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Hi – I need some advice. Has anyone had a good experience with any of the restuarants on the AMEX dining credit deals
I am going to Rome in September and have the £150 to spend but all the restuarants look a little fancy…..
They normally are. It’s a common issue. Every restaurant I’ve looked at in various countries / cities incl, Barcelona, Rome, Malaga / Marbella area and more recently, Portofino where the starter was €40. It’s either very expensive or it requires about £300 -£500 of spend. I recently used the Ivy for drinks in the UK as I had about £50 remaining on my £150 dining credit and it worked fine. Perhaps you could use it for drinks instead. That’s my strategy when I head back to Rome in October, albeit many high end places may not accept a drinks only reservation.
Was looking for similar albeit for a trip to Rome next February and arrived at the same conclusion (ie nothing suitable for a family of four with 2 younger children).
Whilst unrelated to Rome, in Germany a few months ago there were no end of reasonable, decent food and family friendly places all accepting the Amex dining credit. I wish it was the same elsewhere.
Hi, was in the same situation myself as planning a trip to Rome in October
Out of the 9 on there, only 2 seem suitable tbh, the majority are around €200 a head easy
Acquaroof- Is a cocktail bar in evening, so should take drinks only reservations , albeit an expensive one at €25 a drink
or Zuma which main menu doesn’t look to overly expensive , definitely comparable to some Japanese restaurants here and tasting menu for €90 per person which wouldn’t be too much over the £150 for 2 of you
When I did this, I found they were all overpriced hotel restaurants. In the end we went to All’Oro as we often end holidays with swanky restaurants and this one has a Michelin star for whatever that matters to you. The wine was stupid expensive though and ate most of the credit. Food was excellent.
we had a lovely meal at Zuma last October, sitting on the roof terrace. The food was v good and the service was fantastic – we were there from 2000-2330 and never felt rushed. We had a lovely evening, we ordered to share but had more than enough, a couple of cocktails and from memory i think a bottle of wine. Bill came to €177 for 2 and it triggered the dining credit .
Not on the offer but we had a fantastic dinner at Ad Hoc near the Colliseum
We went to Idylio last year, which I assume is still on the list. Fabulous and highly recommended, but definitely at the fancier end of the spectrum.
As with all restaurants in Rome, book a late table (eg 9.30pm) if you want to eat with Italians or book an early table (eg 7.30pm) if you want to eat with Americans.
Quite surprised a lot of people are finding the restaurants overpriced, and I thought I was going to be a minority for this. I had Duck & Waffle and the bill came to £210 – not that I couldn’t afford it, it just felt overpriced for what we had as a couple. Normal bills range between £65-100 these days for us.
Not sure what it’ll be like in Paris but things did feel a bit pricey on the restaurants there as well. It was too late to book anything for Rome when I went there in March.
I’m also not the type to want to dress up just for dinner, as some seem to enforce dress codes – I’ll be out and about with a T-shirt and jeans or shorts all day.
@Maples, we found plenty of casual eateries at reasonable prices in Rome, so I’m surprised you found it expensive – £30 for a couple of fabulous pizzas and a litre of very drinkable wine, for example, one day. At the high end, prices were no worse than London. Before the Amex dining credit we spent £470 on our priciest meal, but that was for a Michelin starred tasting menu with wine pairing and extra champagne. I’ve spent more in Wales.
On dress codes, Italians are super-chic; it would be rude to be scruffily attired when sat next to a glamorous couple in immaculately tailored outfits. Restaurants are right to enforce dress standards if that’s what it takes to ensure tourists adapt to local culture. What’s so difficult and unpleasant about getting changed for dinner? It only takes a few minutes, and your partner might actually prefer you to make an effort, too.
What’s so difficult and unpleasant about getting changed for dinner? It only takes a few minutes, and your partner might actually prefer you to make an effort, too.
We both dislike it, to be honest. We’ll be out the whole day, and then we’ll end up needing to go back to the hotel just to change. It just doesn’t align with our currently travel pattern. In fact, it’s one of the reasons that made me realise that it’s better for me to stick to local hotels rather than chains such as Hilton that end up charging more for better rooms, when I just need a place to sleep at night, and not care much about day-time facilities.
Duck & Waffle is also a restaurant in London. I think we spend about £60-100 on each meal abroad, with the most expensive so far being in Florence for Florentine steak and other bits.
The report button is also too damn close to quote.
Trying to claw back a ‘meagre’ £150 from overpriced restaurants aside, Rome is not overly expensive.
Avoid highly rated restaurants on Google and Tripadvisor as they have been bombed with dumb tourists who would not know good food if an Italian mama dropped it in there lap. The highest rated pizzeria near our Airbnb was a pizza by the slice takeaway that looked like total garbage. I remember getting pizza in Florence from a highly rated place and throwing it in their bin after one bite.
You can do worse than just heading to Trastevere around 9.30pm and find a busy restaurant full of Italians.
You can do worse than just heading to Trastevere around 9.30pm and find a busy restaurant full of Italians.
Sage advice. That’s exactly how we found our £30 meal.
You’re also spot-on with Google reviews: they’re mostly written by Americans, who see things from a very different perspective. In the Greek islands, for example, traditional tavernas often have poor ratings from reviewers who say the service is slow (it’s meant to be so that you have time to talk) or that the food is lukewarm (again, it’s meant to be that way). Snazzy cocktail bars with as much local authenticity as Trump Tower get upvoted while traditional bars are downvoted. I despair.
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