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Are you heading to Italy and not sure which restaurants are for locals and which ones are for tourists? Well we have the sure fire way to spot a tourist trap restaurant in Italy. Here are the six biggest signs, from picture menus to cappaccino in the afternoon and so much more.
Italian restaurants explained
how to avoid tourist restaurants in italy
Filmed on the Amalfi Coast, Italy
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48 Comments
Spent a week in Sorrento with my friend and his elderly mother. We ate at the same restaurant every night, just a local family restaurant. We got to know the owner, waiters and because of the presence of my friends mother we were spoiled a little bit and it was really nice to get to know people.
Every time when traveling I try to find places for local, that way I can feel better the atmosphere of the place
I would emphasize more the food quality as the reason to avoid tourist restaurants. I’ve sometimes still chosen them for the view or convenience, but the food is usually a big step down. You pay more for less.
We followed your advice in Rome & Florence, we walked blocks away & found two family owned restaurants, great food, one we went to twice & they spoke very little English.
Useful video.
Salt and pepper on the table = tourist restaurant. I didn't know that.
Avoid tourist restaurants, because quite often the food is not really good, and more expensive.
Pictures on the menu (or in front of the restaurant) anywhere in the world: bad food. Don't go there.
That’s why I always head for the local Olive Garden!
If you see Vespas parked outside probably not a tourist spot .
Really great insights! Been following you for a while, and my wife and I are actually playing a trip to Italy next year. So this is giving us great tips to incorporate into our planning. Love your energy, humbleness, and dedication to bring the content that you do to us
WI-FI AVAILABLE
This sign at the door is a very bad signal. 😂
You are always giving g our practical, trustworthy info. Thank you!
I am a tourist, and I do not want to go where tourists go. Huh?
I saw one in rome that had a chalkboard that literally said “tourist menu”.
Never knew that about cappucino.
Hello from France
These tips are valid in many countries
When I was in Italy I found out a lot of the local restaurants, one needs to make reservations for dinner, and lunch on weekends the day of or the day before. One just can't walk in.
Happy Father's Day to Mark and all you fathers out there!
Hey Mark, awesome video
I never heard about the salt and pepper on the table! I'll definitely be on the lookout next time I go to Italy 😀
Where your videos are informative, the majority of us don't give a dam what people think of tourists. If I spend my hard earned money to travel out of the country, I'm going to dres how I want, talk how I want and do as I want. You may crumble to the "don't" but most of us are not.
That's all I have to say but there's a lot you should STOP telling people what to do
if it's at Termini
Tourist places in Europe will charge you a Euro for the 4 small pieces of bread that accompany your dinner entree.
At least, that's what happens in Greece.
As long as prices aren’t tourist rip offs I will be a proud tourist. Also ok to eat local food. I remember my uncle who has traveled many places in the world would always eat at mcdonalds if they saw them because eating at some stereotypical places was ‘tourist’. Well what the hell do you think you are?! Honestly though trying international American fast food is quite interesting.
Hand written menu on a board is good sign of a local restaurant
Yep, total rookie mistake ordering cappuccino after breakfast! Good tips Mark! Thanks 🙂
This really makes me Not want go to italy ever 😂
It's important to mention that it does depend on the type of restaurant you are looking for. For example, if you want to sit for a Neapolitan pizza then it doesn't matter if it's a tourist restaurant or not as the owner is probably from Naples and you are getting the same thing as 2-3 block away. However, if you want a more initmate family run regional food experience then you should avoid the tourist restaurant as the quality will not be as good.
One of the worst pizzas I ever had was right in the heart of Venice near the canal. But I had a great pizza in some little town outside of Venice.
As a rule of thumb, I usually stop at a local shop/boutique and ask the cashier/sales person "If your friends wanted to take you out for lunch on your birthday, where would you have them take you?"
My only exception was in Paris where, after visiting Sacre Coeur in the afternoon, I lingered around Montmartre, so as I may dine at a Touristy Restaurant that provided me an epic view of all of Paris
as dusk was setting and the City of Lights came alive at my feet. No Regrets!
I just use Google Maps to find restaurants with the highest ratings. Helps to look away from the main tourist areas down some side streets too.
