Where to eat in Rome? How to avoid tourist Traps

What area of Rome are you staying in?

Any place serving food before 6:30 PM,

not posting prices outside,

advertising "no cover charge" in English on a blackboard,

where waiters expect a tip,

mentioning some guy named Alfredo on the menu,

selling spaghetti with meat based sauce

and mixing pasta and polpette in the same plate...

... is a tourist trap.

Rome: Yes make a reservation ahead for your first night in Rome. Ask your hotel to do this for you. Buy the following Apps: Elizabeth Minichelli’s EAT ROME and Katie Parla’s Rome. You will not read about tourist trap places in their guides. Worth every penny.
Capri:
Il Geranio ( sit outside for the views)
Da Giorgio ( in Capri town) , views of Bay of Naples, more casual than others listed.
Monzú , at Punta Tragara, one of the best meals I have ever had.
Sorrento: Ristorante Bagni Delfino, fantastic seafood in a waterfront setting in Fishermen’s Marina,
a reason to return to Sorrento
Ristorante Tasso- beautifully prepared and presented dishes. Everything we ordered was delicious.

Thanks! we are staying near via Dei fienili for 3 nights and near the termini for one night. I am leaning towards Emma pizzeria, ristorante alessio, da bruno, pianostrada, trattoria Monti, cline exilian and gonna better. Any objections to this list? We definitely don't speak Italian but I have read about how to order and how to know your receipt and look for service charge on the menu to make sure we are not taken advantage of. Any more advice on how to avoid this?

Some of the truly non-touristy restaurants don't have printed menus. The waiter comes to the table and tells you (in Italian) what's available. That makes it challenging to know what to order if you don't speak Italian. I have the impression that La Tavernaccia da Bruno might be like that. (Their website does not have an English language option.)

FWIW, my standard advice for finding a good restaurant is "The shorter the menu, the better the food."

I really like the Trattoria Vechia http://www.trattoriavecchiaroma.it/

It's a popular place and you'd better have a reservation or you won't get in.

Read Rick’s comments on the courses served at dinner; pasta is just one course of two or three and servings are smaller than we are used to. Also dinner is served later 8.00 - 10.30 pm. I remember stopping at a neighbourhood restaurant quite early on my last night in Rome. They were advertising my favourite, gnocchi, and were somewhat concerned when that was all I ordered along with a glass of wine. Oh, but it was so good! And happiness on both sides when I asked for bread to soak up the last of the sauce!

Stay away if it isn't: crowded, loud, or has a menu in more languages than you speak fluently. If the locals don't want to eat there, why would you? If nobody is having fun, you think you will? If people don't smile or applaud when the food arrives there's something wrong. Remember the table is yours for the evening and they are in no hurry to bring you the bill and get you out. You shouldn't be either! Try Trastevere, that area has lots of places you should enjoy . . . really enjoy!

I've never been anywhere that people applauded when their food was delivered.

Sorry to hear that, Nigel. Smiles and wows are more common but I can count at least 17 times during my last trip to Italy (Sorrento, Assisi, Rome, Venice, Florence) when there were cheers and/or applause. Maybe it is in how the staff present the food - with smiles and a flourish in the way the plate is set down on the table. It's like giving and receiving a gift. For me, that makes for a great night out!

Maybe you were in tourist traps and those applauding were not italians.

Except for his/her wedding day, a local would rather die than applaude in a restaurant.

Wow, never saw applauding, either.

When my husband and I were on a cruise, people applauded when the waiters brought out the Baked Alaska, but otherwise I have never seen people applaud for the food in a restaurant.

Robert - Could you share the names of these "clap traps" [sorry - couldn't resist]?

Does anyone actually have a name of a restaurant they recommend that is a locals place??? I have looked on previous post and there is a multitude of suggestions but some that I have looked up seem to still be touristy and not a local spot.

Oh, the irony of asking a tourist bulletin board for the name of a restaurant where tourists don't go. (^_^)

Here's one that doesn't get many tourists: Il Vascello dai Sardi, in the Monteverde neighborhood at Via Giuseppe Massari, 8. No website. Sardinian food.

And here's another one that a Roman friend of mine recommends as one of her favorites, also in the Monteverde neighborhood:
http://www.lagattamangiona.com/

And another one in MV: Trattoria da Cesare. Here's a youtube video, in Italian, about it. https://youtu.be/Kd1lKbdM5IE