Wing it! I make lists and plans before we leave but once we are there we take it as we go. If a place on the list happens to be convinient then we go otherewise we just follow the locals and ask around. Never had a truly awful meal in Italy; most were really good. Do not become a slave to THE LIST, that is one of my travel mottos:)

Hello.
We spent 2 weeks in Rome earlier this summer, and we totally relied on restaurant recommendations from this forum.
The very kind and knowledgable folks here provided us with the names of many many restaurants in Rome. Every one we tried was great. No, we didnt plan out every meal. Just decided which direction we wanted to walk/drive to, consulted our list to find a restaurant in that general area, and off we went.
Have a good trip.
minnie.

Two methods: luck and locals.

See http://www.straughan.com/italy/travel/rome.htm for a trip report which includes a lot of specific restaurants, most of which we ended up at by (happy) accident.

Or ask people, e.g. on another trip I asked a shop clerk at the Colosseum, and she directed us to a tiny place where people working in the area eat, very authentic and very cheap Roman food.

Avoid anything that advertises a "tourist menu".


best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

http://www.straughan.com

I really enjoy eating in restaurants, but to be honest still a couple of years ago as a student I was usually broke and I had to eat fastfood. in Italy McDonald's is not so common and that's great, because the take-away pizza slices are just fantastic. And good value for money too. Especially when they take a whole pan out of the oven right in front of you I have to stop and get a piece. I just ate lunch, but I'm hungry again. =)

The question is, do any of you eat often "fastfood". And by fastfood I don't just mean the Mc D's and BK. The french have the best paninis and sandwiches. The germans have those Döners (or at least in Germany) and Pretzels and so on.

We get as far away from the tourist areas as possible. We love to walk, so it's not a big deal to do this.

It's a good sign if the restaurant doesn't have it's menu translated into 10 languages. It's OK if, after a lot of looking around and yelling back and forth, they can only produce a ratty, wrinkled, old paper copy of the menu in English.

Generally speaking (there are exceptions, of course), the further away you get from tourist venues, the better the dining experience and the lower the cost.

I'm generally a planner but not when it comes to restaurants. I do like to hear about good places that people have eaten, but for the most part we just walk around menu-reading and checking out the scene. If it sounds good, looks good and smells good, we will try it.

I at times obsessively plan where we are going to eat at on vacations, but two restaurants I really enjoyed in Rome we found by accident. One of the two restaurants in Trastevere that we liked were San Michele. It had good pasta and grilled food (Lungotevere Ripa 7). We ate outside and it was full of Roman families having Sunday dinner(afternoon). My favorite pasta of the trip was at Osteria Le mani in pasta (Via dei Genovesi, 37). We went there for lunch and it was full of Romans including the priest. I had seen it when we walked by another day after eating at San Michele and it looked packed. Both were inexpensive.

The advice in this thread beats any guidebook I've read. In general, I never make restaurant reservations when traveling.
I never eat in places where the waiters are just standing around outside and/or luring customers to go inside. I eat when the locals eat. I walk several blocks away from the crowded touristy piazzas and try to observe where the locals are headed.
I do read the posted menu outside first. Odds are these places will take cash only, no credit cards. But its great local food at reasonable prices. And just watch how the service improves if you return the following night!

Wonderful! After seeing so many Fodors threads devoted to nswering somebody's question about where to eat in Paris (or Berlin, or Rome, or wherever), it is suuch a relief to see so many people coming out in this thread to say that they wing it.
I cannot understand why anyone wants to plan where to have a meal one night across the other side of the world. If I want a "great" French (Italian, Greek, German, Moroccan...) meal, I'll go to a recommended restaurant in my home city. When I travel i want to blend in, eat where the locals eat, get to know them even. Which means I walk, and observe, and choose according to what looks good and is patronised by locals.

I have learned that either my luck is just bad, or the restaurants in the guidebook are either never opened or not that appealing, so--and this only applies to Rome--I have learned to head straight for Trastevere and just wander around the side streets to find a good restaurant. I have almost always eaten well in Trastevere--it took my four or five times in Rome to figure this out, but now I make a mad dash there, even if I have to walk all the way from the train station. It's worth it, for me!

One rule I do follow--I never eat around the Colosseum. I've always been told that it is the worst place tourist wise, because everything costs way too much and catered directly to tourists. It's like eating in Venice.

I have also had some luck eating near Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, etc., but the Trastevere rule pretty much always works! :)

Have fun--even if it takes you a few tries, it sounds like you will definitely eat well during 2 and a half weeks in Rome!

Incidently, reading over this post I've gained a lot of new ideas for how to search for restaurants! (Some of you seem to be experts on this). Thanks!

Logging in as another non-planner as far as eating and restaurants is concerned!

When I/we are tired and getting hungry, start looking, check out a few nearby likely suspects, read posted menu, choose cafe, sit down, order wine, eat.

The outside range of planning efforts is keeping eyes open in the neighborhood near the hotel during the daytime, and maybe spotting something promising for dinner that evening.

This is not specific to Rome and it does not guarantee the best meals, I readily admit.. but you asked how I decided, not how well it worked out ~LOL.

Suze, wonders never cease, at last we agree on non-planning! I often use the old "when stomach is growling" method.

I'll second USNR's entire list and add: 10) Avoid any place within 3 blocks of a major tourist attraction.

Just keep your eyes open as you stroll the narrow side streets (especially at night). When you see a place that looks/smells good and is packed, then go in, check the menu, and reserve a table for the next night.

For me, I've never had a bad gelato in Italy. Therefore, any gelateria is fine with me! :-)

However, when it comes to eating lunches and dinners, I usually get interested in a restaurant if it appears attractive. Then I ask to see the menu and if the offerings appear good then I'll take a chance. It always worked well in Italy-never had a bad meal yet.
I'm not one who keeps up with the latest restaurant-hotels, yes, restaurants, no. :)