Budget for eating in Italy

Maybe thirty-five bucks per person per day if breakfast and lunch come out of a grocery sack and you have a half-nice supper. You'd probably squeak in a beer and a wine most of the time. If you don't try to buy exactly what you eat at home, groceries will run about the same - - don't forget to allow for condiments and cooking oil and such which will skew the average.

Ed...that's 25 euro!!!

Yes it is.

Probably not more than you would spend in your city in North America. However it might not seem so, since at home we generally don't eat at restaurants twice a day every single day like we tend to do while traveling on vacation.
In my experience, food at the supermarket in Florence is a bit less than what I pay at home in California for most of the items I buy. Restaurants in Italy are also generally cheaper than the average Italian restaurant in America (especially if you order wine). However a full meal at a sit down restaurant in Italy will easily cost you €30-€35 ($40-$50) per person all inclusive. That is still less than what I would pay (with tax and tip) for an equivalent restaurant in San Francisco, where I'm lucky if stay under $60 p.p. if I order even just one glass of wine.

Don't ignore the rosticcerie or tavole calde where you can buy take-out. Many supermarkets have prepared foods that you can heat up in your apartment.

I budget $100 per day for the two of us. We often run less (on average about $80), but some cities are more expensive. This includes yogurt or fruit in the room/apartment if no breakfast included, a pastry and coffee mid-morning, panini for lunch, bottled water, a couple more coffees, and a decent dinner (antipasto and either pasta or a secondo, always with wine). pizza for dinner can be a budget stretcher, and cooking or picnicking helps too.

Seek out bars where you can get a panino for €3.00 (or less) at lunch, never sit for coffee (stand at the bar), and order house wine a lot. If you will be in Rome, I can give you some budget-friendly options. Let me know.

Hi
I would agree that you can eat well and cheap, But I'd like to think that every three days have a sit down dinner, Italy is about the food.
We budgeted around 50E for two every couple of days mostly is was that , with generally a couple of local beers and diet cokes rather than wine. Venice was a little more but we were not surprised with that. Id recommend wood fired pizza.
Lunches can be picnics and 10E for the two of us was easy.

@Laurel - I'm not Gail, but I will be in Rome in a couple of months and I wouldn't mind seeing your budget-friendly options. :) Thanks!

I did my budget based on Rick's guidebook. I used 10 euro for lunch and 30 euro for dinner per person on my last trip. We also love wine so I included 20 euro a day for wine. Most of my hotels included breakfast but a couple didn't. I found over the whole trip what I budgeted was accurate. The days I spend less balanced out the days we ate a fancy dinner.

@Laurel, I would appreciate info on your budget-friendly recommendations, too! Thanks!

In Rome we like

• Antica Taverna, west of Piazza Navona. Two can easily eat for €40-45 for dinner, house wine.
  • Alfreda e Ada, also west of P.za Navona. No menu. You get a choice of a few items they have that day. Very small so you probably have to wait. Wine is white or red and comes out of a tap. Really great home cooking.
  • Cafe Mozart near Galleria Borghese, just off Via Veneto on Via Toscana, lunch only. Great Tavola Calda and sandwiches, sidewalk seating, favored by Italian business people.
  • Bar Rinelli off Piazza Barberini where the panini are only €2.70. To go or eat standing like the Romans. Via di San Nicola da Tolentino.
  • Brancaleone, near Piazza Fiume just a stone's throw from Via Veneto.
  • Li Rione near Colosseo for good, authentic, affordable pizza.

Finally, I keep a list of both moderate and fine-dining places here in my blog. Buon appetito!

Thanks Laurel!

Me too! Thanks Laurel!

Awesome! Thanks, Laurel!