Will be celebrating a special anniverary next year. We will visit Rome, Positano, Siena, Florence and Assisi. Where would be the one place we should splurge for dinner while in Italy?

Congratulations on your planning to spend your special anniversary in Italy patty! Good decision in my opinion.

If you would post back what type of food you and your husband like plus perhaps what you do not enjoy eating along with what you want to budget per person for your anniversary dinner (and will that amount include wine of not) I imagine you will received a lot of suggestions.

Hi P,

When?

If the weather will be warm, take the train from Rome to Orvieto, have dinner in the garden of
I Sette Consoli
Pzza Sant’Angelo 1A
phone/fax 011 39 0763 343911

Stay overnight.

In Siena, have dinner at
Cane e Gato
Tel: 0577-287545
Via Pagliaresi, 6
53100 Siena

I agree..you have to state your budget and a bit about your tastes. Do you need a "romantic" place? Do you care more about food than atmosphere? Do you care if there are quite a few other tourists dining along with you?

My first thought is that you could probably have your best dinner, setting-wise, in or near Positano (Ravello??) in a setting overlooking the sea...

La Giostra in Florence--can get reservations online--and Trattoria Fori Porta on Porto Romano in Siena.

We love fish and pasta. Would like a great view, so I guess this would be in Positano. Including wine, if the view is the best, we would not mind splurging, but not over $200 US. It doesn't necessarily have to be romantic; the view and and good food is the most important. Hopefully we can have both for our 35th anniversary.

We will be staying is Positano for approx 5 days with a day trip to Capri. Should we have our special dinner in Capri? If so, where?

>>we would not mind splurging, but not over $200 US<<

Glad you posted a specific amount, because I would not consider $200 to be a splurge. That rules out most places in Postiano I was going to suggest. Does $200 also include wine?

Stu Dudley

$200 is about 130 euros -- that's not going to get you very far unfortunately in a "splurge" type of place...

We all have different ideas of a "splurge" so I'm glad you indicated a price.

But it's funny about "splurges". For ages we did that when we traveled -- picking out one place in each city or country for a really expensive dinner. But oddly enough with only one or two exceptions, many of our "non-splurge" meals ended up being so much more memorable than the splurge ones. Maybe it's just setting up your expectations that when you spend twice as much, the meal is going to somehow be twice as good -- and in our case, that rarely happened. More often that not, we'd be disappointed that we had "slurged" away so much money and had ended up with a meal no more memorable than many of our other ones.

The last couple of trips to Europe, I'd have to say we never did a deliberate "splurge" meal, and we have been sooooo happy with the bulk of our meal choices.

I completely agree with Patrick. We stumbled upon one of our best meals in Italy in this tiny trattoria on an out-of-the-way street in San Remo.

Sorry to highjack this a bit.

I too am going to Rome and Sorrento in April 08. I like seafood in general. Do not care for places too formal or snotty. we like good food (who doesn't?), smart casual atmosphere, view would be great if available, and we do not drink much so a glass of wine each would suffice.

If the budget is 130 euro per person (approximate) - what would one suggest?

Agree with NeoPatrick as well.

I am no gourmet and have been to Italy only 3 times, but the best Italian meal I've had so far, is however in Paris, in the Marais area right next to our rental apartment, in 2006. Everytime we walked past the restaurant there was long lineups and so one day we decided to try it (early to avoid the crowd)and I'm glad we did. The atmosphere was casual/friendly and the food was wonderful. I remember most entries are only ~20 euros. I would go back in a heartbeat.

It is so easy to be disappointed with a 'splurge' meal. Expectations being what they are and all that. A nice, upscale place is almost always a better bet than a 'splurge' place.

The terrace restaurant at Hotel Poseidon in Positano is a beautiful spot with a gorgeous view, excellent food and reasonable prices that should fit your budget, including the wine! There used to be photos of the terrace on their web site.

Well I guess splurge can mean different things to different people. The Hotel Poseidon sounds great. Thanks!

The Hotel Poseidon is faaaabulous. I don't think we ate there, we just got a drink, but the view was fantastic and we didn't want to leave.

There are photos on the website.

www.hotelposeidonpositano.it

I agree with the idea that setting out for a special dinner can be fraught with disappointment, no matter what city you're in. It's the nice restaurants you find by chance that turn out to be the best memories.

However, it helps to have some suggestions to go from, so I'll give you names of ones we liked in Rome and Florence.

In Rome, we liked one recommended by a friend there:
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, warm, and pleasant place.

Also in Rome, but more family-oriented:
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.

In Florence, we especially liked one my daughter had been to once already:
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 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.

Enjoy Italy. What better place could there be for an anniversary??
>-

patty,
I believe you could do either place I suggested for under $200 (though if the dollar goes any further in the toilet, it may be tight.) Keep in mind at La Giostra they comp you with a huge appetizer plate and 2 glasses of bubbly, so you try not to overorder (we always seem to).

Congratulations on your anniversary!

I was just in Italy this past May. We went there for my 30th birthday. Are trip included Venice, Rome & Positano. As for a food splurge I would definitely go for Positano. The food was definitely better in the south at every restaurant. We did the day trip to Capri, which I wouldn't say is a must, but then again how often do you get to go to Capri. I just like Positano more. So my recs. for restaurants in Positano are Cafe Positano and the restaurant next to it Cucina something or other. If you click on my screen name and read my trip report I think I put it in there. The food at both was incredible and for three of us I don't think it was over $200, maybe a little. It was birthday so I didn't get to see the bill! We had plenty of wine and drinks and the works. Cafe Positano has great views over looking the sea if you sit outside -that was really great. And if you go to the other place the homemade pasta on the menu (i don't remember the name) was incredible. By far my most favorite dish the entire trip. Have a great time. Italy is enchanting.
Z