Tips for Dining at Rome Restaurants

Prices, tipping & times

In 1995 the city council forced all Rome restaurants to abolish the coperto (cover) charge, which allowed them to add up to 2 euro a head for providing a tablecloth and a basket of bread. Be warned, though: some Rome restaurants ignore the ban, and others get round it by charging automatically for pane. Service is a grey area. Places that add it to the bill as a fixed item are still in the minority, and it is usually safe to assume that it isn't included. Romans themselves tend not to tip much, especially in pizzerias and family-run places. A good rule of thumb is to leave around five per cent in a pizzeria or humble trattoria, slightly more in more upmarket places - but never more than ten per cent. If service has been slack or rude, don't feel ashamed to leave nothing - or to check the bill in detail, as there is still the very occasional restauranteur who becomes strangely innumerate when dealing with tourists. Opening times can change according to time of year and the whim of the owners. Times given below are those of the kitchen - in other words, when you can actually turn up and order - but many Rome restaurants stay open for an hour or more after the cook goes home. In the evening, few proper Rome restaurants (as opposed to pizzerias) open before 8pm.

Costs

Most eating establishments have a cover charge, and a service charge of 10% to 15% which is included in the total bill. There is no obligation to tip on top of this, but most people leave a small tip, unless the service has been particularly bad. Make sure you check the bill (il conto) closely, especially in Rome restaurants in touristy areas, as items that were never ordered sometimes mysteriously appear, or the bill can be added up 'incorrectly'.

When you pay your bill you should be given a detailed receipt (ricevuta fiscale). Hang on to it. Technically, if you leave the restaurant without it and are stopped by the guardia di finanza (finance police), you could be fined quite heavily.

Never assume that credit cards or travellers cheques are accepted. Budget eateries rarely accept anything other than cash and even some of the mid-range and top-end Rome restaurants accept only cash or debit cards issued by Italian banks. If you want to pay by credit card, check first.

Always remember to check the menu posted outside for prices, cover and service charges. Eating only a pasta dish and salad and drinking the house wine at a trattoria can keep the bill down. If you order meat or fish you will push the price up substantially.

Numerous Rome restaurants offer tourist menus. The food is of a reasonable standard but choices will be limited. Again, you can usually pay less if you want only pasta, salad and wine.

Drinks

Most top-of-the-range Rome restaurants have respectable wine lists, but more humble trattorie and osterie tend to have a limited selection. House wine is usually uninspiring Castelli Romani white, or equally unimpressive Montepulciano d'Abruzzo red, but there are exceptions, especially in more upmarket places, or restaurants which offer, for example, a Campanian wine to complement their Neapolitan cuisine. In pizzerias, the drink of choice is birra (beer) or a variety of soft drinks. Mineral water - acqua minerale - is either gassata (sparkling) or naturale (still), and usually comes in litre bottles. If you have a full meal, and they like you, you may be offered free amaro or grappa with your coffee.

Self-Catering

If you have access to cooking facilities when you travel, it is best to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at open markets, and prosciutto, salami, cheese and wine at alimentari or salumerie , which are a cross between grocery stores and delicatessens. Fresh bread is available at a forno or panetteria (bakeries which sell bread, pastries and sometimes groceries) and usually at alimentari. Latterie sell milk, yoghurt and cheese. Some bars also sell milk and dairy products.

Eating Habits

Italians rarely eat a sit-down colazione (breakfast). They tend to drink a cappuccino, usually tiepido (warm) with a cornetto (croissant) or other type of pastry while standing at a bar. Pranzo (lunch) is traditionally the main meal of the day and many shops and businesses close for three to four hours every afternoon to accommodate the meal and siesta which is supposed to follow. A full meal will consist of antipasto, which can vary from bruschéttà (a type of garlic bread with various toppings) to fried vegetables or prosciutto e melone (cured ham wrapped around melon). Next comes the primo piatto (first plate) - a pasta or risotto - followed by the secondo piatto of meat or fish. Italians often then eat an insalata (salad) or contorno (vegetable side dish) and round off the meal with fruit, or occasionally with a sweet, and caffè, often at a bar on the way back to work. The cena (evening meal) is traditionally a simpler affair, but habits are changing because of the inconvenience of travelling home for lunch everyday.

Pizza

The city's pizzaioli have always been proud of their thinner, flatter pizza romana, but recently the fickle public has started to defect to the puffier Neapolitan variety. Whichever you choose, make sure it comes from a wood-fired brick oven (forno a legna); pizzas from electric or gas-fired ovens just don't have the same flavour. So orthodox is the range of toppings in Roman pizzerie, so eyebrow-raising any departure from the norm, that it's worth learning the main varieties by heart. For these, and for the various gap-fillers that it is customary to order while you're waiting for the pizza to be baked. Takeaway pizza - generally referred to as pizza rustica or pizza a taglio - is not prepared while you wait, but the best outlets (including all those listed) have a fast turnover and take quality seriously; some adhere to the 'slow rising' method pioneered by award-winning Roman pizzaiolo Angelo Iezzi, which produces a more digestible base that stays fresh longer. Note that sit-down pizzerias are usually open in the evenings only, but they generally begin serving early by Roman standards, from 7pm onwards.

Wine bars

Neighbourhood enoteche (wine shops) and vini e olii (wine and oil) outlets have been around in Rome since time immemorial, complete with their huddle of old men drinking wine by the glass (al bicchiere or alla mescita) for a selection of places in which drinking is the main point of the exercise. But recently a number of upmarket, international-style wine bars have also sprung up, offering snacks and even full meals to go with their wines. Such is the Roman predilection for eating over drinking that some - Il Brillo Parlante, Ferrara, Il Simposio - are best thought of as Rome restaurants with great cellars.

Snacks

The Roman habit of sitting down to two full meals each day is fast disappearing, and as a result places designed for eating on the run are mushrooming. Roman snack culture, though, lurks in unlikely places. Few new arrivals, for example, consider stepping into a humble alimentari (grocer's) to have their picnic lunch prepared on the spot - and yet for fresh bread and high-quality fillings this is invariably the best option. Favourite casing is the ubiquitous white Roman roll, la rosetta, or a slice of pizza bianca (plain oiled and salted pizza base, eaten as is or filled); fillings are generally ham, salami or cheese, as alimentari do not sell fruit and veg. The other traditional travel snack stop is the neighbourhood bar. Some will only have a few uninspiring sandwiches sitting limply on a plate; but others are lunchtime meccas, with full-scale tavole calde (buffets).

Vegetarian

Vegetarians will have no problems eating in Rome restaurants when they travel. While there are only a few Rome restaurants devoted to them, vegetables are a staple of the Italian diet. Most eating establishments serve a good selection of antipasto and contorni prepared in a variety of ways and salads. Most traditional Roman pasta dishes are suitable for vegetarians. Other dishes to look out for are: pasta e fagioli , a thick soup made with borlotti beans and pasta; pasta al pesto, pasta with basil, parmesan, pine nuts and olive oil; and orecchiette ai broccoletti, ear-shaped pasta with a broccoli sauce, often quite spicy. Risotto is usually a good choice, although sometimes it is made with a meat or chicken stock.