dro

Our trip in a few weeks to Florence, Venice and Rome is fully booked and we are looking forward to it.
Any suggestions for restaurants in each city? We prefer bistro (I know that is a french term!) type restauants. In Rome we are at the Westin Excelsior on the Via Venteto, Florence at the Grand Villa Medici, and Venice at the Westin Europa and Regina on the Grand Canal.
What does anyone know about the Golden View just over the Ponte Vecchio? It was recommended as a good lunch spot.
Thanks in advance.

ira

Hey dro,

What's your budget?

RonZ

Buca Mario in Florence is one not to miss. Ask for Aldo.

kfusto

Golden View Open Bar is a lovely place and would qualify as a bistro with an electic menu and great wine list. We like to visit and enjoy a bottle of wine in the bar area pre dinner along with their excellent nibbles. It is not inexpensive but is quite good.

Also check out Il Santo Bevitore in the Oltrarno.

macanimals

Re: Golden View. I agree that it is a lovely place and might be good for cocktails or wine but... We had our worst meal for quality of food and value there a couple of years ago. Its a shame as the setting is fantastic but there was no excuse for rock hard unripe avacadoes and melon equally tasteless. Still the view is enchanting and wine can be found but as for food, look elsewhere.

dro

Thanks. Keep the recommendations coming. In Florence we get dinner at the hotel one night since we booked through Amex Luxury Collections.

kfusto

macanimals, interesting. We never had dinner there and the quality of their appetizers has always been superb so I am sorry to read this.

Cantinetta Antinori is another nice spot for an intimate dinner with a great wine list.

PeaceOut

Here are some out-of-the-way recommendations for Florence and Rome, from my daughter who studied there one semester. I ate at all of them, too:

In Florence there is a rooftop café, which overlooks the Duomo. It is on the top of a nice little ‘department’ store. I think it’s called Ristorante Ottorino, via delle Oche, 12-16r. We enjoyed wine and salads, on the sunny afternoon, with a close-up view of the Duomo.

Also in Florence, for dinner my daughter recommended one of her favorite restaurants, the Trattoria Garga on Via del Moro 48/R, phone 055 2398898. We had an amazing meal there, probably my best in Italy. My dish was veal with avocado, which sounds odd (most really good dishes do, I think), and was mouth-watering. Our waiter was a riot-- singing and joking all over the restaurant. It was a friendly, lively, bustling atmosphere with excellent food. We paid 81EUR for two, with a half-liter of house wine.

In Rome, for dinner, we headed back toward a restaurant where my daughter had eaten earlier that semester. It’s very casual and good, called the Maccheroni Ristorante at Piazza delle Coppelle, 44, phone 06 68307895. It’s very popular with locals and gets very busy. The service is friendly and the atmosphere is lively and interesting. About 47 EUR for two, with one-half liter of house wine.

Also in Rome, we had reservations to meet my daughter’s friend for dinner at 9:00. He had studied in Rome that semester and recommended his favorite restaurant in the neighborhood where he’d lived, called Il Matriciano, on Via dei Gracchi, 49- 61. (Reservations advised—phone 063213040, or 063212327) It’s perfect for a more special dinner, but certainly not over-the-top. For three people dining, we paid just 103 EUR, which included a liter of house wine. We shared two appetizers, and two of us had veal dishes, one had just spaghetti. We each enjoyed coffee and dessert. It is a very, very friendly and pleasant place. We completely enjoyed it.

autodidact

In Florence we had an excellent dinner at Taverna del Bronzino. High quality food and wine, very comfortable (lots of space between tables), fine service. It may be a bit old-fashioned, but it's certainly none the worse for that.

We found Cantinetta Antinori very pleasant for lunch, but possibly a bit cramped for a dinner venue.

jscarbary

In Florence for lunch, pull up a curb and have a panini and glass of wine at I Fratellini.