jcparr

We are going to be in Rome, Venice, London, Paris and Wengen, Switzerland in June. What restaurants/foods are a must have for a first time visit? Any suggestions?

nytraveler

Budget? Cuisines you like and dislike? ATmosphere?

There are - except for Wengen - dozens and dozens of excellent choices.

jcparr

I like everything, just want a great experience of food in each country. Not too expensive-just good food. I know there will be lots of choices, so I would like suggestions.

WiredPuppy

Not sure what your likes and dislikes are, what your budget is, or your eating "style" .. Are you a "foodie" who will try anything, or are you picky?

For now, I'll just post my favorites and must haves for you to check out.

ROME:
Er Buchetto - (for lunch)
Taverna dei Fori Imperiali (for dinner)

Venice:
Bentigodi di Chef Domenico
Osteria Giorgione

London:
Bull & Last - great gastropub
Pollen Street Social - (A MUST for lunch - make reservations!!)
St John (for dinner)
Simla (best curry in London IMO)
Queen's Head (pub)
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (pub)
Marquis of Cornwallis (pub)
Gordon's Wine Bar

Paris:
Angelina (breakfast and brunch) Even if you just get the hot chocolate - GO!
Restaurant Guy Savoy (dinner) Expensive, but lives up to the hype.
Little BREIZH - authentic French crêpes.
Cosi - (lunch) Delicious sandwiches, salads, freshly made bread
Au Pied de Fouet - cozy, simple, reasonable and delicious!

WiredPuppy

Oh, no, do NOT tell nytraveler "I like everything". That's a recipe for this thread to turn ugly.

goldenautumn

Angelina's hot chocolate comes close to making me sick, and I'm not alone.

Food in Venice is generally quite expensive and only sometimes good. You like everything, but do you know the Italian word for 'eels"? The French word for "brains"? There are easily 50 places in London serving good food and 4000 serving bad food -- and most of the 4000 are very closest to the places you are most likely to be in London, following in the footsteps of people who go to tourist attractions. You will be paying a lot to eat what anybody anonymously posts on the internet is what their standard is for good food. Do you live someplace where, when you look around, you generally see the people around you eating good food? Are you accustomed to finding trustworthy advice from strangers on the internet?

You might want to look up some food websites and invest in some food guidebooks for the places you will be spending all that money to get to.

WiredPuppy

>>Angelina's hot chocolate comes close to making me sick, and I'm not alone.

And I am not alone in loving it.

jkbritt

To find decent food at reasonable prices, I try to get at least 3 blocks away from a tourist trap. As you walk down the street, look for a busy restaurant and look at the menu posted on the outside or in the window. The further away, usually, the better the food and it will be cheaper. One restaurant in Paris that was recommended to me and I agree it is good is: http://www.restaurant-chartier.com.

mamcalice

Search on this board for "Paris Restaurants", etc. In London, we like Indian and Middle eastern restaurants and gastropubs. Use the Chowhound board. When are you going?

Give us a little information on what kinds of food you like - Michelin starred restaurants? Neighborhood places? High end? Street food? Most of these cities have endless choices and it would help to have a little input from you.

nytraveler

I gave up answering questions about restaurants with not specifics when someone who asked for the best restaurants in NYC - later said that they only ate steak or lobster in restaurants - and there was no way their budget was going to cover a decent meal of either.

ekc

Knowing absolutely nothing about you, your taste or your budget:

Venice: Antiche Carampane
Rome: Roscioli
Paris: Atelier Joel Robuchon

denisea

Rome: Glass, for s splurge...for inexpensive pizza try Forno in Camp dei Fiori and Marco Roscioli also near Campo dei Fiori for amazing Pizza pomodoro: we also reallly loved La Gensola in Trastavere

Paris: Un Dimanche a Paris for macarons, it's a gorgeous shop and they also have a restaurant
We also love Reed in the 7th, L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon for a big splurge, Le Souffle is great if you love souffles, Marco Polo for Italian, Cafe Constant and les cocttes in the 7th. Le Comptoir is our fav but not cheap...they have a take away window and tiny stand up place next door called LAvant Comptoir that are huge and delicious

carolyn

For a lower-priced meal in London, we like the Steak & Mushroom Pie and Sticky Toffee Pudding at Brown's Restaurant on St. Martin's Lane.