I just finished by 21st trip to Italy (only 5 weeks this time). From Sicily to Venice I saw very similar things: waiting lines. In Rome, at 10:00pm, there were lines outside of restaurants in Trastevere and Campo di Fiori. Spme places had at least 50 people in line, with no reservations. Not sure if they got fed but I am sure they were not comfortable. It isn't always easy to make dining choices early in your trip planning. But it could be easy to make a choice a day, or two, in advance, or maybe even early in the day you want to enjoy a specific restaurant. What I think tourists don't understand is that restaurants, unlike in the States, do not rely on 'in and out' guests. Italians eat late, maybe as early as 8 o'clock. Dining is not just about food, it's about family, friends, relaxing and not being rushed. Try it! I'll bet you might like it . . . and maybe take the idea home with you as a souvenir. So, avoid lines, avoid disappointments, avoid hunger pains: reserve! You can request specific times (be a little flexible), and inside or outside seating. If you like the place and food, you might want to make a reservation for another night before leaving. That does not go unnoticed, by the way. Visiting Italy is not just about the sites but also about the experiences, the culture, the sense of values and the value of time. Dinner time can be a big part of your visit. After all, don't you deserve it!?!
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5273 posts
Dining is not just about food, it's about family, friends, relaxing
and not being rushed. Try it! I'll bet you might like it . . .
I get it that the dining experience is important to some, but it's my least favourite part of vacation by a country mile. I want to eat and get moving again. I'm the same way at home, even family dinners at Christmas and Easter can be excruciating. Give me 15 minutes to chow down and I can move on. This attitude helps me out because I can eat before others are eating and rarely run into a problem of needing a reservation.
Posted by
3178 posts
We spent 17 nights in Italy in June and July this year. We only had a reservation in one place--that was in Bologna made the afternoon before. There were just two of us and we went early for Italians (7 - 7:30 pm) and never had a trouble getting a table. We waited for about 20 minutes in Ortisei but had a lemoncello spritz while we waited. But otherwise were seated immediately.
I am not saying getting a reservation isn't a good idea but we frankly were never organized enough to do that. We sorta decided each night what we wanted to do for dinner.
Posted by
Calgary
1841 posts
I'm with Allan.
I don't drink wine. I don't drink coffee in the evenings. I don't want to linger for hours over a meal, doing nothing but talking with my husband, with whom I've talked all day. When we are on vacation, we spend every minute of every day together. We don't want to spend hours of our precious sightseeing time sitting in a restaurant. So, for us, eating dinner IS about food, rather than "family, etc..."
Also, my husband has a neurological condition wherein one of the effects is reflux. The closer to bedtime he eats, the worse it will be. As I get older, I, too, experience discomfort if I eat too close to bedtime. It is better for us to eat earlier and be done with it.
In Italy, we would go for dinner as soon as a place opened (which was already later than we would prefer to eat), and we never had to line up. That worked for us.
I don't assume that our way is superior, and I don't expect others to do as we do or urge them to do things my way. I appreciate the same consideration from others.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
901 posts
I think maybe if I had a particular place I wanted to eat at I would DEFINITELY make reservations. But, like in my town, Salerno, I know my places, and they aren't real "reservation" places. Maybe it IS because we go at 8 or 8:30? There is ONE place, CiciRinella that I make a reservation, but it is because it's a "fancier" place.
I KNOW I made a reservation at Trattoria ZaZa in Florence, and I DID skip ahead of like 20 people in line outside? But I don't know if that is the reservation line or not? I really wanna know....they stopped me before going inside and I was like "Abbiamo prenotato" (I hope I said more nice words than that, but I can't remember) and they let me in.....I still haven't decided if I skipped a "reservation check in line" or just a line of people waiting for a table....I really hope I wasn't rude! But I have always reserved there and have never been seated outside in the weird glass box, so that's something!
I think one of my new fav restaurants in Florence, La Spada, I made a reservation at once too, after I discovered how much I loved their Tuscan version of cacio e pepe. There are two restaurants in Rome that I might make a point to reserve next time too, Da Lucia in Trastevere and Der Pallaro near Campo dei Fiori, two we found in an old Rick book in our apartment, but both we got into without a reservation.
So maybe I am half and half!
But food is at LEAST HALF of my excitement of a trip.
I think the lines of 50 people outside is kind of ridiculous though, if you want to go there SO BAD that you are willing to wait hours to get in, you must have had enough desire to be able to make a reservation in advance.
Posted by
Chicagoland
1069 posts
Well, I'm with Robert. Food and drink is a part of my travel experience. I enjoy relaxing at the end of my day. Sometimes in a restaurant, sometimes outside on a terrace, sometimes in my room. I always try to reserve, even if it's the same day. I don't stand in line for a table at home. Why would I do it when I travel?
Reserving a table is a courtesy to the restaurant. They get a better handle on staffing and menu. And in smaller places a reservation can make a huge difference.
I do understand that to some, the dining experience is not important or enjoyable. I guess we wouldn't be good travel partners.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1695 posts
In Trastevere, the wildly successful Tonnarello doesn't take reservations, has outside tables that appear to go on for blocks, and apparently people are willing to endure long waits to say they've had the carbonara there.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16825 posts
Making reservations is the practice in most restaurants in Italy, especially if the number in your party is over two people (and on special occasions, like weekends, even for just two). For just two people the restaurant is often able to accommodate you even without reservations, maybe after a wait. We eat late in Italy, (rarely before 8:30pm) even more so in the south and in cities, so if you go early when restaurants open (many restaurants generally open at 7 or sometimes 7:30pm), they might be able to accommodate you if you promise to be done by 9pm when the Italians patrons tend to arrive. Some popular places don’t take reservations at all, so in that case you must wing it and wait in line. The above is true for both lunch and dinner. Sunday lunches are particularly busy in restaurants patronized by Italian families (especially countryside or out of city centers restaurants). If you venture out of town, like in the Tuscan countryside or smaller towns, on a Sunday, be sure to reserve a table for lunch because otherwise the wait will be very long.
Posted by
SoCal
1963 posts
This thread once again illustrates how travelers have different priorities, styles and interests. Vive la difference! I need to remind myself of the need to honor other travelers' styles that differ from my own.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
901 posts
Oooooo never heard of Tonnarello.....their menu gives me a headache though, all those languages!
Since I have never heard of it, I guess it wasn't high on my list. I bet I can get carbonara somewhere else too :) So I guess my statement should be changed.....
if you want to go there SO BAD that you are willing to wait hours to get into a restaurant that TAKES RESERVATIONS, you must have had enough desire to be able to make a reservation in advance.....but didn't :)
But the pasta alla gricia at da Lucia? AMAZING :) haha