charnees

I have been avidly collecting restaurant info for Florence and Rome, but haven't seen any on Lucca. We will be staying there for a week and will have a car, so we don't have to confine ourselves to town. (I seem to remember a great place on the "back" road from Lucca to Camaiore -- something Moro, I think. Anyone know that one? I have looked through my accumulated files and can't find it.)

Anyway, are there places in town, too, that are really good? We like good regional cuisine and not fancy architectural displays on our plates. We live in the San Francisco area and tend to be foodies but not $$$$$ types -- we're retired and can't afford it.

Thanks,
Charnee

Marija

There's a lot of good eating in and around Lucca. Here's the link for la mora, about a 30 minute drive from the center of Lucca:
http://www.ristorantelamora.com/
We also enjoyed La Buca di Sant' Antonio in Lucca proper.

Uma

I would second Buca di Santantonio in Lucca. We ate there a couple of years ago, and the food was very good.

I had wanted to try the buccellato (anise flavored bread that is a local specialty)at Pasticceria Taddeucci, Piazza San Michele 34, but alas the bakery was closed while we were there. It's supposed to be delicious.

Sarvowinner

We ate at Villa Bongi www.villabongi.it last October. It's a few miles outside Lucca - just make sure you pay attetnion to the map and signs. The owner/chef Marco used to be at the Observatory Hotel (6 star) in Sydney.

The food was fantastic. We ate inside at night - lovely ambiance. During the day, eat on the terrace. The prices were really reasonable for the quality of food and atmosphere. It is also very regional.

TerryLFred

La Buca is very good but not necessarily inexpensive. Da Leo is more reasonable and also very good. It is more casual than La Buca. I think they only take cash, too.

Both these places are right in Lucca. We loved our stay in Lucca.

We walked the city walls but we wish we had rented bikes to ride the walls. If you ride bikes at all, you may want to try it. It is flat, no hills!

Have a great time in Italy!

charnees

Thanks for the ideas. I thought Villa Bongi looked lovely, and not too expensive. But i have found mixed reviews on La Buca -- some say it's divine, some say they are coasting on their reputation and the service is awful. What to think?

Well, we have plenty of time before we go, so we will keep an eye on things.

Charnee

Sarvowinner

Hi Charnee

I can't speak for La Buca but Villa Bongi was our big night out minus the teenagers and we had a delightful time. We left the ordering to the owner and we loved the food - plus we were very pleasantly surprised by the bill.

Just be careful driving there as we missed the turn (we had an old map) and got lost. The map on the website now is much clearer.

annw

Check out Mark Bittman's article on Lucca restaurants from the New York Times:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/09/24...l/24LUCCA.html

We had several good meals there (right in town) including Buca -- have a wonderful trip.