Food-To get reservations or to not get reservations

This probably depends on how important food is to you. You have a better chance for two than a larger group, but if there is someplace special then booking a reservation makes sense. Also look at a lunch option, which may be easier. If you want an excellent place in Venice it is Trattoria Antiche Carampane. Small, so reservations a must. You can’t charm them into letting you in without them. If you go, make sure to scout the location in the daytime, it is somewhat obscure.

I agree that reservations are not necessary unless you're going to a well-known place or to one that you particularly want to go to. In four trips to Italy we have made reservations twice, both times at a small restaurant in Orgia in Tuscany that has become well-known. Also, Italians tend to eat dinner much later than most Americans, so if you show up when the restaurant opens you are very likely to be the only ones or among the first there - or the only non-Italians.

This is our observation and experience over the past 40 years or so. Others may disagree and it could be changing. Reservation at the better places are expected and will get you a better table and service for the evening meal. Lunch is more of a drop in and see what is available. I almost think that reservations are a sign of respect for the restaurant. Often times we will walk by the restaurant earlier in the day and make the reservation for that evening. And we have walked up without a reservation and been OK. Sometimes we had to wait when there was no one else around or have that table by the kitchen door. So I don't know if there is a firm answer to your question --- BUT -- we always try to have reservations for the evening meals. It works for us.

My guess is you are not "foodies," or you would already have a list of the top Michelin-rated restaurants in each place. This is by no means a criticism, mind you. You should do just fine wandering around, several blocks away from the main tourist spots, and seeing places that look inviting and authentic to the city (Rick suggests looking for chalk-board menus, no menus with pictures, etc.) Then check reviews and make on-line or in person reservations. I also get great suggestions from locals and the hotel I'm staying at. For me, the ambience is almost as important as the food, so being able to walk by and look at a place is helpful, and part of the fun of getting to know a place. Finally, you will find mention of many hidden gems on this forum, so keep a list handy for when you are there.

If it’s just two people they should be able to sit you, maybe after a wait. When I make reservations for me and my wife, I just do so the same day, before dinner, sometimes just a few hours (or even minutes earlier). Often we just show up without reservations and if they tell us the wait is too long, we go elsewhere. If you must absolutely go to a specific restaurant that is very popular, and you are not willing to compromise and go elsewhere, then make reservations.

Venice is small and crowded with tourists all the times, so be ready to reserve or wait for a long time.

Saturday nights and especially Sundays at lunch is when Italians eat out a lot, so keep that in mind. Italians eat lunch after 1pm (or after 1:30pm in Rome), and have dinner after 8:30pm (9:30pm in Rome). If you go when restaurants open (7pm or 730pm for dinner, or at noon for lunch), they might be able to sit you even if they are fully booked, if you promise you’ll be done in 1.50 hours).

We actually are foodies. We both have never been to Europe and don't know what to expect. His "belief" is that there will be plenty of amazing food in Italy, that we can just wander the streets and get into one. He thinks that the restaurants that are booked out for weeks to months are possibly tourist traps, and maybe we need to just wander into places that are not as packed to find the local ones? He said that those just happen to be the restaurants flooding peoples tik tok feed or timeline, which is why they are so hard to get into. He said he does not want to be overloaded with our timeline and places we need to be at certain times, which is why he said he prefers to just walk around and find a place. But I on the other hand don't know what to think, and didn't know if that was a mistake if we are wanting to eat amazing LOCAL food.

There is a difference between restaurants "flooding people's tik toks or feeds" and popular good restaurants. If you are foodies, definitely check out the Michelin starred ones as well as the bib gourmands. Check out the ones that Rick loves (those will be at least good food, if not popular-ish) and then do some research. I really lurk around here and other places where people talk about Italy and get your own ideas of good places that might interest you. I would DEFINITELY make a point to make at least one reservation in each home base before your trip for one restaurant you REALLY want to go to, just in case your wandering doesn't pan out well for your other meals.

I do agree that starting farther away from the main tourist piazzas is a good idea, but some places out there are also not good and trapping tourists who "don't want to eat at a tourist place" (ugh a place in Rome I remember boo). Chalkboard menus, menus without pictures, restaurants that don't have people trying to entice you into......those are a good place to start....

