What and where is your best food experience in Italy?

Hi, I am a foodie and am looking to find the best all over food experience in Italy. I would love to go to a winery and have a fabulous meal over looking an amazing landscape. I will be docking in Civitavecchia and can take a train to anywhere heading towards Venice. Also open to restaurant suggestions....does not have to be expensive 5 star snooty....just great awesome food. Thanks in advance

Restaurant Belaforte high up on the cliff overlooking the Mediteranean in the village of Vernazza in the Cinque Terre between La Spezia and Genova on the Riviera de Levante. Food and views to die for .

In my humble opinion, you can have a fantastic food experience in so many places in Italy. At the same time, Italy is about a lot more than just the food.

If it were me, I'd recommend you consider what else you might want to do or see and narrow down the scope a bit. Then you can look for food experiences that will complement your plans.

From visiting Rome many times I have a number of favorite restaurants from hole in the wall to family trattoria to more upscale. Half the fun is discovering them.

My favorite places are not white-tablecloth, but small trattorias, pizza stands, market stands. As Cruisemom asked, if we know some more, we can offer more.

Vernazza - my favorite "restaurant" is the up on the fort, with focaccia, meats, cheeses, and some veggies from the little stores just up the walkway!! Take a blanket and relax!

I've got some favorites around Rome and Florence, Montipulciano.

Restaurant Belaforte high up on the cliff overlooking the Mediteranean in the village of Vernazza in the Cinque Terre between La Spezia and Genova on the Riviera de Levante. Food and views to die for .

Thank you

My favorite places are not white-tablecloth, but small trattorias, pizza stands, market stands. As Cruisemom asked, if we know some more, we can offer more.

 

Vernazza - my favorite "restaurant" is the up on the fort, with focaccia, meats, cheeses, and some veggies from the little stores just up the walkway!! Take a blanket and relax!

 

I've got some favorites around Rome and Florence, Montipulciano.

Whats your favorite in Rome?

In my humble opinion, you can have a fantastic food experience in so many places in Italy. At the same time, Italy is about a lot more than just the food.

 

If it were me, I'd recommend you consider what else you might want to do or see and narrow down the scope a bit. Then you can look for food experiences that will complement your plans.

 

From visiting Rome many times I have a number of favorite restaurants from hole in the wall to family trattoria to more upscale. Half the fun is discovering them.

Yes I'm coming to Italy just for the food. Thanks for your suggestions.

Belaforte in Vernazza has incredible location. Reserve your place early.

High up in the hilltown of Corniglia is a modest terrace overlooking the water with incredible food.

In Montalcino look for a restaurant in a wine shop with windows overlooking the countryside.

But I do have to agree that Italians love good food and almost everywhere is great. (Avoid tourist traps on the canal near the Rialto bridge in Venice!)

Whats your favorite in Rome?

I do not have a "favorite", per se. But, ones that I have totally enjoyed:

Armando al Pantheon. A very small restaurant with classic Roman cuisine. It is where I go my first night when I visit Rome. It's a comforting "welcome back" for me. You can visit their website to see what they offer.

Trattoria Da Cesare. Off the tourist track - at the very end of the #8 tram in Monteverde. Another trattoria with basic, but amazing, food. From appetizers to entrees, good stuff. Loved the mix of people, from families, to business groups to a family group celebrating a graduation. I wish I had a group to go with - too many good appetizers to try to choose from - you could make an entire evening of just their appys. They now have a website, too.

Roscioli. In Campo di Fiore. If you can get past the surly host, good food and wine await. By day, it's a store selling salumi, cheeses, and house-made breads. By night, it sets up tables and becomes a restaurant. Fell in love with amatriciana there. My appy of fresh bufalo mozzarella with semidry tomatoes in olive oil was sublime - the sweetest tomatoes I've ever had! They have a website also under the "salumeriaroscioli" banner.

Antico Forno Roscioli. Down the path from Roscioli. Excellent pizza in that area of Campo di Fiori. The little bakery with some good sweets, too.

Pizzarium. Down by the Cipro Metro station. Owned by Gabriel Bonci, the most famous pizziolo in Rome. It's a hole-in-the-wall place (although it doubled it's size last year) serving pizza al taglio with a variety of very esoteric toppings. No real seating - you order and stand to eat.

