Budget for food - Italy

As a rough estimate, and Joe makes a good point that most hotels and B&B's include breakfast, I would suggest €30-35 per person per day. Last year on a 23 day trip, I spent about €43 average but I do tend to go overboard on occasion and I don't scrimp. I normally have wine or beer with meals as well as a starter and desert in the evening and eat at good restaurants. Realize that soda is normally more expensive than a carafe of decent house wine. And always go to a Gelateria to get your gelato.

If your lodging doesn't provide breakfast, duck in to a bar and have a caffe and cornetto for under €3. Sitting at a table in a bar or outside at a restaurant often costs more than standing at the counter or eating inside. For the best bang for your euros, eat at places where you see mainly locals, check out specials of the day (menu del dia) and price fixed "tourist" menus.

Your general assumption is right, Italy is no place to go cheap or avoid nice meal, to me, Food is a major tourist attraction and reason to go to Italy. Some thoughts:

Breakfast: Yes, many places include breakfast, others will add an additional charge. For the most part, if you do not have to pay additional, stop by for some fruit, yogurt, or muesli, do not expect great coffee, but many places do very good coffee. If you have to pay...skip it. My Rome breakfast is usually off to a coffee shop and have a great coffee and a pastry.

Lunch: Depends on your style. In many places, this could be your main meal, or you could do street food (Pizza, sandwiches, hot bar selections, etc)

Dinner: My meal with my wife would likely be an Antipasti, A primi, some type of pasta to share, a Secondi, either fish, or meat to share, a Contorno, or side dish, usually a very fresh vegetable, then maybe dessert or a liquor. Wine is very cheap, hardly a cost, cheaper than soft drinks or beer in many cases.

For all that, $50 US/per person would cover a great day, $30 to $40 a respectable day, then up from there, especially if you concentrate on seafood or high end meats.

But still, my plan is to budget plenty and not skimp on food.

A few thoughts......

• Most hotels provide a good breakfast that includes far more than coffee and pastry. That will often be included with the cost of the room but may be optional at some places.
• Italian meals are typically arranged in courses, including Antipasto, Contorni, Primi, Secondi and Dolce. If you order the "full meal deal" it will cost a fortune and you probably won't be able to finish it all.
• Get used to the idea of paying for bottled water at meals. You'll have a choice of Naturale or Gassata (carbonated).
• You may find this interesting - https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/travel-tips/how-not-to-get-ripped-off-eating-in-italy
• The Vino della Casa is usually quite inexpensive.

"We are going to eat all of our meals outside at cafes/restaurants."

You'll probably pay more when sitting at outside patios, especially at more "touristy" restaurants. Also, that's where the smokers usually sit so I NEVER sit outside.

Buon Appetito!

Ken's link above is pretty good as a quasi-guide. But if you truly are budget-concerned:

If you stay in a hotel--yes, you could find one with 'American breakfasts', and that would satiate you. But why?! You can have an American breakfast at home. If your room has a mini-fridge, find a market near the hotel--or stay near an outdoor market on purpose as we did at Campo de' Fiori in Rome or Mercato Centrale in Florence. Shopping at Campo for fruit and a nearby market for meat/cheese, we'd have a wonderful breakfast of grapes, strawberries, blood oranges, cheese & prosciutto with our coffee.

Lunches are usually catch-as-catch-can with street food, a piece of pizza or a panini. A quick pick-me-up espresso was 1 Euro or less, usually standing up at the bar of a tabacchi shop. But dinner was the thing for us--we'd research, stay away from the hawkers and places near attractions, and usually find a great restaurant. In Rome (our last trip in March of this year), we stayed in an apartment, ate very well but watched the prices and for the day spent in the range of 35 Euro/per person, maybe as high as 40-45 a couple of days. Very reasonable, and that was including a half-carafe of house wine at each dinner. Florence & Sorrento might have been a little higher. Salerno was on a par cost-wise with Rome. Anywhere on the Amalfi Coast you'll pay through the nose because they have a captive audience.

We found it so much fun to eat great local food, buy it at markets and stores, and pay less than we had originally thought. Enjoy your planning!

Breakfast: generally included with hotel accommodations. At a coffee bar, a cappuccino plus pastry can be had for 3 or 4€ if you stand at the counter (some places in tourist areas charge more for table service).

For full multi course Lunch and dinners (prices don't change in Italy) at a sit down restaurant budget about €35pp per meal, including everything (no tipping necessary). Of course some places you may spend a bit more or a bit less but the €35 pp per meal average works for me and my wife, and I'm big and order primo, secondo, dolce, caffè espresso, amaro. I generally share the antipasto with my wife. Half a liter house wine for two people and 1 lt of sparkling water is our minimum drinking requirement.

