Italy - Off the Beaten Path

We will be visiting Rome, Florence and Venice this fall and looking to dine at non-tourist trap restaurants. What is your favourite ‘Off the Beaten Path’ restaurant in each city?

I see you're new relatively - so welcome to FT!

There are many suggestions already posted here, you just need to do a search. If you don't know how to do that just ask.

And here's another helpful resource, but you'll need to do a search within in this too:
http://www.parlafood.com/

Thank you for the info

In firenze I higly recommend Coquinarius, it's a small small restaurant in Via dell'Oca, a few steps from the Duomo, but definitely not a tourist trap.
They have an amazing wine selection and some real good food. The owners are two brothers, both from Florence, and the main waiter, Nico, definitely knows his job as a sommelier.

To find real places in Venice it's not really easy. My suggestion is the Trattoria da Romano in Burano. It is a famous place, so it's recommended to reserve in advance, but it's quite off the beaten path and away from the maddening crowds of Venezia.
Burano is a charming island, famous for lace production.
The house speciality is the risotto: actually you can have it black (with squid ink) and white (with a Venice lagoon fish, called Goh). It's not cheap but it's a very good quality for what you pay.

Zeb in Florence is an outstanding experience. It is near one of the common routes to Piazzale Michelangelo, so there is a tourist presence, but also many locals. The owner and her son are wonderful (but speak only Italian).

http://www.zebgastronomia.com/ilristorante.html

In Venice, look for Furatola in Dorsoduro, a terrific seafood restaurant. Reservation is a good idea.

The earlier recommendation of Da Romano in Burano is on the mark.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will check them out.

In venice there is Trattoria Do Spade (I live in Venice) and is real Venetian food. In Florence i looooove Trattoria Za-Za florentine specialty reccomended by my aunt who lives in florence.

I just returned from two weeks in Italy and ate at ZaZa in Florence and Do Spade in Venice. Both were first rate meals although I'd have to give a slight edge to Do Spade. Total cost for two people (with house wine both places) was ~70€.

Do Spade is a little tricky to find - head north from Ponte di Rialto along the main street (Ruga dei Oresi). When you get to Ruga Vecia San Giovanni, turn left and then take the second side street to your right (Corte Secondo Mori). When that street deadends, do a slight zag to the left and continue on Calle de le Do Spade. The restaurant will be on your left before you get to Ponte de la Do Spade.

while in Rome, you can try cuisines from all over Italy. Here are some tips about off the beaten track restaurants
http://www.buzzinrome.com/2011/08/28/italys-regional-cuisines-in-rome-part-1-focus-on-northern-italian-restaurants/

Just wanted to add that when dining in downtown Rome it is practically impossible to eat at a restaurant that doesn't in some way cater to tourists. That's a huge part of their business. There are many traps that are best avoided, but on the flip side of that I wouldn't expect to be able to find that little gem that only the locals (and somehow you, and the rest of the people on this board) know about.