Restaurant recommendations in Lucca

Forum search results for past 2 years- Lucca restaurants
https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Lucca+restaurants+

Trattoria da nonna clara!

In Lucca there are many good restaurants - nearly any "famous" restaurant - Osteria dal Manzo, * Ristorante Giglio, *Gigi Trattoria
- will probably require reservations a few days ahead. Piazza dell'Anfiteatro is beautiful and worth wandering through at night but is for tourists not locals. If you want to make that scene tiny Sotto Sotto has the respect of the locals so I'd eat there.

Best sandwich place: Ciacco on P.za Napoleone. Also salads as big as your head - not kidding.
Second best sandwich place - very different sandwiches - Pan di strada - Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi
Both places have excellent Cicchetti as well. Salads are not great at Pan di strada.

Enoteca Vanni is my favorite wine and light food place. Soup in Town is a funky vegetarian restaurant with good food and funky vibe. If you want a quick glass of wine their tables often have reserved and time like 8:30 so you can duck in and get out before ther reservation time if you want something quick. If you want a dining experience with grandma's food and the most unusual place in town check out Trattoria Da Ubaldo. Check it out ahead of time - you have been warned.

Best gelato; Ele (formally De' Coltelli) and Momo in either location. There are other good places but these are the best - ele for wacky combos and amazing fruit flavors.

Best local pizza experience - Pizzeria da Felice - always packed and spilling into the street outside with little quarter given to tourists. Run the way it always has been with pizza and cecina sold by weight. Try the cecina with the pepper when offered.
Probably better pizza but less of "an experience" is Alice or Itaco across town. Heard good things about Bonny Pizza but haven't been.

There are tons of good restaurants in town and it's hard to go very far wrong.

Enjoy Lucca,
=Tod

A couple of others to add: Osteria da Pasquale, great food, great owner. Trattoria da Giulio, traditional food, great value. If you go to Guinigi Tower, stop by Bar Piqui for a drink and a snack.