I like having breakfast at my hotel or B&B. Lunch is my main meal, but at most I order an antipasto, primo or secondo, and a contorno. Dinner is usually a lighter version of lunch. A quarter carafe of wine will yield two glasses, or order by the glass. Sometimes an mixed antipasto of local meats, cheeses, and vegetables for two and a salad will be plenty.

Good point about smokers eating outside. And November evenings can be chilly.

Snacks are a great excuse to sit outside and enjoy being. I always try to make time for a sit-down coffee or cocktail.

In smaller towns, a good meal can be had for €20/pp. in larger cities as well, but you have to look harder. In most larger cities, €30-40/pp should do it for restaurant lunches and dinners.

I have yet to understand why people buy bottled water in Italy

Because Italians do not trust anything that's under the responsibility of the government

I agree with the WAG of $40-$50 per person per day. I'd count on that, but you can probably do better if needed.

Our agriturismo put out a great spread every morning, which was included in our stay. Since we were the only guests for the week, we didn't feel bad helping ourselves to a hearty breakfast. We usually ate a small lunch, sometimes just fruit and cheese. We only splurged once for dinner at our agriturismo where we spent $100 for the two of us. That included two(!) bottles of wine and five courses.

I suggest having a nice lunch or dinner once a week and you'll be able to easily come in at or below $40.

Just to add to what everybody else said (which is pretty much spot-on),

There are a lot of other options out there. Panini and checceti-style shops dot the urban landscape in all the cities. Markets such as the Mertato Centrale in Florence have food stalls that are kind of like our urban food trucks/pop-up restaurants. They're a great way to sample different foods and they're cheap.

There are also places that specialize in pre-prepared hot food to go. They can be surprisingly good and a very good value. Research how to order in a deli by weight - it's usually by "etto" which is 100 grams.

As stated, tap water is not automatic or even the norm in Italy (or anywhere else in Europe). When one orders water, it's is normally assumed they want bottled water and they will be asked naturale/still or carbonato/bubbly. Tap water can be requested but not all places with serve it.

Table wine is as cheap or cheaper than bottled water in a restaurant. It is normally ordered by the glass or 1/4, 1/2 or full liter carafe. I found that most while table wine was at least a little 'frizzy', especially in northern Italy.

I suggest you do some research on the eating customs in Italy. Rick has a lot of good information in his books and right here in his travel tips section. Another very good blog that might interest you is Girl In Florence. Ron in Rome is also a perennial favorite of tourists to Italy,

"I have yet to understand why people buy bottled water in Italy."

Because it's the custom and frankly so cheap that skipping it is not worth it.

Restaurants rarely charge more than a couple of euro for a bottle. It's part of the expected revenue for a restaurant.

In America tap water is brought to you at no charge (in spite of the cost of the waiter delivering it) because American restaurants mark up wine 400% (vs 150% in Italy) and they also expect that you pay the wages of the restaurant staff (with your 15-20% tip).

If you want American norms at restaurants in Italy (free tap water) then you should apply the same norms to everything else. Therefore ask to be charged 3 times as much for wine and leave a fat tip when you leave.

My advice is try to stay places that offer breakfast included. They won't mind if you take some fruit with you, there is a snack! Don't deprive yourselves of food in a country like Italy!

If your hotels have a mini fridge go to a shop and buy some cold cuts and cheese or salad items and a can of tuna always make a quick meal. I like nuts and I pack them from home or pick up some along the way, good protein and can be eaten on the go, your system or time clock may be off and hunger can strike at odd times.

Many bars offer little snacks in the evening happy hours, so for the cost of one drink you can snack all you want! Especially if you make lunch your main meal. On the go snacks such as pizza, aranchini and panini are cheap street food.

Sharing plates in Italy is not frowned upon like in the U.S. The wait staff are not dependent on how much you order.

Enjoy your trip!

In Florence, stop by Self Service Leonardo (near Duomo, info in RS Italy) for well-made and inexpensive food cafeteria style. Free pitchers of water (ask for ice)

We just returned from 3 weeks in Italy, including Rome, Florence, & Tuscany. If you eat as you outlined, here is my estimate:
Breakfast - 3-4 Euro/each
Lunch - 15-20 Euro/each
Dinner - 20-30 Euro/each
Wine - 4-10 Euro/glass, depends on what wine you choose
We stayed in a hotel that included breakfast in the rate, and we almost never ate 2 full meals each day.
Even with a glass of wine each for dinner, you should be able to dine well on a budget of 100 Euro per day.