I've never done "fancy" in Rome, but I do "tasty"… NOTE: Armando, da Cesare, Roscioli require advance reservations! I've always done my ones for Armando via their email. For the others, I use my hotel concierge to make the requests for me.

thank you! am so looking to eating my way thru

I do not have a "favorite", per se. But, ones that I have totally enjoyed:

 

Armando al Pantheon. A very small restaurant with classic Roman cuisine. It is where I go my first night when I visit Rome. It's a comforting "welcome back" for me. You can visit their website to see what they offer.

 

Trattoria Da Cesare. Off the tourist track - at the very end of the #8 tram in Monteverde. Another trattoria with basic, but amazing, food. From appetizers to entrees, good stuff. Loved the mix of people, from families, to business groups to a family group celebrating a graduation. I wish I had a group to go with - too many good appetizers to try to choose from - you could make an entire evening of just their appys. They now have a website, too.

 

Roscioli. In Campo di Fiore. If you can get past the surly host, good food and wine await. By day, it's a store selling salumi, cheeses, and house-made breads. By night, it sets up tables and becomes a restaurant. Fell in love with amatriciana there. My appy of fresh bufalo mozzarella with semidry tomatoes in olive oil was sublime - the sweetest tomatoes I've ever had! They have a website also under the "salumeriaroscioli" banner.

 

Antico Forno Roscioli. Down the path from Roscioli. Excellent pizza in that area of Campo di Fiori. The little bakery with some good sweets, too.

 

Pizzarium. Down by the Cipro Metro station. Owned by Gabriel Bonci, the most famous pizziolo in Rome. It's a hole-in-the-wall place (although it doubled it's size last year) serving pizza al taglio with a variety of very esoteric toppings. No real seating - you order and stand to eat.

 

I've never done "fancy" in Rome, but I do "tasty"… NOTE: Armando, da Cesare, Roscioli require advance reservations! I've always done my ones for Armando via their email. For the others, I use my hotel concierge to make the requests for me.

Thank you so much this is great info.

Any food tours anyone would recommend? I am looking into one that is in Venice at night thru the Jewish Ghetto. Anyone have experience with this kind of tour?

Any food tours anyone would recommend? I am looking into one that is in Venice at night thru the Jewish Ghetto. Anyone have experience with this kind of tour?

sorry meant Rome not Venice

Any food tours anyone would recommend? I am looking into one that is in Venice at night thru the Jewish Ghetto. Anyone have experience with this kind of tour?

sorry meant Rome not Venice

If your main interest is the Ghetto, there is no need for a tour- the Ghetto is actually a very small area, with all the food establishments (restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and gelato) along one long strip.

My husband and I spent five days in Rome at the end of October and because my husband keeps kosher, we ate all our meals in the Ghetto. There are about a dozen restaurants and cafes, a few bakeries, and a gelato shop, all of which were frequented by both tourists and locals. We had at least a small meal in most of the ones which are kosher (there are a couple which are only 'kosher style'), and were very happy. You could have an easy and fun time strolling down the strip perusing menus, and even decide to eat each course in a different cafe. I follow a vegan diet, and had no issues at all in either meat or dairy restaurants (and can attest that the gelato shop has scrumptious sorbettto :)).

thank you! am so looking to eating my way thru

I take pleasure in torturing my friends with my "food porn" pictures. I love having cell access in Italy just so I can send a sampler every night ;)

I've never been there, but isn't Bologna considered the foodie capital of Italy? There are actually plans for a foodies theme park.

Is this your first trip to Italy? You don't mention that in your post, but if it is, be prepared for the Italian version of Italian food. DH and I recently had an acquaintance on a cruise tell us that Italian food in Italy wasn't very good - not nearly as good as Italian food in the USA. (No, we didn't kill him immediately! :D). On closer questioning, what he meant was that it's a whole different cuisine. American Italian food has evolved to the point that it's sometimes hard to reconcile it to Italian Italian.

