Rick Steves' Ordering Advice For A Budget-Friendly Meal At Italian Restaurants

When it comes time to budget your trip to Italy, it'd be wise to plan a significant portion of it for food. Eating is one of the true joys of traveling in Italy. Whether you're enjoying bistecca in Florence, or authentic carbonara in Rome, the food in Italy is among the best in Europe. But what if your budget is a little more constraining? Eating out, after all, can get a expensive. Well, according to travel guru and television host Rick Steves, there are a few clever ways to order a meal at an Italian restaurant that won't break the bank.

There are many different types of restaurants throughout Italy that offer food at various price levels. However, as Steves notes, a good majority of restaurants offer multi-course meals. Diners often feel obliged to order one of each course — antipasto, primo, secondo, and dolce or dessert. But Steves recommends against this on his blog, writing: "That's too much food for most diners, and your bill can add up. The general rule of thumb is that each diner can order any two courses. So two people, for example, can share an antipasto, two primi, and a dessert."

This idea of sharing not only makes your budget stretch a little farther, but can also lead to you trying a wider range of flavors. Breaking the structure like this, which is fine to do in most restaurants, offers you the opportunity to get the most out of local cuisine, for less.

How much you spend on food in Italy depends greatly on the meals you're planning on Italy. In general, breakfast and lunch are cheaper than dinner. Breakfast in Italy is a small affair, with a coffee and pastry costing about $3. Depending on whether you grab street food or sit down for lunch, it can cost between $5 and $35. Dinner is where things can get really expensive. Depending on the type of restaurant you visit, you can easily spend $100 if you're not careful.

Rick Steves has a method around this — ordering creatively. "At dinner, rather than bog down on an expensive secondi (second course, usually meat or fish), I order top-end on the antipasti (starters) and primi piatti (first course) list," Rick Steves writes. "By doing that, I usually end up with the freshest meats and cheeses and the chef's favorite pasta dish of the day."

This is also your best opportunity to sample amazingly fresh meals of the day, something called a zero-kilometer meal. Basically, they utilize ingredients as local as you can get. This not only means that they are sure to be fresh, but that their quality is unsurpassed. What's not to love about saving a little money and getting amazing food in return?

Before you even sit down for your meal, there are ways to tell which types of Italian restaurants are going to be the most budget-friendly. Most commonly, you will see signs for ristorante, osteria, and trattoria. Among these, the most expensive tends to be the ristorante, while the most affordable is the trattoria. These are typically family-run and relatively inexpensive, depending on their location. "A basic big-city trattoria might cost as much as a high-end ristorante in smaller towns and villages," says Rick Steves.

However, it's dining casually that is going to give you the most bang for your buck. One of Steves' favorite ways to enjoy a mid-day meal is by assembling local ingredients for a humble picnic is a great way to save money and experience flavor. Still, if you would rather an establishment do the cooking for you, there are plenty of options.

"When all you want is a quick, simple, affordable meal, keep your eyes peeled for Italy's many casual take-out alternatives to a pricey restaurant: pizza rustica shops, paninoteche, and cafeteria-style tavola calda bars and rosticcerie," says Steves. These places specialize in economical fare, from pizza to sandwiches and pre-cooked meats. Whichever you end up choosing, dining at one is an excellent way to make your budget stretch without sacrificing on quality or experience.