General Restaurant Reservation Protocol

You can make a reservation whenever reservations are open. The downside of doing it on the day is that there may be nothing left.
Don't forget that many restaurants have a website that you can book through.

It would be acceptable if there is a table free. If it is a popular place it may not be advisable

Thanks, Lin C. Yes, I kind of prefer the online booking as I don't have to stress out about language barriers and can do it a week ahead. But on this particular trip I will be in Le Marche (some small towns) for a portion of our trip and it's not available for the osterias/trattorias that I am interested in.

Hi, if you’re concerned about the language barrier, i have sent a message to my hotel weeks ahead of time to ask them if they will make a reservation for me. I’ve only done this a couple of times, but they have always nicely secured a reservation for me. Note - I was traveling solo & thought this might help my chances of getting a table.

Could I make a request? I will be in the Le Marche area next year as part of a 1-week art class, plus time afterwards. I’d love to read about your trip! : )

I nearly always reserve on the same day, sometimes just shortly before going, but it’s generally just me and my wife, and they generally don’t have much problem accommodating 2 people. For bigger parties you might be out of luck. Just remember that Saturday at dinner and Sunday (or holidays) at lunch are the busiest times. But if a particular restaurant can’t accommodate me, I just go somewhere else. You can get a great meal practically everywhere in Italy.

For most trattoria/osterias, making a reservation during the day for the evening, or the day before works fine, and what we do most of the time if on passing earlier it looks like a busy place. Of course also, many times, well most, we simply walk up and get a table. Even if I have researched a place, I like to set eyes on it and see the current menu before I commit.

If you are an earlier diner (6 PM to 8PM) then you generally have no issues getting a table (if they open that early) unless it is in a tourist area.

For a fancier place, a few days ahead might be advised, up to a week or more if for a Friday or Saturday night. If you are into a Michelin starred type place, book well ahead by months.

HI!

Would you mind sharing the names of the restaurants you are interested in in Le Marche?
Are you hiding to Senegallia, by any chance?

Hi Jean -- yes, I will do my best to share my experience in Le Marche after we return. Your one-week art class sounds really nice! What type of art do you do? Our trip is maybe a little illogical in terms of logistics but I wanted to see certain places and will deal with a bit of driving.

As far as the Le Marche portion, we have 2 bases. The first 3 nights are in Ascoli Piceno. We are staying at Palazzo dei Mercanti in the center of the town. From here we head north along the coast and then a bit inland to specifically stay in a lodging called "Castello di Monterado" (https://www.castellodimonterado.it/en/). It is a family owned castle with gorgeous rooms, grounds, pool, breakfasts, and a restaurant for dinner. We booked the "Prince's Suite" @ an excellent rate (around 140 Euros/night) -- seems crazy! We are here for 3 nights and will take day trips to various towns within an hour drive (Urbino, Senigallia, etc.) From here, we head out of Le Marche with a brief stop (2-3 hours) in Rimini to specifically visit the Fellini Museum. After Fellini we are back in the car heading to Parma for 4 nights -- again with day trips planned from Parma proper. I won't bore or exhaust you with the rest of our journey but hope to have some good stories and info to report when we return. I am putting a post-it on my computer to remind me to write to you!

ekscrunchy, I don't have all the restaurants worked out yet. We do plan to visit Senigallia Centro Storico as one of our day trips from "Castello di Monterado". I know that Senigallia is supposed to have some excellent restaurants. In Ascoli Piceno, I plan to eat at:
C'era Una Volta - Cucina al Chiostro
il Vinattiere Osteria con Cucina
Ristorante Vittoria Ascoli Piceno

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. This forum is always so helpful and entertaining!

In Ascoli Piceno last fall we also enjoyed eating at Osteria Nonna Nina.

Because we are almost always eating lunch rather than dinner, we try to book the day before. Besides wanting to make sure we have a table, it is my impression that a small place in the off-season uses reservations to figure out how much cooking to plan for.

Several times now when our first choice is not available, we have eaten at our 2nd or even 3rd choice of restaurant and found the meal and the experience so good that we wondered how our 1st choice could possibly have been any better. We've only eaten at one mediocre restaurant in Italy, and that one was 100% our own fault for ignoring our own restaurant-finding "rules" due to being hot and tired.