With 433 days so far in Italy, the one merely average meal we've had was when we used the wander around strategy. 10 years ago. Otherwise, it's been "amazing local food" every time. I don't think of us as foodies, but we do care a lot about food and my husband is a fabulous cook. He knows how to find restaurants online, and even I can do a decent job myself using Google maps and looking at photos and menus of places rated more than 4.5 that are not, say, Irish pubs. We dislike fancy places, and prefer small unpretentious places --- these get booked up more often than you'd think, even in the off season, which is when we travel.

I always feel bad for the people who get turned away at the door. This March, in Palermo, we didn't make a reservation for lunch at a place on our list, and we almost got turned away, but then we looked so sad that the guy let us in but said we could not order for 20 minutes --- I'm pretty sure he assumed we were in-a-hurry tourists and wouldn't wait, but we were happy to wait and it turned out to be our favorite place to eat in Palermo. I am pretty sure his mother was cooking.

So, anyway, we have a short list of likely restaurants within an area of town, usually for lunch, and my husband walks by them the day before and will make a reservation then. You know, you can cancel if you change your plans.

Can you eat very well and have a good experience with the wander around method? Well, sure, it's Italy. If you really don't want to be tied down, it can work if you get good at recognizing the kind of place and the kind of menu you like. And the kind of places to avoid, like if someone is out in front inviting you in. Or you can sit somewhere with your phone and use my Google maps strategy if you are tired of walking around --- we have done that at noon, made a reservation for 1:00pm or 2:00pm, and been very happy with our choice.

Come back and let us know how it went!

I think your husband is a very smart guy.

Everyone enjoys great food. But if you have a serious food fetish, and you have your heart set on dining in a particular place, to avoid disappointment you should at least consider getting a rez for that place. For every dinner in every city? No thank you.

I have a hard time remembering having made reservations for more than a handful of meals in the past decade (and we go to Europe and other continents regularly - and like to eat as much as anyone). Honestly, there's great food everywhere. I'll admit I have a bit of a bad attitude about how so many people obsess over where they eat, and I agree very much with your husband that most of that nonsense is greatly fueled by social media. And yes, some very high-end places are just popular (even without social media), and the demand exceeds capacity. I generally don't feel any great need to eat in those places.

I take solace in remembering that if some restaurant is so overwhelmed with social media fame, I probably don't want to be seated in there crowded together with the kind of people who have made it so instragrammy and tiktoky famous. I'm also very confident that there's usually plenty of wonderful food that I'll enjoy at least as much at the not-so-famous place just around the corner or down the street, without all the fuss, drama, and eye-rolling I would be compelled to do at the overly popular spots.

I'm happy enough to make a same-day or MAYBE tomorrow-night reservation for dinner at a place that looks good as I wander the streets and explore the city that afternoon. But booking all my dinners weeks in advance? I'd rather feast on gas-station sushi. YMMV.

I do make occasional exceptions, for domestic tranquility or special cases...

On the last trip to Japan, we made reservations a day in advance (on the phone, we don't speak Japanese, it was challenging but we got it done) at a place called "the Japan beef center" where you get ultra-premium (and usually ultra-expensive) Japanese meats cooked to order (and delivered to your table by robots, of course); this place offers high quality food, minimal atmosphere, at impossible low prices, with a time-limited all-you-can-order-and-eat slot. IIRC you get 90 minutes, order all you want and can finish (repeatedly), and at surprisingly cheap prices. After 90 minutes in there, we were certainly ready to leave, others had to be told their time was up and to leave. The place is touristically famous and all over social media, and I can see why. My spouse insisted we must eat there and she got no pushback from me (it was really good, incredibly cheap, and sold out every day).

Upcoming trip to southern Italy I plan to make just one dinner reservation in advance, it's a special location "dining experience" and I'm hoping to surprise my wife with a lovely meal. The food looks wonderful and it's in a very unique location and has a small seating area, so quite a splurge for us, nearly impossible to get reservations (at least it looks that way in peak season, I'm hoping by mid-September, the feeding frenzy cools at least a bit, we'll see); if it's as good as I'm hoping, I'll share details here after we get back.

I'm definitely in your husband's camp on this subject. Italy is overflowing with wonderful food - IME you have to work pretty hard (or be very unlucky or make bad choices) to find a bad meal. There are exceptions (over-touristed locations and peak season increase the risk, but we try to avoid those). Buon appetito

Thank you everyone for the replies and advice!