Restaurants in Italy

We asked the hotels where we were staying, and they gave us some wonderful suggestions and made reservations for us. In Venice, they actually had us follow one of the hotel worker to the restaurant so we would not get lost. My husband told them the price range we were interested in. We would have never discovered these great restaurants on our own.

You can easily get overloaded with recommendations of restaurants that you simply "must" go to. Ignore them. Do what the previous poster said and tell the front desk what kind of place you're looking for (price range, ambience) and go. They have a vested interest in recommending a place you'll like. Also consider asking the front desk worker where he/she likes to go for dinner. You might get a wonderful out-of-the-way place that can then become for you that place that you tell others they simply "must" go to. :-)

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Italy and used Rick's book for restaurant suggestions. We were very happy with every one we choose. We went for the less pricey ones and did not make reservations. We never had to wait to be seated. Our favorite Rome pizza bar was Cafe della Studente near the Colosseum.

Reservations are a god idea in many cities for both lunch and dinner. You can try going at the opening but you'll find many restaurants fully booked - especially in Florence. Osterias, cafes, etc. not so much. As previous posters recommended, just ask your hotel to help you.

It really depends on what you mean by "good places", Kristy. In both Venice and CT, my wife and I had our best luck with just wandering around, as you said, checking out the customers and using our noses. We particularly liked this technique in Venice, where we found several lovely places far off the beaten path. One rule to remember, not just from me but from many others on this site: try not to eat at a restaurant that is anywhere near a major tourist attraction. The further away you walk from the tourist draws, the more likely you are to find an honest meal at (given our currency devaluation) a reasonable price.
Having said all that, one of the best meals we had in Italy was a Florence restaurant recommended by our hotel clerk that was practically in the shadow of Il Duomo.
Good eating!

In 5 trips to Italy, we've made--at most--2-3 reservations for dinner. On the other hand, we seldom just wander because of the time it takes. We usually have a spot picked out, but just show up.

Steve has good recommendations as does Frommers. Never had a bad experience at a recommended restaurant. Hotel recommendations can be good, but we've sometimes been steered to a place that didn't impress us. Depends on the hotel and maybe the person at the hotel.

Our main advice is to avoid any place that has someone out front trying to entice you to come in.

Since we usually eat our main meal at noon we have never found the need for reservations.

I don't like being tied down to a reservation since I enjoy wandering. I also enjoy reading guide books and planning, so I get a plastic coated map of the cities I visit, some stick on numbers, and labels. On a part of the map I'm not using I stick on the lables and list restaurants recommended in the guidebooks I've read. I use the numbers to mark them on the map. Then no matter what neighborhood I find myself in at mealtime I've got a lot of options ready.

I also snacked a lot on gelato and cannolis so I usually ate late after the rush if you prefer not to eat early. Rick's recommendations were pretty good, especially the aforementioned Caffe Dello Studente near the Coliseum and Trattoria dar Pallaro near Campo Di Fiori - Paola is the italian grandmother you never knew you had!

Our family has traveled many times to Europe. We are true food and wine lovers, but with few exceptions have not booked ahead. Like many others have responded..we ask at the front desk.."Where do the locals eat?"
From our experience,in Italy ....you cannot go wrong !