Restaurant help needed - recommendations and protocol. Leaving Sunday!
 

Amazingly, the day has almost finally arrived. Leaving on Sunday for Italy. Can you recommend any favorite restaurants or food ideas from our itinerary? We've been advised to try to escape the places that have menu postings outside with 14 different languages.. Can you give any advice on protocol ? tipping - equal to USA or no ? asking for check ? menu readers? I'm a big water drinker - is it given automatically as it is most often here?
Any tips are appreciated.

Our itinerary

Venice
Tuscany area - Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Siena and any other hilltowns in the area
Orvieto
Rome
Pompeii
Sorrento - Capri
Almafi Coast
Naples

I generally try to find chefs / restaurants featuring cuisine from the Emilia–Romagna. It is reputed to be the gourmet capital of Italy.

Having stayed in the area several time, I would have to agree.

This time of year should be good for both squash blossoms and squash ravioli variations.

A lot of decent restaurants have menus posted outside, in many countries, so I would not hold it against a restaurant.

Having a menu posted that's in English is a whole different story, and a definite red flag.

Yes you need to ask for the check. You can politely do the little scribble in the air with your hand, if you don't speak the language.

No water is not 'given automatically'. You'll need to know how to ask for tap water, or purchase bottled water (which is more the custom).

I'm not sure what you mean by 'menu readers'? I just used a phrase book that had a restaurant section in the back with a list of the most common food words.

I'm not sure about tipping protocol, but I am fairly certain it's not the 15-20% like is expected and customary in the US.

NO, you do not tip as we do in the USA. You will be taken for a sucker. Just round your bill up by a few euros. You ask for the check by saying l'addizione per favore.

A typical Italian meal involves an antipasto, a primo piatto, a secondo piattto, and a dolce. You do NOT have to order all the courses, though.

You ask for the check by saying l'addizione per favore

How about Il conto per favore?

Eat Rome and Rome Foodie are both great iPhone apps for Rome dining.

Tipping is much less than in the US - I usually leave 10% - but suspect locals leave less. Most restaurants have a cover charge (usually not high) - for bread and set-ups. Tap water is not provided unless you ask and it won't come with ice. Most people drink bottled water - which is chilled - and IMHO tastes better. If you do ask for tap expect to have to ask to have it refilled - it's simply not something that's usually done. Also - for bottled water figure out what you will want/need - it;s much cheaper to buy a large bottle than several small ones.

We usually order a large bottle of fizzy water and a half of wine at lunch. At dinner the large water and usually a bottled wine.

In Italy the check is called il conto - but the writing in air gesture is universal. Do not expect the check to be presented until you ask for it. they don;t plan on turning tables - especially for dinner they assume you will be there at least 2 hours from 8 pm on. (If you want to eat very early - do check on which places open early.)

We ate at Le Tamerici, near the Trevi fountain. The food there is pretty good – radicchio stuffed with blue cheese and potato, house made pasta with seafood, sliced beef served on raw spinach, and a good salad. We shared each course in turn, and appreciated that they separated the portions in the kitchen before serving. The tab, with wine, cover and service came to about 100 euro, which is about what we would expect to pay for the same meal in Australia, and we are finding this often. Even after converting currency, with the Australian dollar buying about 0.72 euros, the costs of food and lodging is about the same as in Aus. Some things – coffee al banco, are really cheap – never much more than one euro, and wine is cheap too. A spritz costs two euro, a hazard, as they are seriously alcoholic.

The tipping thing is pretty simple. If there is a service charge added - say 12.5% which is not unusual - then no tip is required or expected. Otherwise a 5 euro tip on a 80 euro bill is about right. But you won't be thought ill of if you don't tip. We always tip with cash, ot adding it to the credit card bill.

Generally if you want the bill, you'll have to ask for it, maybe twice, because there is no hurry to get you out the door.

For small items - coffees and the like, maybe we would leave the change in the tip jar on the counter, particularly if it is a place where we go often.

We always drink tap water, rather than bottled, but that's just a taste thing (and avoiding yet more plastic in the waste stream).

Yes, il conto is better. Sorry, I've been speaking French all day!

One other thing. In cafes there are two - or maybe three - prices. If you have a coffee standing at the bar, it's cheapest. Have a coffee at a table, and it costs almost double. Have a coffee at a table outside, and it costs much more. Never order a coffee at the bar, and take it to a table - that is really poor form (despite it being recommended by a contributor to Fodor's italy book a couple of editions ago).

We are going to Venice soon and my friend handed me 3 business cards and told me to check these out: La Zucca in Santa Croce, Osteria da Rioba in Cannaregio and Osteria Anice Stellato, also in Cannaregio.

In Orvieto, try Trattoria del Orso. It's on a little side street off of Piazza dell Reoublicca as I recall. Via di Misericordia is the street, only about a block long.

Piazza della Republicca is correct.