Where in Italy for food?
Discussion
Just returned from 2 weeks in Amalfi/Capri area (was 37degrees, now a slightly chily 16 degrees!)..
Food was, uniformally, quite dissapointing, with one or two exceptions that stand out, unless you were willing to pay >€150 per person the food was pretty average or worse - very dissapointing but not entirely unexpected givn the touristy nature of the place.
So - assuming I want to return to Italy again, where would I go to get a reasonable chance of walking into any restaurant and having at least a decent chance of a good meal? I know tourist-traps exist everywhere, but when even the best pizzaria sells hotdog and chips as a topping, I don't look forward to eating out!
Food was, uniformally, quite dissapointing, with one or two exceptions that stand out, unless you were willing to pay >€150 per person the food was pretty average or worse - very dissapointing but not entirely unexpected givn the touristy nature of the place.
So - assuming I want to return to Italy again, where would I go to get a reasonable chance of walking into any restaurant and having at least a decent chance of a good meal? I know tourist-traps exist everywhere, but when even the best pizzaria sells hotdog and chips as a topping, I don't look forward to eating out!
And in Sicily.NathanJones said:
People visit Italy for the food, Italians go to Bologna.
Second that. Emilia Romagna is a great region for food.Tuscany also very nice, just avoid the big/touristy town. Best places as mentioned above tend to be in smaller villages in the hills around Siena.
Sardinia is great for seafood and still quite cheap, as long as you avoid Porto Rotondo/Port Cervo.
Oh and Piedmont, near Alba. Best red wine in Italy (Barolo), and if you go around october/november you will eat white truffles every day!
matrignano said:
NathanJones said:
People visit Italy for the food, Italians go to Bologna.
Second that. Emilia Romagna is a great region for food.Tuscany also very nice, just avoid the big/touristy town. Best places as mentioned above tend to be in smaller villages in the hills around Siena.
Sardinia is great for seafood and still quite cheap, as long as you avoid Porto Rotondo/Port Cervo.
Oh and Piedmont, near Alba. Best red wine in Italy (Barolo), and if you go around october/november you will eat white truffles every day!
If you ever decide to visit the north I'll be more than happy to give you a couple of specific hints.
Enrico
If you're eating in the main towns like Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano etc you can expect to get fleeced a bit as they are very touristy. If you drive into the mountains a bit there are plenty of excellent restaurants that you don't have to break the bank for. I also thought Napoli was great for food, best pizza I've ever eaten.
Been to some lovely restaurants in Tuscany - As said before, avoiding the big tourist towns and going into the hills....2 of my favourite restaurants that I visit every time we go back there (crap websites, but lovely places to visit):
Ristoro di Lamole - Set very high up in the Tuscan mountains with views to die for from the terrace restaurant. Great food, and great service too... http://ristorodilamole.it/
Osteria Del Vicario, Certaldo Alto, Tuscany - Incredible setting, dining in the open air cloisters, and again, cracking food/wine. http://www.osteriadelvicario.it/prima.htm
Ristoro di Lamole - Set very high up in the Tuscan mountains with views to die for from the terrace restaurant. Great food, and great service too... http://ristorodilamole.it/
Osteria Del Vicario, Certaldo Alto, Tuscany - Incredible setting, dining in the open air cloisters, and again, cracking food/wine. http://www.osteriadelvicario.it/prima.htm
Joyrider1 said:
Been to some lovely restaurants in Tuscany - As said before, avoiding the big tourist towns and going into the hills....2 of my favourite restaurants that I visit every time we go back there (crap websites, but lovely places to visit):
Ristoro di Lamole - Set very high up in the Tuscan mountains with views to die for from the terrace restaurant. Great food, and great service too... http://ristorodilamole.it/
Osteria Del Vicario, Certaldo Alto, Tuscany - Incredible setting, dining in the open air cloisters, and again, cracking food/wine. http://www.osteriadelvicario.it/prima.htm
These sort of places rely on repeat business and recommendations, whereas the tourist ones don't as much if at all. Ristoro di Lamole - Set very high up in the Tuscan mountains with views to die for from the terrace restaurant. Great food, and great service too... http://ristorodilamole.it/
Osteria Del Vicario, Certaldo Alto, Tuscany - Incredible setting, dining in the open air cloisters, and again, cracking food/wine. http://www.osteriadelvicario.it/prima.htm
http://www.ristorantelelfo.it/
Is my favourite place. I went with an Italian guy, and we didn't actually order. We just sat down and a few minutes later some red wine came out, followed by spaghetti al pomodoro, which I consider the best thing I have ever eaten ever.
