Dining Suggestions?
Hello, I was wondering if anyone could provide dining recommendations for four cities on our tour where we have "dinner on our own". The cities/towns are Sorrento, Florence, Rome, and Venice. We are looking for restaurants for dinner that were the most impressive on your previous trips. Just one or two for each location would be greatly appreciated. Gracie!!
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A lot depends on what you are looking for- big meal/little meal/Pizza, good wine selection, authentic Italian, beef, seafood, Mediterranean, other? One thing you won't find is American Italian. Do you want a large restaurant close to everything (depending on when you go it could be busy) or small, quaint, out-of-the-way place? Outside dining?
We just got back a few weeks ago, but don't remember much, but I got the names from our Visa bill : ) We stayed relatively close to the hotel and in the heart of the tourist area.
We arrived in Sorrento two full days early. One night we had a light dinner at a very small (8-10 tables inside?) restaurant, Osteria Buon Convento Ristorante, which was block from the hotel. It used to be the chapel for a nearby convent. It still retained many of the chapel features but was decorated with old book shelves, books, and quirky literary stuff. Not gourmet, but decent food, good service and a good price, not crowded. Another night we ate at Ristorante L'Abate a restaurant just off a main square (still only a few blocks from the hotel). It had excellent food, but was a bit more pricey and busy. Then we dined at Trattoria Da Gigino but don't remember much about it other than the food was good.
In Rome we ate at the hotel restaurant (Hotel d'Inghilterra) on our one free night. We sat at tables set up in the alleyway (common in many places we visited).
On our one free night in Florence we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe! (we were craving burgers and fries : )
During our one free night in Venice, a group of us (8?) dined at a wonderful restaurant, Ristorante Antico Martini. We sat outdoors under a canopy, facing a small street/campo that was literally just a few feet from the steps of the Fenice Opera House (the subject of John Berendt's book, "City of Falling Angels"). Everyone raved about their dinner. Still craving beef (cooked more than the typically very rare Steak Florentine), my wife and I shared a chateaubriand for two. It was pricey like most places in Venice but the food was excellent as was the service!
All restaurants take plastic and you can check them out online and see where they are located in relation to your hotels.
Speaking of drinking- if you decide to do the tourist thing in Venice and have a Belini at Harry's bar (where the drink was invented) like we did, be prepared for a shock- one Bellini for my wife and one very small Bellini soft drink for me, cost $34!!!!