute wait for food, not nice people working there - and I'm not that picky. Maybe it was just a bad night but I won't be going there again. On the other hand, I had a great (and much cheaper) meal along with great service at Picculo Diavoulo Pizzaeria tonight! And all of my other meals in Italy over the last week have been great!!

Posted by
506 posts

I think sticking with the Rick Steve suggestions you will find that his hotel and restaurants are really in tune with travelers. I think the train stations are where you really need to be the most careful, all kinds of scams going on there. Be careful who you ask questions to. There are not very many train officials to talk to and there are people posing as if they work for the trains.

Posted by
15679 posts

We didn't use an RS guidebook when we went to the CT (or to Italy), and found excellent Cafe Miky in Monterosso anyway. Don't be afraid to ask around!!! Hotel staff; bar staff; other tourists….

Even a recommended restaurant can have an 'off' night with sudden staff and management changes so don't go strictly by the book?

Posted by
80 posts

Another vote for Cantina di Miky. Had a wonderful experience there. We also really enjoyed our dinner at L'Osteria in Old Town Monterosso; one of our favorite meals in our entire 10-day trip...and coincidentally, one of the most affordable! Enjoy!