The first thing, of course, is to choose a place that serves authentic Italian food. If you don't, you will come off looking like you don't know what you are doing and are just trying to get by on the cheap. Not a good way to start off a date.
The question is though, how do you know what's authentic? And the answer is simple: just look at the menu. Unless you are an Italian cook yourself, if you understand it, the menu is not authentic enough. You are looking for more Italian food than just spaghetti and pizza.
You could also try striking up a conversation with some of the people who work there. I know that I would be looking for people behind the food to know more Italian than English. If everyone there seems too American you can bet the food is going to be more Americanized-Italian than authentic Italian food.
But once you do find a place with a good menu the next step is to learn to understand it. You want to make a good impression on your date by ordering something on the menu and knowing what to expect before the food arrives at the table. You surely don't want to order octopus soup because you think it is going to be a roasted pork dish. The best thing to do is learn how to properly say what you want to eat in Italian.
You could even find out what Italian food your date likes and pick out some recommendations from the menu beforehand and learn how to say them. That would go a long way toward impressing your date when it comes time to order and you're reading off your selection from the menu like an Italian food connoisseur.
Now, anybody can tell you for a fact that Italian food isn't Italian without a good wine to go with your dinner. Any respectable authentic Italian food establishment will have a nice selection of wine. This is a must for your romantic date.
But before you actually go to the restaurant, make sure you research what wine will go best will the Italian food you're ordering. You can find out online and then when you get to the restaurant you can ask the server, that's what they're there for. But you do want to be sure that they don't just recommend the most expensive wine on the list, so you do need to know a bit about it before you go.
Italian food was meant to be enjoyed with wine, so take the time to make sure you're getting a good wine for both the food and your budget.
You can certainly enjoy a nice romantic dinner date without taking heed of these tips, but when it is really so easy to know a little bit ahead of time, there is no reason why you shouldn't. Besides, an Italian restaurant is one of the most fun kind of restaurant to go to. And everybody knows that good food is meant to be good fun.
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