Rome Dining

For our 8 day stay in Rome, we only had one waitress.  From a casual tourist perspective, it appears that waiters are much more prevalent than waitresses.  We very much enjoyed our dining experiences while in Rome and they were different than what you experience in the United States (after all, isn't the reason you travel to experience new things?)

One of the biggest differences is in all 8 days, we never once had a waiter bring us our check until we asked.  You always had to find your waiter and usually using a hand gesture combined with verbiage ask for your check.  One of our tour guides gave us a great demonstration on how to get your check and I was then able to do it with confidence.  You don't even need to call them to your table.  Just grab their attention from across the room, make the gesture and your check will come. If you don't ask, I wonder just how long a person has to wait if they don't ask.

My daughter works for a local café here in the U.S.  Her manager/owner has a policy.  If a table has to ask for a check, then the waitress (yes, it is all women at her café) has waited too long to give them their bill and (in theory) the waitress has to pay for the food (I'm not sure it is really enforced, and is more like a threat to keep the waitresses from not giving the bills quick enough).  This is the exact opposite of the mind-set of dining in Rome.  You are not rushed out and dinner can be a nice, relaxing, and long process. 

One of our favorite places we ate was an outdoor table at a restaurant right next the to the Pantheon.  It was evening and the sun was about to set.  We sat at a table and ordered a drink.  Forty-five minutes later we ordered our dinner.  There was absolutely no feeling of rushing through dinner.  It was a two hour dinner as the sun set and the lights came on the Pantheon, and it was as Roman feeling as you can get.  Dinner was excellent and our waiter, like we'd experienced at other restaurants, gave Mom lots of attention, including a few pecks on the cheek.  Nothing like making you feel beautiful while you sip wine and enjoy the view.  Now this is a Roman holiday at its finest!

Waiters in Rome seem to be both super attentive, and also out of sight at the same time.  If you need something, don't expect to look up and your waiter be hovering over you anticipating your every need.  Patience is the key, but once you slip into that mode, it really becomes a vacation - relax, people watch and talk.  If you're looking to eat quickly, grab a sandwich to go (take away as I saw it called) somewhere.  Dining is a huge part of your experience there, and while there is so much to see, don't underestimate this essential part of your holiday in Rome by trying to rush through it.

My picture taking skills are very lacking here, but this is Mom and our waiter at the restaurant in front of Pantheon.  He showered Mom with attention and our meal there was delicious, relaxing and fun.  The perfect Roman meal.

Wine is inexpensive, good and always part our meals in Rome.

Our last evening in Rome.  We found this place just down the street from our hotel and the food was incredibly inexpensive and good.