Restaurant recommendations

When I was on the Village Italy Tour - in each city or town the guide gave us a list of recommended restaurants and cafes. All the choices were excellent - there were also a few group meals that were REALLY WONDERFUL. I remember our first night in Padua as exceptional and at the hotel we stayed in Levanto the owner of the hotel prepared a very special dinner for us with lots of seafood fresh from the sea. (His name was Carlo.) I found the recommendations of the guide and her list were perfect.
There were all price ranges and everything from casual to very fancy. Enjoy

Never use Ricks guides for restaurant recommendations (no offense Rick!). Even if the food is good you will find yourself next to a couple with their Rick Steves book on the table and feel yourself just a little bit foolish. Italy is replete with good restaurants. If you stay away from those near stations and tourist centers it is almost a challenge to find a bad one.

Rick's guides are the go to people for restaurant ideas. We did very well listening to our guide on the Villages tour some years ago. Also just follow your nose - if it smells good chances are it will taste good!

What kind of a cheap shot is that? We have used many restaurants recommended in Steves guide books. Never put ours on the table and cannot remember ever seeing another guide book on the table.

I find that Rick's recs for lodging are better than his recs for restaurants. That said, there are soooo many good restaurants in Italy that you shouldn't restrict yourself just to Rick's list. In Orvieto, we ate at La Palomba and really enjoyed it. It's in the historic center.

I believe Frances and Lesley meant that the tour guide can provide restaurant recommendations. They were not referring to the guidebook.