Restaurants Venice, Rome, and Florence
 

Thank you for your advice on tours for my sister. She has chosen Gate 1. Since I have not been in Italy for many years, I cannot recommend any restaurants. Although there is a breakfast every morning many of the other meals are not included.

She and her friend are not adventurous eaters and have been continually advised the food in Italy is considerably different than 99% of the Italian restaurants in the US. They would prefer inexpensive to moderate places. I am not sure they would embrace those tiny Mom and Pop places that make sensational dishes, but you can include it.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

I've uploaded restaurant recommendations for Rome and Florence to this dropbox: https://minbox.com/app/collections/Kl99gvu

These are the recommendations of IC Bellagio, one of the top travel companies in Italy.

We enjoyed dinner here in Venice, reservations are highly recommended http://www.lazucca.it/en/

You should tell us where they'll be staying, especially in Rome, which is a big city. Even in Venice and Florence, any restaurants we recommend may be totally out of their way.

In Rome, there are tons of little Mom and Pop restaurants. That's probably 80% of the total. It's hard to go wrong, except on the very touristy piazzas. I've never had a problem finding a decent meal in Florence, either, although I don't remember any particular restaurant I would recommend. Venice is the place where I've mostly run into overpriced and mediocre food. I could probably recommend some restaurants in Rome, depending on where they'll be.

It really pays off in Italy to learn about the regional cuisine, which is quite different in these three cities. Your best meals are likely to be the ones where you ordered local specialties.

Thank you all. I will post the hotels. And I told my sister how the food varies from region to region.

The hotel in Rome is the Ambasciatori on Via Veneto

The hotel for Florence is actually in Fiesole

And the hotel for Venice is a five minute walk to San Marco.

Thank you again.

Bookmarking

A block or two off the Via Venito in Rome: Osteria Barberini. Moderate price, excellent food, reservations needed (ask the hotel front desk to do it for them).

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ome_Lazio.html

Eating in Venice need not be a mediocre experience.
Our favorites are:
L'Anice Stellato in Cannaregio
La Cantina in Cannaregio
Alle Testiere in Castello
Osteria Enoteca Ai Artisti in Dorsoduro
Pane Vino e San Daniele - Campo dell'Angelo Raffaele
La Bitta in Dorsoduro (No fish)

For the non-adventurous eater in Rome, Maccheroni would probably be a good place. They would need to reserve in advance.

I really enjoyed Pierluigi near Campo di Fiori.
http://www.pierluigi.it/index.php?lang=en

Can I ask why you bookmarked your own thread?

Some notes from a trip to Florence and Venice that I took in September:

In Florence, dinners with two courses and wine ran about 30-40 euros a person; in Venice, more like 40-55. First, Florence:

Sept. 8, Osteria Cipolla Rossa. Ravioli, followed by "il quinto quarto"--the fifth quarter. I knew that referred to some sort of non-standard cut of meat, but I wasn't sure exactly what. It turned out to be oxtail stew, and very good it was too. There was a complimentary glass of prosecco to start, and biscotti afterwards.

Sept. 9, Coquinarius. First, the mixed antipasti: pâté; stuffed zucchini; prosciutto rolled around what I think was a tuna mousse with pieces of cantaloupe; crostini with cheese and fig jam; eggplant rolled around dried tomatoes; and a sort of chickpea flan. Then I had the pappardelle with wild boar ragù. Very good, but it took a long time to get the check.

Sept. 10, Trebbio. First, crespelle alla fiorentina: crêpes stuffed with spinach, and topped with Mornay sauce. Then vitello tonnato. My father had the chicken stew, and didn't care for it. He complained that it was all dark meat; that wouldn't have bothered me.

Sept. 11, Botteghe di Donatello. Ribollita, followed by steak topped generously with fresh porcini.

Sept. 12, back to the Botteghe di Donatello for more fresh porcini, this time with veal scaloppine. Pici with tomato and ricotta to start.

Now Venice:

Sept. 13, Al Giardinetto. Spaghetti with cuttlefish, followed by turbot with tomato and olives. The turbot was good, but could have used more tomato (there was about one cherry tomato per person).

Sept. 14, Da Mario alla Fava. I had the "antico antipasto veneziano": cuttlefish with tomato sauce, baccalà mantecato (salt cod mousse) with grilled polenta, and a couple of scampi and a fresh sardine in saor (a sour sauce with sultanas and pine nuts). Then, fegato alla veneziana, otherwise known as liver and onions. There was a complimentary amuse--a couple of cream puff shells, one with tuna and the other with cheese. This was the only place with a service charge (12%). (Every place had a cover charge, ranging from 2 to 3.60 euros.)

Sept. 15, Osteria da Carla. The antipasti della casa: a meat croquette; broiled tomato with gorgonzola; a canapé with feta, spinach, and pink peppercorns; a canapé of tuna salad and a slice of egg on bread that had been brushed with cuttlefish ink; prosciutto wrapped around a piece of roasted carrot; and a piece of frittata with cipolline. To follow, rabbit loin on a bed of julienned carrots and zucchini.

Venice (I juts got back) has all KINDS of restaurants around almost every corner and at all price ranges. Easy to pick from IMO and no cuttlefish required, thank God.