mo

I'll be in Rome om March 19th onwards. I'll be going to the recommended restaurants in the fodor's guide. It says reservation recommended. Do I do it here by fax or do I wait til a day beforehand?I'll be in amalfi before rome, is it a good idea to ask the hotels there to call for me to make reservation.

Gina

I think it depends a lot upon how popular the restaurant is. When I was in Rome in January, I went to a number of restaurants that had the "reservations recommended" tag on their listing(s) in one or more guidebooks. I never made any reservations and never had any trouble getting a table. (And with the exception of one night when I had to eat an early dinner before the opera, I was eating on "Rome time," not arriving for dinner before 7:30 or 8 at the earliest. <BR> <BR>So in my experience, which certainly may differ from that of others here, the only time you might need a reservation (particularly since you won't be visiting in the height of tourist season) would be if a restaurant is extremely popular and/or you have your heart set on *that* restaurant, *that* night. I always kept with me my "restaurants I must visit" list and then was able to pick from a few that were in the area where I happened to be when I started thinking about dinner. <BR> <BR>If you're still concerned and do want to make some reservations, I'd say you'd be fine to go ahead and make them from your hotel in Rome once you get them, a day or two in advance.

Ed

When we've made reservations, which is infrequently, we've had the hotel desk/concierge make them in late afternoon, occasionally at Noon. Some restaurants which are very 'au courant' may require a bit more time, although in March you shouldn't have much of a problem normally. <BR> <BR>Ed

mo

Thanks Gina and Ed. <BR>I personally have never had a bad meal in Italy. Some are memorable than others of course. But when the guidebook says THE BEST FISH RESTAURANT, I feel that I must try. I also think that once these restaurants make it to the guidebooks, they are no longer the same(correct me if I am wrong), they can be much more expensive, hopefully the quality remains the same as before. I actually like real neigborhood restaurants, mama's cooking so to speak. If you know of any, let me know. I'll give you a full report when I come back. <BR>Gina, how's Rome in January? As long as it's not rainy and windy, that sounds like a real good off season time to go. <BR>

mark

Make the reservations the day you get there. While I like "winging it" sometimes - after the fourth attempt only to be turned away because tables are full or an hour wait - I prefer to make reservations. There's something kinda stabalizing when traveling to have certain things "nailed down" - encourages me to improvise more when sight seeing.