yngdiego

I'll be in Rome, Siena, Florance, and Milan on my upcoming Italy trip. I'd prefer to avoid tourist trap restaurants or just popping into a random eatery hoping for the best. Is there a good GPS enabled restaurant app for iOS/iPhone that people would recommend? It need not be Italy specific, as long as it has good coverage in Italy. I have the Trip Advisor app, but not sure how reliable the reviews are.

JMN57

TripAdvisor in Italy is a joke - take most, if not all, ratings and comments as propaganda. There is documented manipulation of them. For example, I stayed in a hotel near Siracusa about 10 years ago that was the 2nd or 3rd best rated hotel in the region by TripAdvisor. It was nowhere close to that. When I posted my review (negative) it got taken down promptly. I posted it again, same. Eventually I complained to TA and the review stuck but it took some effort.

Take my advice and just don't use TripAdvisor in Italy, it's a racket.

Added:
It's not an app but go to the Michelin Italian guide - all the Michelin restaurants are there (not just the starred ones). I have found it to be very reliable in terms of finding good restaurants.
https://guide.michelin.com/it/it
https://guide.michelin.com/it/it/ristoranti?showMap=true

SanDiego1K

The Michelin guide is my go to for finding superb food. Triggered by your post, I decided to see if they have developed an app. To my great surprise, they have. I've just downloaded it so haven't used it but will be taking it for a run. I just made my first booking. I had already registered for The Fork, and this uses that platform. It was extremely easy.

exp

I think Google Maps ratings are pretty reflective of quality. Maybe not if you're looking for Michelin star restaurants but most places.

yngdiego

Thanks! I'll try that out and skip Trip Advisor.

JMN57

I do use Google a lot but I take the ratings with a grain of salt.

That said, I think people see "Michelin" and they think ***'s, $$$'s and €€€'s. And if all you do is go to restaurants that are 1-3 *'s you'll pay dearly. That said, the guide has MANY more restaurants and hotels that are NOT *'d that are quite good. In fact, there is a category (Bib Gourmand) that focuses on good value.

"Although Michelin stars are highly coveted, the Bib Gourmand designation signifies a restaurant delivering a high quality dining experience at a reasonable price. To be precise, a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand restaurant must offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for around $40."

And often less that $40 for multiple courses.

Honestly, if you are looking for top quality dining at different price points (of course, not down to street food), there is no better guide in Italy than Michelin IMO.

yngdiego

Ah ok..yes when I saw Michelin I was expecting only a handful of $$$ places. Just downloaded the app and will give it a go! Thanks!

JMN57

I think you'll be happy with places you find with it. If you think about it, to get to that small list of 1-3 * restaurants, the Michelin raters have to eat at a LOT of restaurants (tough job). Rather than throw away all that info it's better to record and distribute it and that's what is in the extended list. Unlike other ratings, which are primarily a popularity contest (and what tourist doesn't think the restaurant they stumbled into isn't the best in Rome), Michelin is at least a source from a person who grades restaurants for a living against a common scale. Both have their uses but I find if one uses Michelin as a filter it separates the wheat from the chaff.

Finally, in looking at the 2021 results, I do think the coverage is less than prior years (Covid effect??). In my area of Tuscany, there are a few restaurants that merited Michelin mention in the past and there are no restaurants at all in my area. It makes me wonder if, with Covid, their raters were not able to cover as many restaurants and areas as normal and, perhaps, places off-the-beaten track have less coverage. Just something to keep in mind.

rove312

I know that in pre-Internet times, Michelin just had a handful of raters and they couldn't go to all restaurants every year. They just mailed an annual questionnaire asking them to update their prices and their planned vacation closing for the next year. I don't know how it is now.