Restaurants

Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy....Huffy.... OK, I've gotten that out of my system. This is a great place to find out reader's favorite places. It might be more useful if you made a different heading for each town. "Favorite restaurant in Siena?" "Favorite restaurant in Rome?" "Favorite restaurant in Arezzo?" That way people could see your question and choose to respond if they have suggestions, and most importantly, readers going to Siena, Rome or Arezzo would be drawn in and could benefit. Also, Tripadvisor.com has pretty good user ratings of restaurants. After you get some tips, you might go there to see what others say.

Great suggestions. Thanks. Used Trip Advisor plenty for places to stay. Never thought to check out restaurants there...Doh!!!!

This is highly subjective, but I'll play, with no huffiness at all. I'll start by saying we appreciate good food as well as a nice atmosphere and warm service. And in Italy, in summer, we prefer to dine outdoors, which sometimes means ending up in a "tourist" place but that's OK if it is good. In Italy our dinner tends to be appetizers (antipasti) to share, plus either prima piatti or secondi, not both. And wine. Lago di Como: we enjoyed Ristorante la Vista at Albergo Milano so much we went twice. The setting is stunning, and the food is very good. Upscale, pricy, but to us it was well worth it. Firenze: although it is indeed touristy, we thought the food at Trattoria Borgo Antico was quite good. It was a treat to sit outside there and enjoy the evening on the square. You share tables and our dinner companions were interesting (and American, but they live in Florence and eat at this spot a lot.) Prices were reasonable. Siena: we only had one dinner here but it was one of our favorites in all Italy. Ristorante Guidoriccio is just off the Campo and the below-grad dining room is really charming. We arrived early by Italian standards and had the place to ourselves for the first hour. The owner/host Ercole was very gracious and generous with his time; he gave us Italian menus and our daughters English menus, then proceeded to teach them some Italian and explain the fine points of the various dishes. There was a complimentary antipasto for each of us, plus prosecco. The food was excellent and more than made up for not sitting outside. Besides, that room is really lovely.

This is a great site (RS, the one you're reading....) for travelers to share experiences. I wonder if they might want to index user comments on restaurants to place them in a more searchable format? "Restaurants in Siena" category..... I'm just sayin'

I've enjoyed using this book for info on Rome restaurants for our upcoming trip in May. It focuses mostly on authentic Roman cuisine, at all price ranges. Happy travels. http://www.amazon.com/Food-Wine-Rome-Terroir-Guides/dp/1892145715 (I can't get the hyperlink to embed for some reason.)

In 2008- On the CT I really enjoyed Miky in Monterosso and Il Pirata in Vernazzia (the 2 Brothers/Owners were a riot!) and in Florence we had a great time at Il Latino (the food, service and company were excellent)

Beth:
Restaurants evoke a lot of emotion due to the personal and subjective nature. FWIW, here are a few I posted about a few days ago. Siena: Trattoria La Tellina - no English spoken, very reasonable, I think 42 euros including wine for salad and pasta for two. Rome: Roma Sparita in Trastevere for cacio e pepe; Cul de Sac for anything; Antica Taverna for super inexpensive decent Roman cuisine. Lots of locals there and the nicest owner. Cinque Terre: Il Pirata in Vernazza. I know some disdain this place but "the Pirates" are entertaining as all get out, and very good cooks. Not cheap, but at 72 euros for two, including wine, our CT splurge. They also do amazing pastries in the morning. Amazing!

Fav resto in Siena: Taverna San Giuseppe--our favorite dinner there. Excellent service, food, ambiance, romantic. Much nicer than described in the guidebook.

Good topic! Thanks for posting.