Budget for Food & Drink in Italy

I personally budget $50 per day just for me. Most of the time I don't spend nearly that much. My 'restaurant prowl' is to find places that don't have menus displayed in a dozen languages; have lots of Italian customers, fairly noisy (as in 'happy'); and maybe have to wait a little while for a table. Use the RS books to help. Maybe put a copy on the table (I got a couple autographs and a free grappa doing that). In Rome my favorite place is Carlo Menta (near Santa Maria in Trastevere) where I have had a wonderful meal for 29 euro. I've also had a very good meal at another place in Trastevere for 50 euro. It's been a while since I stayed in Florence but I do remember enjoying Trattoria Sabatino. Honest food, simple menu. Caveat: you may be sharing a table with locals, which could be fun! Piazza di Santo Spirito has some nice places that aren't too expensive and a few that are down right cheap. The Mercato Centrale is a great place when everybody wants something different.
Now you've made me hungry!

I virtually never eat two full, sit-down restaurant meals when I'm traveling, especially if I've had a hotel breakfast (I opt out of those overpriced offerings whenever I can). My beverage of choice is water (though one pays for bottled water in Italy). So for me, Robert's estimate sounds reasonable.

A smallish ice cream cone will probably cost at least the equivalent of $3 and could be more.

It really depends on how you eat. Do you like to picnic? 10 euros a meal will do. Sit down restaurant 20-25 euros a meal.

I found a "decent" meal, meaning in a good out of the way place, or typical restaurant, to be about 30 to 50 euro for the two of us. We have a light breakfast at a cafe, and our food budget usually is about 100 euro a day, we are usually under.

That includes an antipasti, two entrees (either a primi or secondi), two desserts, wine(500 ml or a bottle), water, and whatever other charges they toss on.

You could probably make that less, by ordering less or choice of restaurant, if you like Michelin star dining, double it. If in Florence you are planning on having the steak, that also will be more, fish anywhere can up the cost.

You really can only eat one meal like that a day (or at least me), so the other one can be lighter, a sandwich, pizza, etc.; but keep in mind the Italians often eat the heavier meal for "lunch" at 1-2 in the afternoon, and lighter at night.

Wine and coffee is cheap by American standards, soft drinks are more than wine usually, cocktails can get pricy, but on a hot afternoon, an Aperol Spritz is worth it.

Food in Italy is cheaper than in the US in my experience (generally speaking)

As a pizza, pasta, salad, and contorni girl, I probably spend about 25 a day. Sometimes I may just have a late lunch/early dinner. It all depends on what you eat and the type of restaurant you go to.

In three trips to Italy, I've found that staying near an open air market and a grocery can really keep your costs down, and is quite fun. We did this in Florence & Rome. As long as you have a fridge and something to make hot water, you're in business.

Example--in Rome, we stayed in a 2nd story walk-up overlooking Campo de' Fiori. Mom & pop grocery around the corner, and the daily market on the Campo piazza. We'd buy enough there to have a totally relaxed breakfast--we had brought one of those Melitta filters, and some strong Lavazza ground coffee for 1,20 Euro, had great coffee each morning with the fruit & meats & cheese that we had bought that morning at the market.

Lunch would usually be a panini or pizza slice at some take-away joint, plenty good and cheap. Stop in the afternoon wherever for an espresso. Dinner was sit-down, like stated above no places with menus in different languages! Prob total 40-50 Euro for 1 appetizer, 2 pastas, 2 secondi, 1 dolce, 1/2 carafe of wine. Easier to find cheap food in Rome than Florence--I feel Rome has a lot more competition for the tourist buck. Overall, with food we bought and then at restaurants--oh, a gelato after dinner--between 80-100 Euro/day, and the food/experience overall was tremendous.

No way can you get that kind of value on the road in the US.

Grazie!!! For all the feedback!

Lunch and Dinner at restaurants are equally prized, unlike the US where there is a lunch (usually cheaper) menu and a dinner menu.

Haven't been to Ravello in a long time (and never ate there anyhow), but I go to Rome and Florence every year. On average my wife and I spend around 30-35 euro per person at a regular sit down restaurant. That includes an abundant meal and wine (1 liter carafe of house wine or one 750ml bottle). Last summer the most expensive restaurant was a seafood restaurant in Monteverde district (Rome) suggested by my cousin who lives in that neighborhood. We spent just over 100 euro for both of us, for a totally seafood dinner (seafood is more expensive). But we also spent less than 25 euro each in some places.

If you budget 30-35 euro per person (including everything, like wine etc.) that would be a good estimate for a sit down restaurant at a regular nice restaurant in both Rome and Florence.

Since you will certainly take advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel, chances are your lunches might be light and on the go, especially because if you go to a sit down restaurant in Italy, at least 2 hours of your day will be gone and you might miss a lot of sightseeing. For a quick meal at a casual eatery or on the go you can easily stay well under 10-15 euro each.

I would say that compared to the SF Bay Area where I live, restaurant bills in Italy will be half of what I would spend in SF for an equivalent Italian restaurant. Wine in Italy is especially cheap. Whereas in SF I would have to pay at least over $15 for a glass of wine (once you include tax & tip) in Italy for that amount you get over one liter of house wine, or a full 750ml bottle of moderately priced wine.

Coca Cola and soda in general is however typically more expensive in Italy. So forget Coke, and go for wine instead, it will be cheaper.

I would budget the same as if you’re going to be eating in a city on vacation in your own state/country during the same amount of time.

I do look up some menus in the cities where I will be visiting, just to get an idea of food options and the names of some of the dishes. Many of those also have menu prices, so you can gauge your type of food choices for even a better idea of prices.

I had an espresso & croissant and later a gelato in Ravello. Coffee is a little cheaper than our norm; otherwise, the prices are very similar.

We spent $100/day in N Italy in Sept-Oct for our 2. This includes coffee and snacks. We usually do the hotel breakfast and then a good dinner, with wine. We also did the apertivo hour pretty much every night.

I will note that this is a little inflated by our attendance at a food-wine festival, where the dinners were a little pricey. If we take out the days at the food-wine fest, it was $75/day.