Feedback on restaurant selection for honeymoon in italy

For Siena your chose of Gino Cacino is very good. A little hidden, but busy with college students during lunch. Other options I would recommend would be Panini Il Cencio right on the Campo. They just serve panini or they might make you a salad. When we were there last Spring, they had outdoor seating and a balcony. Great for people watching and good inexpensive panini.

In Florence we recommend Olio & Convivium Gastronomia Restaurant. It's on the Pitti Palace side of the river on Via di Santo Spirito. The web site is (or was) https://oliorestaurant.it/. A bit pricey at lunch and more so at dinner, but excellent food, good ambiance, and fine wine,

You mighe also want to try Giglio Rosso located at 35 via Panzani. Been in business for almost 100 years. Their web site is https://www.ristorantegigliorosso.com/en/about/.

You can check then out ahead of time and see what you think

Naples (one night here, early flight out next morning. Likely just
need dinner): Pizzeria da Michele Starita Sorbillo

Sorbillo would be better for a couple for dinner IMO than da Michele. It's a little bit more intimate, where Da Michele has a rushed feeling about the place. The food is great at both, though. I haven't had Starita, but it looks really good

Firenza: We went to Restaurant Zeb, listed in Guide Michelin. Small (23 seats around a central area, like a sushi bar), with an imperious chef. Food was great. He picked the wines.

Siena: Osteria La Sosta di Violante. A small restaurant recommended by a local. We has the Florentine steak, 1.1 kilo (for 2 persons) - 55 E. Really a great evening. We could barely get a table in late September.

I think it's good to have list and if there is a MUST EAT (like Bisteca in Florence or Pizza in Naples) then make the reservation needed and work it in. I found my List of restaurants that I diligently researched, had the phone number, address...never happened. Our days usually ended when we ran out of gas and just ate somewhere that looked and sounded good. To be tied into "we have a reservation for dinner at 8 at X" on a daily basis was just too inflexable for us, if we are having a good time and in the moment I don't want to be rushing to dinner. Lunch never happened for us, usually just some street food.
Food that we always make a point to have sometime during the day:
Florence Dinner- Bisteca (Florence is known for this particular steak) with reservations at Antico Ristoro di Cambi
Florence- Always grab a sandwich at All'Antico Vinaio
Naples: Pizza- we did Pizzeria da Michele (watch a you tube video on the whole number system they use)

How did you choose this list? I wouldn't say the restaurants you chose in Florence are the ones that would come to my mind first.

Thank you all for your recommendations and insight. It has been so helpful, and I will definitely be adding some of these to my list!

@ Roberto: I found the places in Florence via google or Reddit threads. La Giostra was also recommended to me. But I would love to hear more about what you would recommend.

Thank you all again!

tcm: My guess is that you are sort of new to the europe travel. Do you have hotels picked? My wife and I usually eat the hotel breakfast, don't do much for lunch, and then have a good dinner. We do stop frequently for coffee and snacks, gelato, etc.

One thing I really enjoyed in Italy was apertivo time - sort of cocktail hour, but mostly spritzes. We love the aperol spritzes, also campari. You often get a little snacky snack with the spritz. Milan is the center but we did this in all parts of Italy (mostly N of Firenze).

Have you watched the RS videos on packing, safety, etc?

I sure envy you your wedding, your new fun experience in Italy, and so forth.

Just as a note, you seem to be hitting a lot of places. How long is your trip? What is your plan for nights in locations?

@Paul-of-the-Frozen-North: thanks for your response! I’ve actually been to Europe several times, and have been to Florence twice before. But this is my first time actually planning the trip myself. On previous trips, we kind of just stopped in wherever to eat and did not put too much thought into it. However, since it’s our honeymoon, I want to plan the best meals possible.

We do have all of our hotels booked except for our last night in Naples. We will likely book that soon. We will have the option to eat breakfast at the hotels, so we will be sure to take advantage of that.

Do you have any suggestions on good places to grab drinks? I haven’t looked into spots for this yet, so any suggestions you have would be much appreciated. I love an aperol spritz and will definitely be having plenty of those!

I have not yet watched the RS videos for safety, but I will check those out. Thanks for the suggestion!

Our trip is 2.5 weeks overall including travel. We’re spending 3 nights in Florence, 4 nights in the Chianti region of Tuscany, 3 nights in Capri, 4 in Positano, and our last night will be in Naples. As I mentioned, we have all these accommodations booked with the exception of naples as of right now.

For your Ravello restaurant and since it’s only a day trip, I would highly recommend choosing Villa Maria(fancy), Salvatore’s (known for fresh fish) or even Giuliana’s View- if you really want pizza. Don’t get me wrong- Mimi is good food, but I wouldn’t say there is anything spectacular that makes it a culinary destination. It also is in the center of town and there is no view. Ravello is all about the views, and it’s so beautiful to have lunch overlooking those views. Alternatively, you could do the cooking class for a half day where you get to have lunch after the class with some of the best views in Ravello at Mamma Agata’s.

tcm: Our approach to drinks, and usually meals, is to find something where we are. Partly because we are older, and by dinner time, we are often tired and unwilling to walk long distances. So, we look for a cafe/outdoor place near where we are. Some of our best, and worst, dinner experiences came for the same reason - we looked for what looked like good places close to where we were at the time. Siena was one exception - our recommendation came from a local. Our main issue is to not go to restaurants near the big venues. One other point: Be cautious with recommendations from hotels, who often get kick-backs from the restaurants. We made that mistake in Budapest and got stuck in a tourist restaurant. Food was good, however.