Is my favourite place. I went with an Italian guy, and we didn't actually order. We just sat down and a few minutes later some red wine came out, followed by spaghetti al pomodoro, which I consider the best thing I have ever eaten ever.
Another bit of advice.....
please, please steer away from places where you can see outside pictures of the plates they serve and where a waiter comes outside to attract you in while you're reading the menu....us italians we hate that and it clearly labels the touristy places from the local ones.
Enrico
please, please steer away from places where you can see outside pictures of the plates they serve and where a waiter comes outside to attract you in while you're reading the menu....us italians we hate that and it clearly labels the touristy places from the local ones.
Enrico
The touristy places can throw up some horrific food if you're not careful - we toured Northern Italy, from Rome up, for a month for our honeymoon - it was mostly superb but we had a meal in the main square of San Gimignano and not only was it the worst meal we had there, but one of the worst I've ever had.
Then the best meal we had there was in the square in Parma with simple bread, hams, cheeses, tomatoes, fresh basil and a good Barolo - just watching the world go by for an afternoon.
One thing I did find though, with so much pasta, it's an incredibly carb rich diet and my weight has hardly changed since I was 18 yet I put on a stone.
Then the best meal we had there was in the square in Parma with simple bread, hams, cheeses, tomatoes, fresh basil and a good Barolo - just watching the world go by for an afternoon.
One thing I did find though, with so much pasta, it's an incredibly carb rich diet and my weight has hardly changed since I was 18 yet I put on a stone.
Edited by Asterix on Tuesday 14th August 11:09
Food in Bellagio on Lake Como is directly inverse to how beautiful the place is, I`ve never eaten good food there, best bet is Babba Yagga which is hidden away right at the end!
Interestingly Lake Iseo isn`t anywhere near as nice looking but the food was REALLY good in Iseo itself (if you drive along the main street you wouldn`t even notice the main part of the town which is on the waterfront)
Best advice is to look / listen out for Italians!
Interestingly Lake Iseo isn`t anywhere near as nice looking but the food was REALLY good in Iseo itself (if you drive along the main street you wouldn`t even notice the main part of the town which is on the waterfront)
Best advice is to look / listen out for Italians!
Asterix said:
and a good Barolo
Asterix.....Nooooooo
Barolo in Parma it's just so wrong.....you should drink Lambrusco!
Don, there are nice places on Lake Como, but if you happen to visit Lake Maggiore, that's equally beautiful and I can strongly recommend this place, it's a bit pricey but, my God, the food is simply astonishing:
http://www.ilsolediranco.it/sito/ing/interno.html
Enrico
Edited by Enricogto on Tuesday 14th August 12:41
6 of us went to Lake Como for a week in June. We based ourselves at Bellagio. Great location for exploring the Lake areas. We all thought the food was excellent wherever we ate in Bellagio and elsewhere. Our favorite place was Auberge Plini at Lenno: great foood and superb lakeside location. None of us rated Maggiori much..too busy!
r.
r.
wOOtman,
Did you stay in Sorrento by any chance? Wife and I stayed there in 2011 and we did not rate the food much, and it was very expensive probably due to the number of tourists arriving on the cruise ships. We have stayed elsewhere in the Amalfi area many times and always had good food at reasonable prices.
R.
Did you stay in Sorrento by any chance? Wife and I stayed there in 2011 and we did not rate the food much, and it was very expensive probably due to the number of tourists arriving on the cruise ships. We have stayed elsewhere in the Amalfi area many times and always had good food at reasonable prices.
R.
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