KenP

Family of four (two teens 14 & 16) will be in Rome / Venice the last week of June and early July. Not interested in upscale dining, however, would like nice ambiance outdoor dining. Would prefer to walk around and find a place that appeals to us...however, given the summer crowds would it be best to make reservations at restaurants? Thanks for your advice.

gard

Hi

My wife and I went to Rome in July last year. I have posted a bit of information about the places we ate at in my trip report on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm
We also went to Venice a couple of years back and I have posted a similar trip report on this page http://gardkarlsen.com/italy_venice.htm

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Statia

I have never made reservations in either city and haven't had a problem (even in Venice in July). I might have arrived when there was no table available, but I've just done some more walking around and checked back later.

I also prefer to just wander and eat somewhere that strikes my fancy....at least for some of the nights. I don't necessarily like having to meet a reservation obligation on every night of my trip.

So, I would say that you shouldn't have a problem.

MaureenB

We rarely make reservations for dinner when we travel to new cities, as we like to end up wherever the day's activities take us, and not be bound to any time-frame for dinner.

In Rome, here are two restaurants my daughter and I really liked (from my Rome trip report) recently:

"For dinner, we headed back toward a restaurant where my daughter had eaten earlier that semester. It’s very casual and good, called the Maccheroni Ristorante at Piazza delle Coppelle, 44, phone 06 68307895. It’s very popular with locals and gets very busy. The service is friendly and the atmosphere is lively and interesting. About 47 EUR for two, with one-half liter of house wine. (We didn't have a reservation.)

The next night, we had reservations at Il Matriciano, on Via dei Gracchi, 49- 61 (phone 063213040, or 063212327). It’s perfect for a more special dinner, but certainly not over-the-top. For three people dining, we paid just 103 EUR, which included a liter of house wine. We shared two appetizers, and two of us had veal dishes, one had just spaghetti. We each enjoyed coffee and dessert. It is a very, very friendly and pleasant place. We completely enjoyed it. It's in a more quiet neighborhood, closer to the Vatican."

Have fun on your trip!

MaureenB

P.S. I forgot to mention, since you're interested in outdoor dining-- the Maccheroni Ristorante at Piazza delle Coppelle had nice outdoor seating, as did many restaurants in that neighborhood. It seemed to be an area full of casual dining.

tuscanlifeedit

Well, I like to reserve at restaurants where I know I want to eat. I wouldn't want to not get a table if it was a place I was looking forward to visiting. A lot of places with the nicest outdoor table get filled quickly.

However, I find it very easy to get hotels to make the reservations for me.

nytraveler

We don;t always make reservations - since we often eat at casuale places. But when walking around during the day we watch for interesting places and ask if we will need reservations. If they say yes we make them then (and often you need them for outside when you don;t for inside).

We generally do advance reservations for only one special place in each city. And some days we just wander and eat at some cafe that looks nice.

nessundorma

Don't make reservations. Nothing is worse than being hungry and footsore and smelling delicious food under you nose but you have to trek across town to get to the restaurant where you made a dinner reservation.

The Time Out guide to Rome is organized by neighborhoods, so when you get hungry, you can see what Time Out has recommended that is nearby if your nose and eyeballs haven't already led you to something you want to try.

Venice is much smaller than Rome, and I think a good strategy there is that, if you spot a restaurant with a nice view or ambience, stick your head in the door and make a reservation for later that evening. Some restaurants in Venice have a business card with a small map showing their location, which is quite handy to help you find your way back.

MaureenB

Nessundorma is correct, IMHO. Been there, done that... and many times, you've trudged across town, starving, and the restaurant isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway. Good advice to keep names of restaurants that interest you, arranged by area and address.

If you find yourself in the area of Pensione La Calcina in Venice, in Dorsoduro 780, they have a very nice outdoor restaurant on a wooden deck, that sits at the waterside. It's called Bar Caffe La Piscina. In fact, if you e-mail the Pensione about availability, they usually very kindly send back regrets, in an e-mail also offering a 12 percent discount at their La Piscina. It's a bit expensive , so we were glad to have the discount. We enjoyed lunch there this past Mother's Day. Very nice wine, salads, panini, etc. Can't beat the view, either, across the water.
Also, we looked inside the Pensione la Calcina and totally understand now why it is so highly recommended, especially on this forum. I think you need to contact them about a year in advance, though. It looks so nice, we were wondering why the price is so low (don't tell them I said that!). We'd definitely try to stay there in the future.

ira

>Don't make reservations. Nothing is worse than being hungry and footsore and smelling delicious food under you nose but you have to trek across town to get to the restaurant where you made a dinner reservation. <

And if you don't show at the restaurant where you made the reservations, what will they do to you?

We make reservations when we find a place we would definitely like to eat. This is especially useful in small restaurants.