One of the joys of jetting off on holiday is the chance to immerse yourself in the culture and enjoy the local cuisine.
But eager tourists can be left seriously gutted if their quest to find some authentic grub ends up falling far short of their expectations.
Now one tour operator has given advice about how holidaymakers can avoid being let down in their quest for a taste of local delicacies.
A clip posted on TikTok from the account @Perillotours – which is a family-owned holiday tour business that specialises in breaks to Italy, Hawaii, Greece and Spain – reveals “how to spot an inauthentic restaurant in Italy”. It has now been seen an astonishing 3.7m times and had thousands of comments.
The short video includes two people discussing how to determine between a tourist restaurant and an authentic Italian restaurant as they walk along the street outside several eateries in Florence.
The lady says: “They try and lure you in. Actually…Can I see a menu? Beautiful menu – but it’s in English. No Italiano menu.”
She then elaborates saying it’s “not to say it’s not a good restaurant” but that it’s not an authentic Italian restaurant if someone is trying to lure you in or if the menu is not written in the native language.
In the comments section there is a mixed bag of views – with some questioning what an “authentic” restaurant even means.
One said: “Why is that not an authentic restaurant? Really wanting to know.”
Another said that they would go to any venue where they felt “welcomed”. But others seemed to get the gist of her point.
One said: “In Naples we had a handwritten in Italian menu with like five things on it. Was best food ever had.”
Another agreed adding another tip to determine how non-touristy a restaurant is.
They said: “A local told me it’s not authentic if they have pictures of the food outside lol it was so true.”
The warning comes as Reddit users talked about how to avoid “tourist trap” restaurants that may fall short of your expectations or overcharge.
One person said: “Located in an extremely popular/touristy area, like right on the main square or right beside a tourist attraction. Not always a tourist trap, but usually a tourist trap.”
According to the advice, it’s worth looking a little further away from the city centre for a better deal.
The traveller added: “In my experience, the number and variety of items on the menu is inversely related to the quality.
“So if a restaurant has a menu several pages long, especially one that combines several unrelated cuisines, this is a red flag.”