I mean in Japan they won’t have English menus at the non tourist restaurants
When I travel, I saw a lot of tourists enjoy being in tourist trap restaurants. They even got upset when I bring them to the resturants for locals
My favorite meals in Italy were when we wandered off the tourist track and had to Google translate to read the menu ❤ If the menu is only in Italian your in for a great meal! 😊
Tourist restaurant in italy. Staffed by chinese. Menus in (poor) english and even worse italian. Ketchup bottles. Nobodynitalian eats there…its english and americans because the meals look big
Only eaten at one or two tourist joints. The food was ordinary at best unlike regular places. As a rule of thumb the humblest neighbourhood trattoria will knock spots off any alleged Italian restaurants at home
Actually, even if it's over 11:00 AM and is, let's say, 10:00 PM we can still order a macchiato, a coffee with a splash of milk and no one really cares. But yes, a cappuccino will be seen as very strange, but will be served if asked.
In Italy, you know you are in a restaurant for locals if you see dogs inside. Italians treat dogs the same way as if they were little children and it is not usual to find a dog or two quietly sitting beneath their human's table.
Ha. You sounded like Jeff Foxworth. If you see xxx, then it's probably a tourist restaurant. 😀
I have to say. this video made me laugh! Especially the pictures and language part!!
I spent a month in Salerno recently. I was on my way back to the B&B and decided to get lunch rather than cook. I went into an authentic Indian restaurant and it was good. After 76 years of Italian food, a little diversity is enjoyable.
Aww. Saddened by the thought I probably won’t get sauce and meatballs. I really wanted to see how close to my dads Sicilian family’s sauce I’d find. Looking forward to all the other Italian dishes, though. We’ll be there in late Oct early Nov. Thanks for your wonderful tips!! They are appreciated!!
Much by the same, or equivalent is true in Portugal where I am now.
In Lisbon there are restaurants offering regional Portuguese food. They will present themselves as doing that. Best advice is to go a few streets back and find the unobtrusive doorway with locals going in and out.
*tourist "site" – not "sight"
Hey Mark! Great tips. My wife and I are vacationing in Lake Geneva for a few days and we saw you filming yesterday downtown! I was the crazy guy that called out to you as we were driving lol I couldn’t believe we saw you. I’ve been watching your videos for a long time. Cheers 🥂
I had the good fortune of being friends with a local while I was in Rome. He took me to some amazing local places in Trastevere and Testacchio. In Florence, I hunted out some little hole-in-the-wall places a few streets off the tourist track. It was definitely worth it. The food quality is so much better and so are the prices!
When I was in Rome I saw a few pizza restaurants that served pineapple pizza and burgers. I avoided those like the covid virus from China. I think that's one of the good decisions I made in my trip to Italy.
We asked a shop owner for recommendations. He asked us if we wanted a tourist restaurant. We replied NO! Where do you go? He took us a couple blocks away where everyone was speaking Italian, menu all in Italian. One of the best meals of my life!
I don't have time to find the good places to eat. We are ALWAYS stuck with the tourist food.
Went to Rome in November or 2022. One of the best trips of my life. Can't wait to go back. Prior to this trip I would agree about the restaurants around major tourist sites with sandwich boards with menus in English out front…..especially in Venice. My wife and I are minor foodies so we seek out the good stuff, both fancy and basic local cuisine and street food.
But, at the start of this trip to Rome I got a mild stomach bug. I recovered quickly thank goodness but was still uneasy about going to expensive restaurants until my appetite was fully back. So one night we were wandering near our hotel looking for a sit down place to eat. The weather was cool but fine. We ended up at a place right beside the Pantheon, pretty much next to where Wolter is standing in the video talking about places to avoid in Rome.
The place was full of Italians….probably Italian tourists but still Italians. We sat outside looking directly at the Pantheon. A world cup soccer game was on all the TVs. The patrons in the restaurant (and in all the other bars and places on the piazza) were cheering the game. We ordered simple Roman food like cacio e pepe, etc. Inexpensive local wine.
I will not claim it was the best food I ever had but it was legitimately good. The service was quick and friendly. The atmosphere was perfect. We were surrounded by Italians and the view was amazing. I wouldn't say the food was cheap but neither was it a rip off. It was an enjoyable meal and a memorable evening.
So sure, pay attention. Don't get ripped off. Don't order extravagant food at touristy places, but at the same time don't write a place off just because it is near a tourist site. You might be surprised……..and that view _ is _ worth something.