food budget for Italy
 

We are traveling to Italy for 2 weeks .How much should we budget for lunch and dinner during our trip?? .Breakfast will be included with hotels. Two of the people will drink the local wines, two drink coffee/sodas. We travel to Venice ,Tuscany area ,Sorrento and Rome.
thanks for any and all info
dw

You can eat at a wide variety of price points - but assume that sit down meals will cost more than similar in the US. Also do realize that wine (basic house wine) will be significantly cheaper than soft drinks (which in Italy come in tiny cans at 3 euros each).

At lunch we always buy (for 2) a large bottle of water and a 1.2 of wine - with same water but more wine for dinner. If you ask they will serve tap water, but not ice.

For best food at reasonable prices avoid:

Restaurants immediately adjacent to major sights
Those with menus in 8 languages
Those with pictures of the food
Those with a tout outside trying to lure you in

Try to find the places where locals eat - better food and lower prices

We do one nice dinner in each city we visit and assume that will be $250 to $300 for a couple

I always go with what I can afford. Perhaps you don't have any set budget but since you're asking I'm guessing that you have a limited budget. Just as any place else, Italy has a wide range of restaurant pricing. Decide what you can afford and stick with that.

Bars offer inexpensive food such as paninis, pizza slices. It costs more to sit down and more yet to sit down outside. The cheapest pricing is for take away.

Don't eat near major tourist attractions since you will be paying top Euro for the privilege. You can have a wine or coffee in one of the squares and eat meals a few blocks away. Get some guide books for recommendations as they offer descriptions of restaurants and pricing. You can also search on this board for recommendations.

Regarding the wine/soda choices - are you pooling your money? If so, the soda drinkers can always add more to the pot to make up the difference if anyone is uncomfortable with price differences. I always find that things even out over time.

Are you assuming that you will only eat/drink during lunch and dinner? No stopping for coffee, ice cream, etc?

I would budget E100 per person per day for all meals, snacks. That will allow you some splurge dinners.

ny traveler thanks
You had some great advise .We have never been to Italy so I wanted no surprises .We will have our credit cards as back-up just wanted to know about how much to take with us.
Thanks again

Adrienne
also thanks for your efforts .We had budgeted (saved up)100 euro each per day .So we should be ok .we plan to just have a great time and take it as it comes, big dinners and a lot of pasta.
Thanks for the reply
dw

If you're looking to save money, have your big meal at lunch, not dinner. You should be fine with 100 euros a day.

<< just wanted to know about how much to take with us >>

Don't take any Euros with you. The best way/best rate to get local currency is by using your ATM/debit cards and get cash as you go along. Not only will you get a better exchange rate you won't have many leftover Euros to change back when you return home.

There are banks all over Italy (just as in the US) and you can make your first transaction at the arrival airport.