I'd love to read about your trip!

I'm going to give you a tip about a fantastic lunch we had, just outside Ascoli; it was such a lovely afternoon. Not only was the food stellar, but the owner of the agriturismo, Elena, is as lovely as can be. She gave us a tour of the house, with a visit to the cellar where the salumi they make in house were hanging..... And she was open on Monday, when many places were closed. If you have room in your schedule, I highly recommend, but be sure to phone first as I'm not sure she serves every day:

https://www.villacicchi.it/dispensa/eng

In Senigallia, if you are in the mood for a splurge lunch, we had a meal that I still remember at ULIASSI, attended by the wife of the owner, who even gave me a pretty ceramic sardine can! Right on the water....just lovely and when we went the price was surprisingly low for the quality of the meal. Just ignore the three Michelin stars; it was very relaxed and we did not dress up at all.

https://uliassi.com/en/

One more--I don't know the route to Urbino, but if you happen to pass by the tiny hamlet of Bargni, OSTERIA DA GUSTIN, was also spectacular; about as far removed in atmosphere (and price) from ULIASSI as possible, but also absolutely fantastic food in a charmingly rustic room ....tiny place; book ahead:

https://www.dagustin.it

ekscrunchy, WOW - what a goldmine of delicious possibilities you have given me. Villa Cicchi is especially interesting and one of our 3 days happens to be a Monday. So this could be perfect. I am going to email her in advance with our date and see what she says. I like the idea of lunch there so we have the light of day to maybe have a little tour if she would be kind enough. I will look at the others later today and I have a feeling I will be adding them to my notebook. Can't thank you enough. -- Rose

Grazie, nancys8! I will look into Osteria Nonna Nina. Sounds like a very down to earth place -- which I like. I feel my pants tightening just talking about all of these restaurants. LOL

You are welcome! I just now used the FREE BALLPOINT PEN that Osteria Nonna Nina gave me!

Here's the Ascoli Piceno section from my trip report:

... interesting, and oddly beautiful, was the skyline of this town — a mixture of lovely old architecture and elegant cranes, there to repair the earthquake damage.

Chiesa di San Francesco has two of the silliest looking stone lions I have ever seen, laughing with a full set of human teeth rather than lion teeth — I always photograph painted and sculpted lions, the less like lions they look, the better.

The cool bridge we wanted to see was closed, but could be seen from another bridge.

We looked for and found some of the 100+ “pietre parlanti” (speaking stones). These are carved stone doorway signs with sayings in Italian, Latin, and vernacular.

A few examples:

Semper festina lente = Always hurry slowly

Non senza fatiga = Not without effort

Difficile placere multis = It is difficult to please many

Chi altri tribula axe non da pace = Who makes others suffer gives himself no peace

.......

My two favorites:

Mentem habeas vafri polpi = Have the mind of a cunning octopus

.....

Chi po non vo, chi vo non po, chi sa non fa, chi fa non sa, et cosi il mondo mal va =

Who can, doesn't want to.

Who wants to, can't.

Who knows, doesn't do.

Who does, doesn't know.

And so the world goes badly.

.......

Three places where we enjoyed eating in Ascoli Piceno:

Osteria Nonna Nina

C’era Una Volta

Il Vinatiere (our 50th anniversary lunch)

Ascoli Piceno’s special snack is olive all'ascolana — big olives stuffed with a meaty filling, then breaded and deep-fried. Not a fan of olives, but I tasted one and could see the appeal.

nancys8 What synchronicity -- that you were just using your ballpoint pen from Osteria Nonna Nina! And thanks so much for sending lovely memories of your visit -- I enjoyed your writing style!

I knew nothing of those speaking stones or the lions with human teeth. I will have a wonderful "treasure hunt" looking for them. And one of your favorite speaking stone messages seems to really sum up our current world situation

"Who can, doesn't want to.
Who wants to, can't.
Who knows, doesn't do.
Who does, doesn't know.
And so the world goes badly."

Also, we lucked out as we will be visiting during one of their monthly antique market weekends. We will have plenty to keep us entertained in Ascoli Piceno. Can't thank you enough for making our visit even richer. Rose

I usually walk by the restaurant the day of or the day before and do it personally, I prefer to check the restaurant out before hand.