I have been doing lots of research for my upcoming Greece/Italy trip and have lots of restaurant suggestions for Venice. I was curious if people usually pinpoint where they would like to eat before they get there, or do most people just decide as they go?

decide as you go. how anyone can plan what and where they want to eat is beyond me. (tying oneself to a schedule like that...)

Just wander, look at menus posted outside and pick somewhere that appeals. We never pre-book. Venice has a zillion places to eat, you can always find somewhere. If you eat away from the tourist hordes near Rialto you won't get bothered by the restaurant touts.<BR>Kay

We never plan ahead. We just start looking when we get hungry.

we usually have a list that I've gathered from reviews or friends..but no set plan on when to go to a particlar one. Venice is probably one of the few places in Italy where you CAN get a bad meal . But we always leave a few days unplanned to find something that looks interesting

Not just in Venice, but in any city, I usually check the Fodors miniguide recommendations, this forum, and gourmet.com, and print a list of a couple of places I'd like to try if it works out.<BR><BR>If I were on my own, I'd probably always have, say, two meals a week at recommended restaurants that sound particularly unique or interesting.<BR><BR>With my husband, I'm lucky if I can drag him (or trick him) into going to ONE recommended restaurant in a two-week trip. <BR><BR>Nevermind the fact that on the few occasions I've managed to convince him, the restaurant really is something special - he just really has a thing against choosing restaurants from recommendations. <BR><BR>My recommending ONE restaurant leads him to say (every time): "Why do you need to go to a restaurant just because someone else says it's good? Why can't you just relax and have fun and we can just find one on our own?"<BR><BR>Can anyone tell this is a sore subject between us . . . ?

Why not a mid course - research and list the best ones, and reserve at one or two (yes, Da Fiore deserves a reservation!), and keep them in mind. And talk with the hotel concierge, compare notes. And each day, when you decide which area of Venice to explore, have one or two in mind, and reserve the evening before or that morning - or just wing it and leave it to the fates. Some planning is not a bad thing, but there are degrees. Enjoy that city! Think Da Fiore too.

The food is so bad and expensive in Venice, why even bother planning in advance.

Rima<BR><BR>It is with planning and research that one can avoid bad meals in Venice. Venice has two great fisheries available to it (the Lagoon and the Adriatic) and so there is no reason to put up with bad food. As for expensive, there are many a bacaro and caffe with wonderful food at very reasonable prices. We love Da Pinto and have ever spent more than $50.00 a couple there with wine included. Alla Frasca or Ca d'Oro (alla Padova) in Cannaregio are also very reasonably priced. Fiaschetteria Toscana is a truly superb restaurant that cost far less than other famous restaurants and in my mine offers a good value in top end dining. We also had a wonderufl meal at Alla Testiere that was also reasonable iin price.<BR><BR>While I may not preplan my beals before I get to Venice, I will usually have reservations for dinner made before I go out for the evening. So many of the really good restaurants are small and will not have a table otherwise. But many times I will walk around and spot a restaurant inthe afternoon and reserve for dinner that evening. That is how I came across Fiaschetteria Toscana the first time.

To answer your question~ Nope, never. I always reserve my hotels ahead but let restaurants, cafes, meals, food, snacks, wine, drinks, present themselves, when I'm in need/in the mood, and as I stumble upon something that looks interesting.

Only reasons I make lists:<BR><BR>1) Restaurants that have caught my eye, maybe mentioned in a guidebook or a magazine article. I won't make reservations unless I really REALLY want to eat there.<BR><BR>2) I'm going to be in a small city or town where eating establishments won't be on every corner, or in a rural area where restaurants might be few and far between. I look up restaurants and make a note of their addresses "just in case".<BR><BR>3) With a large group (more than 6) that some restaurants might have trouble seating.<BR><BR>I used to make great long lists of restaurants, only to discover I wasn't anywhere near them when it was time to eat.