christrmpt04

We're leaving Sunday on our honeymoon and I was just wondering if anyone had some last minute recommendations on good restaurants before we leave. We'll be in Venice for 3 nights, Florence for 2, Siena for 2 and Rome for 5. We'll also be in Milan for an afternoon so if you know of a good lunch spot around the cathedral that would be good. We especially want to avoid the tourist traps. We will probably occasionally venture to an upscale establishment since it is our honeymoon, but we're also on a budget so low to mid-range gems are ideal. Thanks everyone!

zeppole

When you get to Italy, stop in a bookstore and buy "Osterie d'Italia." It is written in Italian, but it really doesn't matter. You will see the addresses and the opening and closing hours of the places listed, and that is really all you need to know. These are all affordable eateries. In Venice, you should ask your hotel to make reservations for you.

In the meantime, you can go to the Chowhound website and search its "Italy" board for recommendations for all the places you are going. You will find several current threads over there discussing these destinations.

Be careful where you splurge. A splurge in Rome or Florence might net you better food than in Venice or Siena. Also, remember Rome has great pizza and Tuscany has great soup. Venice has good bar food. Not all the best food is expensive restaurant food.

A good lunch spot near the Duomo in Milano is Alla Vecchia Latteria, on via dell'Unione 6. Look up the address on a Google map so you can see where it is. Go early, because it is tiny and fills up quickly. It is closed Sundays.

http://www.nessundove.net/alla-vecchia-latteria-milano/

Have a wonderful honeymoon!

P_Peppington

Thin's favourite restaurants in Rome:

Matricianella
Buca di Ripetta
Cul de Sac
Trattoria Monti

I also LOVE to have martinis in the garden lounge of the Hassler Hotel or at the Hotel de Russie.

NEVER EVER EVER eat at those restaurants on the Via Venetto. Those places are the epitome of tourist traps. It is OK to have a drink at Harry's near the Borghese Gardens--with all the blue-hair gals toting their old, creased Prada shopping bags--but that is it.

IF you want a good people-watching spot in Florence, head to Cafe Gilli in Piazza Repubblica (across from the very post Hotel Savoy). This is great place to get a coffee and ice cream. Once when I was there I was seated next to Catherine Deneuve. She was wearing a white fur coat and looking DAZZLING! PUKKA!

Tschuss,
Pippy aka The Great and Powerful Thingorjus

zoecat

Over many years and many visits to Venice, I have always enjoyed my meals at Osteria La Zucca. The service is very nice and the food wonderful. Make reservations the day before.

http://www.lazucca.it/

jgg

Our favorite restaurants listed below. I've incl. the comments I made in our trip reports about each place. Sometimes I mention cost, just to let you know the costs in Rome would be from 2005 or 2006, Venice 2005 and Milan 2010, and we were always traveling as a family of 4.

Rome:
De Pallero (del Largo Pellaro 15). Excellent meal. This is a fixed meal, fixed price dinner. It is 20euro person for a wonderful 5 course meal. Antipasto – fennel, lentils, proscuitto and olives and veal croquettes. Pasta course – large tube pasta with tomato sauce, salad w/ mozzarella cheese, veal and homemade potato chips . For dessert there is an almond torte and a small glass of mandarin juice (yummy!) The poppa (owner) seemed to enjoy having us, especially the kids. He gave Michael a bottle of wine to give to us as we leave.

Il Bacaro (Via degli Spanoli, 27). We had a wonderful dinner. Fagioli soup and a delicious salad. I had the filet with cheese and onion sauce, Stephen had meat with chestnut sauce, and Michael had strips of steak and balsamic vinegar. Lauren’s meal was voted the best by everyone – a wonderful pasta with shrimp – we all licked her bowl clean. (120 euros including sparkling water, and wine; probably one of our more expensive meals but delicious). This is a small restaurant and a reservation is a must

Gusto (Piazza Augusto Imperatore – corner of Via della Frezza & Via de Corea nw of the Spanish Steps) It is wonderful. This is a big, loud, hip restaurant. We have a two wonderful plates of cheese and proscuitto. We enjoy a pasta carbonara and pasta a gamberi a pomodoro.

Obika – A Mozarrella Bar (in Piazza Firenze – corner of Via dei Prefetti near Piazza Navona). We had a wonderful evening there. Great cheese and salami tasting plate. We also had wonderful gnocchi and delicious vegetarian lasagna.
NOTE: This is one of our favorite places, but they do have one now in LA, NYC and Toronto- but this one in Rome is the original, and was the only location when we went for the first time in 2005. There is also a location in Milan at the top of La Rinascente Dept. store - where if you sit outside you are right next to the top of the Duomo - pretty incredible view!)

Venice:
Acqua Pazza (San Marco at Campo St. Angelo 3808/10). It was awesome!! Our best meal in Italy yet. A wonderful appetizer de mare. Started with wonderful bruschetta, then a large platter of all kinds of wonderful seafood – calamari, mussels, clams, anchovies, shrimp with rocket, fried artichoke hearts, fried fish, baby octopus, wonderful smoked salmon with capers and onions, and a wonderful fried salmon and mozzarella. For 25 euros it is a lot of food and perfecto! Next we had tortellini with mussels and shrimp and a cheese & proscuitto pizza. Both were excellent – the best pizza we had!

Florence: Unfortunately our favorite restaurant closed =(.

Milan: For lunch consider going to Peck (Via Spadari, 9) located close to the Duomo. This place is incredible. It has amazing gourmet foods (think Harrod’s food court) with an incredible selection. Many people have complained about the service there being rude, but by the time we got there it was about 2:30 so the place was fairly empty – so we found the men behind the counter to be very helpful, although the system is a bit confusing. You order what you want at the various counters, they give you a ticket. You then bring all your tickets to the cashier and pay for them – then bring your paid receipts back to the counters to pick up your food – I could imagine this would be even more confusing and difficult if you were there when the place was really busy. The selection of foods just goes on and on. We ordered several different things and brought them back to the apt. to enjoy looking at our fab view.

carolw

Our dear friends who live in Siena took us to La Buca di Porsenna-a fabulous restaurant on Via delle Donzelle,1 not far from Piazza del Campo.

http://www.florence.ala.it/la_buca_d...na/default.asp

Have a wonderful honeymoon!