Dinner recommendations in Lucca & Portovenere

In Lucca a couple of years ago we had an excellent Easter lunch at Cantine Bernardini and on another night dinner at Trattoria Da Gigi. On a previous trip we enjoyed Osteria di Neni and Osteria Tosca. I couldn't tell you, though, if they are still open. You could try a Google search.
I have not been to Portovenere, so I cannot offer any suggestions for that location. Buon viaggio!

Lucca has wonderful food! I took Italian classes there a few years ago, living within the walls for two weeks, and one of my teachers was also a cook. She gave our class a list of restaurant recommendations for the town and every single one I tried was fantastic. Here are the ones she recommended:

• Gli Orti
• La Buca di S. Antonio
• L'Olivo
• Il Mecenate
• Trattoria Buralli

I also really enjoyed Osteria Baralla and never had a bad meal there.

For dinner, reservations may be a good idea.

For Lucca- a new restaurant opened..Ristorante Lucca on Corte San Lorenzo. To say it is fabulous is an understatement. My husband, son and I were there in May and the meal, wine, service was exquisite. My son lives very close to NYC and goes to the city frequently. He stated several times that the quality of the meal and wine (we ordered a bottle from the Veneto instead of our usual house wine) would have made a very expensive meal in NY and yet our total bill including a shared desert for the three of us was just below 100E. The restaurant is tucked in a corner and its open for lunch. When we go back, we will definitely return to this place.

After a day of traveling, we had dinner at a wonderful little place called Bistro Corte Campana on Corte Campana, a little lane off Via Pozzotorelli. If you're interested, my wife just posted her photoblog of our Lucca visit at www.graciamc.wordpress.com.