Hi this will be our first trip to Rome and we plan to go from April 20th to April 27th 2007. We will be staying 3 nights at the Hilton ROME CAVALIERI and 4 nights at the Hilton Garden Inn at the airport (FCO). We do not have to eat at McDonalds for every meal but I am not expecting to eat at a 5 diamond restaurant for every meal either.

I am at a complete loss as to how much I should budget for our meals. We do not drink alcohol and we are not extremely heavy eater either, just average. Can someone help who has traveled to Rome recently? Any suggestions on nice restaurants? We will definately splurge (probably at the Cavalieri) for at least one or 2 very nice meals but I don't want to pay $150 for all our dinners.

Thanks:)

Everything at the Cavilieri is quite expensive. We were going to eat there one night, grab something simple, but at 25-40 euros each, we just headed up to the Exec lounge and subsisted on that for dinner. (I think we looked at a basic pasta, and sandwiches for this price)

In Rome, you'll find better pricing, although not cheap. I think we had a basic lunch at a neighborhood place for about 20 euros each, including soft drink/water.

We actually went to a McDonalds, and it was the worst one I've ever been to. Horrible lines, very difficult to find a table, and more expensive than I'm normally used to in Europe.

We arrived on a Sunday, and just the taxi from the airport to the Cavelieri ran $70 Euros, with the Sunday supplement, and per bag fee. It's the most expensive 15 minute taxi ride I've ever had.

I can't give you advice specific for Rome, but I will strongly suggest that you ask the price of food anywhere where the cost of the food isn't fixed on a menu (like the plates you can get at a bar).

I was lulled by a review not so long ago for a place that offered great food at reasonable prices. So reasonable did the reviewer say the food was that I didn't ask. The food was rather nice. The price turned out to be about 4 times what I was expecting.

I'm pretty sure the cost would have been a lot less if I'd enquired about the prices of everything I'd ordered first.

My Roman friends took me for lunch at a restaurant in Trastevere called Augusto. It is a bare-bones place, but the food couldn't be better.
We ate a pasta dish, meat dish with side of vegetables, dessert and wine for a about 14 Euros each.

No matter whether you go to this restaurant or not, please keep in mind that in Italy the rule is to always eat a first course of pasta and a second of meat (salad, soup or dessert are more optional). Separately, they are much smaller than a meal serving would look like. So, if you look at a menu's prices, keep in mind that even light eaters take 2 courses, at least.

No matter whether you go to this restaurant or not, please keep in mind that in Italy the rule is to always eat a first course of pasta and a second of meat (salad, soup or dessert are more optional). Separately, they are much smaller than a meal serving would look like. So, if you look at a menu's prices, keep in mind that even light eaters take 2 courses, at least.

If you break this rule, nothing terrible happens, at least it didn't to me. I did dine early, though. I think I always did order at least two separate items, though, and something to drink.

If you want to get pretty good food very quickly with little ambiance, for a very reasonable price, the AutoGrill will serve your purpose.
http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/italy/rome/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154654659680

I can't give you advice specific for Rome, but I will strongly suggest that you ask the price of food anywhere where the cost of the food isn't fixed on a menu (like the plates you can get at a bar).

I was lulled by a review not so long ago for a place that offered great food at reasonable prices. So reasonable did the reviewer say the food was that I didn't ask. The food was rather nice. The price turned out to be about 4 times what I was expecting.

I'm pretty sure the cost would have been a lot less if I'd enquired about the prices of everything I'd ordered first.

Just as I wouldn't go into a bar with someone, and let them order drinks without knowing how much it is, I wouldn't order food at a restaurant without know what the cost was.

I rented an apartment in Bucharest in December. The quote had been given in Euros, but the price on the contract was listed in local currency. Before I signed the contract, I used an online currency converter to make sure I wasn't being hoodwinked. It never hurts to be careful.

Allow lots more than you think you will need. With the collapse of the Bush $ against the Euro, Europe is shocking for Americans.

To save money you can buy picnics in the market. Great food, but, even in markets, not inexpensive.

For Rome, if you want to save money, I would allocate at least $50 a day per person, including one inexpensive restaurant meal a day, cafe and roll for breakfast (do not eat breakfast in hotel if on budget, go to a cafe) and one picnic.

Thanks for your replies, I was thinking about $100 per day for 2 and about $200 to $250 on the days we have a nice meal at at fancy restaurant.

A client of mine (a rather extravagent gentleman who always orders the most expensive bottle of wine on the list, and later orders the second most expensive) had dinner in Rome a few years back; the waiter took his charge card around back and ran 20 or so charge slips. When the Amex bill came, there were $80k in charges at that restaurant spread over a three week period- they'd ring up $2k to $5k a night.

He wasn't the type to look at his own bill, fortunately his assistant did. Amex cancelled everything; the restaurant owner told Amex that it was the doing of an errant waiter, who had since been fired. (yeah, sure). I saw the bill because the assistant wanted me to confirm some other charges from that trip.

As in many countries, the average Italian is very honest at a personal level (taxes are a different story). But, in the tourist areas it is different.

Always a good idea to carefully review your charge statements. :)

Thanks for your replies, I was thinking about $100 per day for 2 and about $200 to $250 on the days we have a nice meal at at fancy restaurant.

