My husband and I will be spending 4 nights in Rome at the end of this month. I am planning on getting some Euros before we leave the US. I don't know how much I should allow for dinner each night. We aren't looking for anything fancy, just a good meal at a reasonable price. Can someone advise about how much I will spend on dinner and any lunch or snacks per day? We will get a generous breakfast at our hotel. Thanks!

If you were thinking of getting euros at home to pay for dinner in Rome--don't! You will waste a lot of money because of the bad exchange rate in your home country, especially if you are from the US.

Most will say tha the best exchange rate will be found by paying with you credit cards or using your bank ATM card while in Rome to get money from your home checking account.

We really like da Fortunata near the Pantheon. Excellent food and reasonable prices. Try to sit outside, but don't miss the photos inside of the owner and various celebs - Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, etc.

ellenem is right. Don't bring money in advance. Use your credit card and take small amounts of cash from ATMs (called "bancomat" in Italy) to carry around as needed.

Menu prices are posted or are readily available inside the door at restaurants in Roma. Don't be shy to ask to see "la carta" before you take a seat. Italians do it all the time.

It is often very hard for people to control their food costs in Italy if they don't speak Italian. Most Italians eat at home, even lunch, so when they eat out, they are prepared to splurge a bit. (And they are not spending dollars.) There are less inexpensive options for just "grabbing a bite," although you can find them. If you are on a budget, it's good to do some research about how to eat good, low-cost food in Roma, and take with you a list of restaurants near your hotel, and near the sights you know you want to see.

Here are notes regarding our dinners in Rome, May 2006:


"Next, we stopped for dinner at Rosa Rosae Ristorante, via di Pietra 88. It was a very nice atmosphere, but a bit touristy, which we expected because of its location. Food was just so-so, but service was friendly. Prices were on the higher side for the quality, at about 52 EUR for two, with a half-liter of house wine. My veal was ok, but a big tough.
. . .

"Later, for dinner, we headed back toward a restaurant where my daughter had eaten earlier that semester. It’s very casual and good, called the Maccheroni Ristorante at Piazza delle Coppelle, 44, phone 06 68307895. It’s very popular with locals and gets very busy. The service is friendly and the atmosphere is lively and interesting. About 47 EUR for two, with one-half liter of house wine.
. . .

Trying to eat ‘lunch’ in Italy in mid-day is a big problem, as probably everybody already knows. Once they close after lunch around 3:00, restaurants don’t open again until at least 7:00, and it wasn’t easy to find a market for picnic snacks. Finding a place to sit and enjoy a salad in the afternoon is a big challenge. We didn’t have much choice, so when we found a place that looked nice and was serving food at that time of day, we didn’t care much about the price or the menu. Of course, it was outrageously expensive and rather mediocre. (Can you say “tourist trap”?) But, it was worth every penny to get some food and take a break. And it was a really charming place, with very nice outdoor seating.
. . .

"We had reservations to meet my daughter’s friend for dinner at 9:00. He had studied in Rome that semester and recommended his favorite restaurant in the neighborhood where he’d lived, called Il Matriciano, on Via dei Gracchi, 49- 61. (Reservations advised—phone 063213040, or 063212327) It’s perfect for a more special dinner, but certainly not over-the-top. For three people dining, we paid just 103 EUR, which included a liter of house wine. We shared two appetizers, and two of us had veal dishes, one had just spaghetti. We each enjoyed coffee and dessert. It is a very, very friendly and pleasant place. We completely enjoyed it."

but in our experience, restaurants in Rome are quite a lot cheaper than in florence, or venice.

you could always bring a small amount of euros with you just to tide you over before you find an ATM. try to make sure that you have at least 2 ATM cards, so that if one fails you can use the other. ditto credit cards, which are accepted in most restaurants.

don't forget to let your bank/s know that you wil be in europe so they don't stop them for suspected fraud.

for some reason, UK banks don't seem to do this!

regards, ann

People starving at off-hours in central Roma should head for the Piazza Navona, where just off it, on via Teatro Pace, is Lo Zozzone, which serves giant hunks of fat, warm pizza bianca (like foccacia) with your choice of stuffings for just a few euros, 23 hours a day. (They close for an hour in the dead of night, maybe 2am-3am.)

They don't have tables, but you take your eats to the piazza a few steps away.