How to choose a Roman restaurant

The bread is used after the pasta is eaten - to mop up the remains of the sauce, so you get to enjoy every last drop of it.

That action that Italians call "Far la scarpetta" (make the small shoe), as good as it might be, is not something you should do in a high class restaurant. It is not considered to be polite or sophisticated. Of course, at home, we all do it.

Wondering about food in the window: I can see why there's no need for pasta to be displayed. But I've had the impression that some fresh, seasonal items on display (like porcini or artichokes) are meant to "prove" that they have the fresh item in stock and that even locals would want to know that. Or fish or steaks to allow you to inspect the quality. But someone else might correct me. I feel like this is more common in Florence or Venice than in Rome.

You can send the bread away, but I would not expect that to erase the €2 (or so) cover charge, which may be called "pane e coperto." The only time I invoked that type of refund was when a touristy restaurant (I think near Campo dei Fiori) charged for bread and didn't actually give me any.

If you can find a real, handwritten menu, preferably with a date at the top, that's often a good sign. But there are touristy places (again seen most in Venice) that have "daily special" blackboard items that I think are just as permanent as the laminated menus.

Thanks for the info! It's going to be real handy for my first time to Italy!

I'll add mine: The shorter the menu, the better the food.

in a high class restaurant

To tell the truth, Roberto, all the italian starred cooks i've had to work with told me that they love when empty plates come back into the kitchen with "scarpetta clues".

They hate to be the kind of place where Italians don't dare to do it: thank God we don't live in the 80s anymore and our restaurants quit trying to ape the French way. "Your" Pinchiorri family is included in the list.

Bread costs 1 or 2 euro per basket and can be waived away to save money only in Rome and the surrounding Lazio region; it happens thanks to a stupid roman major that wanted the "Bread & Cover charge" to be forbidden. He had no time to understand the real reason there is a cover charge in a country where waiters can't bring the bill at the table if the customers haven't asked for it.

All around italy if bread is considered a fixed cost you have to pay for it, you can't eat without bread in real italian places: nonna would get mad at you. My nonna would have never started to dine if the bread wasn't on the table.

Note that "All the bread the table wants" is included in the "bread & cover charge", not just a single basket.

Those working in the restaurant sector agree that stupid politician, banning the Bread & Cover charge, has raised actual costs for Italian customers, made things easier for "Alfredo's style" places aimed only to foreign tourists and made roman restaurants even worse.

No italian would ever dream of going to Rome for a foodies' vacation these days, like they do in Florence and Emilia-Romagna.

I'll add mine: The shorter the menu, the better the food.

"Vangelo!" (Gospel) as Bubba's mother said in the Italian version of Forrest Gump.

The tips for choosing a restaurant are applicable not just to Rome, but all foreign cities in general (replace "piazza" with "town square").

Hi Chani,

Thanks for all the great tips!

I try to always...

Head down one of the side streets to find where the locals eat.

This reminds me of when we visited Santorini.... I asked a local (working at a shop), where he likes to eat, he then mentioned a big touristy restaurant we had seen the night before, to which I responded; no, where do YOU like to eat?
His response was something like this: "walk straight down the road, about 400 meters, turn right, then next to the car rental store, there's a small place with good food" So, we walked down the road, turned right and found a tiny place with delicious home-made food. We ate there every day during our visit!

Enjoy the rest of your amazing trip!

Wonderful list! I would also add "If they are open at 6:00pm, walk on by!"

Wonderful information. Does anyone know how this "bread rule" applies to those of us with Celiac and cannot eat traditional bread? We tend to skip all bread, even gluten-free. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this.

mrp, Think of the bread charge, i.e. "pane e coperto" as a tip, and expense of dining out. Just accept the bread and pay the charge.

mrp, I have a gluten intolerance and pass on the bread all the time. For a couple of euro, I don't think about the charge. Sometimes I tell the waiter not to bring bread when I am being seated, since it usually appears quickly. If it shows up, I just ignore it.

Thanks for this great information.

Laurel/Zoe, Thanks for the advice. We do not want to commit a faux pas when dining out.

Chani,

I also have a food tour with The Roman Guy planned for April. Did you enjoy it? Do you recommend it?

Kathy

Last week we stayed at an apartment overlooking the Campo de' Fiori market--in fact, one was directly under us--but we did not dine at any of the perimeter restaurants at all. We just wandered the side streets and got what we needed.

At Emma Pizzeria (an offshoot of the Roscioli bakery and salumeria) I had the spaghetti alla Carbonara of my life. Then at Elle Effe--where the outside walkway was under construction--I had tremendous Sicilian caponata and pizza Siciliana with capers, olives and anchovies.

Did not have a meal in Rome that was not at least very good, and some were just flat out fantastic. Better food town than Florence hands down.