Best Places for Pasta and Fish in Florence, Venice, Rome? Please share
 

Hi wonderful Fodorites,
Well I've been scanning the threads and noticed a few dining gems (La Giostra in Florence for example seems to get a lot of praise, and Trattoria Sempione in Venice gets some nods. )

Would love your latest, greatest advice on which restaurants you've eaten at in

Florence,
Venice
and Rome(near Pantheon area)

that have the best pasta (vegetarian),
and delicious fresh fish (not shellfish).

And of course, I welcome your sharing places to stay away from.

Appreciate your fantastic insights on this. I do love Pasta and fresh fish--I know it's amazing in Italy!
Thank you for taking the time to share.

Florence and Rome are not, historically speaking, considered close to the sea, and in both cities you are more likely to get fresh fish in restaurants that specialize in it. In all three cities - including Venice - fish is unlikely to be fresh (as in "freshly caught") on Monday. Also be aware that fish dishes are priced at a premium in all three cities.

Hi Zerlina,
Thanks for the good advice on the 'monday rule'.

I do love home-made pasta so I'm probably going to be on the lookout more for that I suppose.

We were in Venice this past August and lucked upon this amazing restaurant just down from Fondamenta Nove (north shore of Venice), just across from San Michele island. The name is Da Alvise. The setting right on the water is lovely, the service just right, and the food so good, we had lunch there and made reservations to return that night. As one who makes fresh pasta, I'm pretty certain that theirs is made on the premises. My dish was a shellfood dish and my husband had lasagna, but from what I saw being served to other guest, it seems Da Alvise specializes in seafood - beautifully presented. From the way people were greeted by the host, it seemed that most of the guest were locals and regulars, and it's pretty far removed from the tourist path. I can only hope to find a reason to return someday.

In Venice, for vegetarian pasta, definitely check out La Zucca in Santa Croce.

A also like da Alvise for seafood. :)

thanks for posting this, LOTRHP!