Venice & Florence restaurants?
Frigiliana
Posts: 164MI6 Agent
Will be in Venice & Florence this October hoping to visit some of the locations from Moonraker & Casino Royale also visit locations in Florence from the Hannibal movie , wondered if anybody can recommend some good restaurants in either city need one for an anniversary meal ?
Cheers Dave
Cheers Dave
Comments
sorry Dave cant recommend a particular eatery in Florence, but if you see your hotel consierge, get him to book you on a trip
to the PRADA out let store in Montiviachi its down their A1 motorway its worth a trip, you can get her a PRADA hand bag
for half of what we pay in London and you might grab yourself a PRADA (casino royal black belt ) I did , arrivederci
It is a small, cash-only place that sits unassumingly on a side street just southwest of the train station, but read the ChowHound and TripAdvisor reviews and you'll see why it is renowned. You sit at shared tables. They have two signature dishes: steak (massive, rare, perfect) and chicken in butter (sizzling hot). For dessert, meringue with berries. Be sure to walk to the back to see the carving block where they cut the steaks.
For lunch, I Due Fratellini. Literally a hole in the wall... on a side street Via Dei Cimatori just south of the Duomo, there is no seating and you place your wine glass on a shelf when you're done. Amazingly fresh sandwiches - get the ham and pecorino - and super-cheap wine. I guarantee you'll go there at least twice. But get there early - Rick Steves's book warned us "they run out of bread and when they do, they close" and wouldn't you know it the first time we went they shouted "No bread!" as we walked up!
Lastly, for gelato, Grom.
Do not eat at any of the restaurants on Borgo San Lorenzo - tourist traps with poor quality food. Do not eat at any place advertising a "tourist special" or at any place with the menu displayed in seven languages.
In Venice, Il Ridotto. Even smaller than Sostanza (4 2 person tables and 2 3 person tables) and more formal if you go for dinner. The owner/chef might be your waiter and will almost certainly make an appearance. Not cheap so you may want to go for lunch (prix fixe, 3 courses, 28 euros including coperto and servicio). Many ChowHoundies call it the best restaurant in Venice.
Venice is particularly expensive but you can eat cheap and traditional if you hit a few cicchetti (che - KET - ti) bars. It's the Venetian version of tapas: a variety of one- and two-bite appetizers, either hot or cold, one or two euros each. Among the better ones are polpetti (meatballs made with potato) and arancini (rice ball). Pair them with an "ombra" (small glass of wine - ombra means "shadow") or a Spritz (Campari or Aperol mixed with white wine and mineral water). The highest concentration of cicchetti bars is around the fish market and the Rialto Bridge. As Don P said, the further you get from Rialto and the Canal, the more local the flavor. Expect to eat standing up, and possibly out in the street, especially later at night when these bars function as the hubs of the Venetian singles scene.
"My father......was a very important man. All his life he had a moustache. When it turned grey he used what women use for their eyes , *mascara*"
(Comfort of strangers , 1990)