Restaurant suggestions - Rome, Florence and Venice
 

I will be traveling to Italy at the end of April/ beginning of May for my honeymoon.

I am looking for some restaurant suggestions for Rome, Florence and Venice. We are looking for places with great food, great ambiance and which are not tourist traps. I'd like to eat in reasonably priced restaurants (I'm from NYC so I consider 20+USD entrees quite reasonable), but would not mind "splurging" for a great meal or two.

Would love to hear your suggestions and any tips you may have, like whether or not a reservation is needed. Regarding reservations, would it be smart to contact my hotels the week before the trip to ask them to make some reservations for us?

Thanks!

La Bitta, Calle Lunga, San Barnaba, Venice is good.

www.larcano.it in Rome
* caffe royal in Florence *
* La Canlinetta in Florence *

La Tamerici in Rome is excellent. Best meal ever in Italy. It's near the Trevi fountain, and a google search will find them. Not very cheap - think 100 Euros for two.

You don't need to make reservations way far in advance. The same day is fine.

Your budget is actually a little low once you factor in the current exchange rate -- especially in Venice. Also understand that in a good Italian restaurant, the norm is to order at least two courses, and sometimes 3, excluding dessert and wine (and water). In a restaurant with a tablecloth, antipasti are usually around $10, pasta (primi) is between $10 and $15, and the entree (secondo) is between $20 and $25, or more. Vegetables, salads, desserts, coffee are extra. Service and a cover charge are tacked onto the bill.

You can eat well in Florence and Rome for not much money, but you need some real research. Venice is even trickier.

David Downie just published a brand new guide for Rome. Check it out. His recommendations are great and very budget friendly.

there is a very nice restaurant in Rome that I would like to reccomend you. it is in central Rome and its a very coasy place. their main courses are sea food.
www.satancacrostaceria.com

You can eat well and inexpensively in Venice. Just stay away from the places right on the Grand Canal and along the Zattere. You'll pay a lot more because of the view - which you can enjoy while walking around savoring your gelato dessert! Walk down the little side streets, away from the main tourist areas and you'll find wonderful restaurants.

We ate well for a week and on average spent around 30 Euro per meal total for two people. Generally had wine, water, and 2 pasta plates or one pasta plate and a pizza; and that price included the coperto. And it was always plenty of food for us. We never felt compelled to order antipasti, a primi and a secondo. We ordered what we felt like eating and drinking at the time.

We loved Taverno San Trovaso in Dorsoduro. Delicious food, friendly staff, very reasonably priced. The only time we made a reservation was for Friday night - made that reservation while we were there on Thursday for dinner!

One of the fun things during each of our days in Venice was checking out the various restaurants we stumbled across to see what they offered and the prices. Then we would decide where we wanted to lunch and dinner.