I was in Rome last September, and I think your budget should serve you pretty well. One of the things I regretted most about leaving Rome is that there are so many restaurants we didn't get to try. I guess we'll have to go back for several hundred more days.

Fish dishes tend to be very expenisve in Italy.

breakfast at hotel, if not included is very expensive.

bars have very good food(mainly sandwich in americanese) and good coffee. usually costs twice as much to sit and be served as to stand at bar. good inexpensive choice for breakfast and lunch.

get a couple guide books (I like Access guide to rome) and check prices. go through, and mark restaurant sites in red on the maps. I do not know what is the hot food guide for rome.

bush bucks suck. the price for food has almost doubled over the past few years, just due to the currency flux (0.80 to 1.30 for a euro)

Help me out here. I've now heard from 2 economists on this thread that refer to the US dollar as "Bush bucks". I'm sure that we can all benefit from an Economics 101 lesson in why the US dollar / Euro exchange has shifted so dramatically.:rolleyes:

The nicer the location is the higher the bill. If you want to have a non fancy meal on Piazza Navone it can easily be 100 Euros per person. But the location is worth it. If you just want to get something to eat, 10 Euros will do the trick.

To save money, don't eat in the tourisy sections--the Piazza Narova , for instance. Very Expensive--and the food--not so good. Go off the beaten track a lttle , into side streets, and you will get great food less pricey. Eat Roman pizza for dinner ( thinner, less toppings that American--really addictive) Look for lines of Romans and get in line. We found our best Pizza that way. Do research on Chowhound.com and Egullet. com to find great restaurants. Save room for Gelato. Another website that will help is Slow Travel. Great trip reports and restaurant reports there. Do your research and you will save a lot of money and eat well. And don't miss the Tazza del Oro right off the Pantheon square for morning coffee. Really part of the Roman experience.

the Piazza Narova , for instance.

To enjoy Rome, eat there and enjoy the scenery, not the food. If you miss that, you might come back and will not even know the name of one of the most famous and most roman squares in Rome:

Not "Narova" but "Navone"

And don't miss the Tazza del Oro right off the Pantheon square for morning coffee. Really part of the Roman experience.

I second this suggestion. The Tazza is famous in Rome for its coffee. The Romans say that it has very special water from an old well. It is is very good, and not expensive, espcially if you hang at the bar.

Help me out here. I've now heard from 2 economists on this thread that refer to the US dollar as "Bush bucks". I'm sure that we can all benefit from an Economics 101 lesson in why the US dollar / Euro exchange has shifted so dramatically.:rolleyes:




Deficit spending frequently leads to the depreciation of a currency relative to other currencies. Usually leads to hyperinflation, also.

Many worry this scenario may occur.

during the clinton years, the budget was pretty much balanced. and 80 cent euros

during the bush administration, the budget has been pretty much unbalanced(big time). it is actually even difficult to find out how unbalanced the budget is, as there is a tremendous amount of "off budget" spending. $1.30 /euro.

When I went, didn't do the full meal thing, but snacked a lot. There are some open air markets and some small grocery shops on the streets if you look.

Not "Narova" but "Navone"

Piazza Navona, not "Navone"

Piazza Navona, not "Navone"

Interesting question. If you google it you will find both spellings. I believe it is "Navone" in English, French and German and "Navona" in Italian:

http://www.livinginrome.com/info/place-navone-rome.php
http://www.linternaute.com/voyage/italie/rome/monument/la-place-navone/
http://www.easyjet.com/de/Flugbuchung/rom_wie_es_sein_soll.html

For me with my German and British background it was always "Navone" - you American guys have no problems to disperage Köln as "Cologne" and München as "Munich" - the Italian even convert Munich to Monaco. But for sure Piazza Navone is not Piazza Narova

Due to the Euro, probably currently little more than average in USA.

There is a restaurant 5 or 10 minutes from the Calvalieri in the square that has great food at reasonable ($10-$20 for pasta and another course) prices. If you are gold and have access to the lounge you could eat there and never spend a cent on food (altho that would be a shame).

It really depends on your taste(s) - I ate pizza at a place near the Trevi fountain (priced per kilo) and it was 2 - 3 times as a expensive as a place I wandered into when I was lost. OTOH I ate at a place at random and had quite a good and reasonable pasta dish - but noticed the next table which had a lovely sole dish - asked the waiter the cost of fish like that and was quite surprised (not in a good way ;) )

Although it is quite expensive I still remember my meals at La Pergola with great fondness (and a desire to return).............

Plan on spending a minimum of $4 per person for a cappuccino and a cornetto (as croissants are known in Rome) at the bar, $10 per person for a sandwich or slice of pizza and water or a soft drink, dinner depends on what you order. Appetizers are between $10-14, pastas and risottos $12-20 and a second course will set you back $15-30. Desert is between $5-10. Don't forget to add water and the cover charge for bread (roughly $3 per person) to your calculations. Two scoops of gelato will set you back between $2-4. Drinking a coke or cappuccino at an outdoor café costs several times the price of the same thing consumed at the counter.

Of note, I lived in Italy and spend my time between Milan and Rome so the above should be fairly reliable.