If it's not your first trip to Italy, you already know the things I'm going to say. For first-timers, try to keep an open mind. These are some things I've found out from experience:

Pizza will be thin and crispy with only a few toppings, applied sparingly, and not normally cut into wedges. Usually everyone gets their own, but sharing is not frowned on if you're not very hungry. Look for a place with a wood-fired oven (forno al legno) if possible The further you are from Naples, the more you should hesitate to order pizza. By the time you get to Venice, I wouldn't count on getting a good one.

Spaghetti and meatballs? Never seen together on the same plate or in the same course. Spaghetti Bolognese? Doesn't really exist, since the sauce is not considered to be the right consistency for spaghetti. But Tagliatelle Bolognese is delicious, especially in Bologna, as you would expect. :). Chicken or veal parmigiana on a bed of pasta? No, and I don't recall ever seeing chicken or veal parmigiana even without pasta either. Chicken, shrimp or anything Alfredo? No. Any sort of Ceasar salad? No. Butter or olive oil with your bread? Maybe if it's the season for new oil, but otherwise, only if you ask, or if they get a lot of tourists, and you might get the side eye. Asking for cheese with a fish dish will get you a look, maybe an indrawn breath, and possibly a lecture. For your own good, of course. ;) Asking for more bread to mop up delicious sauce is technically something that should only happen at home, but it is sometimes done, and the chef will usually take it as a compliment.

Cappuccino after dinner? You will DEFINITELY get the side eye. You might even get an outright refusal. (If they don't flinch even a little, you know they've been worn down by repeated requests from tourists). Caffè macchiato (espresso with a teeny bit of milk) is (barely) acceptable after dinner. (My mother often drank coffee with her dinner. I could never persuade her that she could order it whenever she liked, but it wasn't going to arrive until after she'd finished eating). If you just ask for a coffee, you will normally get an espresso. If it's a place that has experience with international visitors, they might ask you if you mean Caffè Americano. A good restaurant will often plonk down a bottle of Grappa, Limoncello, Mistra or some sort of local hooch, and some small glasses with the coffee and let you help yourself. Taste with caution - some of that stuff could double for rocket fuel!

Contorni (vegetables or salad) are normally served after the secondo, or meat course. If they think you're a tourist, all bets are off. Contorni could arrive at any point during the meal, depending on what they think you'd prefer. And lastly, you should never be given the bill without having to ask for it. It's considered rude to appear to hurry someone along.

I hope you find lots of meals to enjoy!

Just so you know - the birthplace of Caesar Salad is usually attributed to Tijuana, Mexico, not anywhere in Italy. ;)

As for Italian-American food and those who expect that food to be what they find in Italy, think about all the Mexican food we see and then what is actually presented in restaurants in Mexico - same difference.

Another thing to mention about dining in Italy: you are not required to select one item from every course. Bypass the pasta course and go for the secondi if you want. Do the pasta and not the secondi. I've only once gone "whole pig" and ordered something from every course - at Roscioli. Saved up all day for that one. I waddled back to the hotel full to my eyeballs. I don't usually eat red meat, so passing up the secondi is easy for me.

If you get a chance to go out the amalfi coast way, there is this restaurant that italytoursharing.com tours takes you too way up on the hill called la taggliano. They serve family Style and the food and drink just keeps coming. FANTASTICO!!!

I take pleasure in torturing my friends with my "food porn" pictures. I love having cell access in Italy just so I can send a sampler every night ;)

Me too! I love food porn. Can't wait to show all my Italian and Greek dishes

If you get a chance to go out the amalfi coast way, there is this restaurant that italytoursharing.com tours takes you too way up on the hill called la taggliano. They serve family Style and the food and drink just keeps coming. FANTASTICO!!!

I was thinking of doing that....thanks I will look into possibly going and doing just that.

Whats your favorite in Rome?

Il Gabriello and Ciampini, both walkable from the Spanish Steps.

However, regarding the larger question of best Italian food, IMO you need to head south for the best food from Neapolitan Pizza to Sicilian Arancini or any seafood "fra diavola."

Is this your first trip to Italy? You don't mention that in your post, but if it is, be prepared for the Italian version of Italian food. DH and I recently had an acquaintance on a cruise tell us that Italian food in Italy wasn't very good - not nearly as good as Italian food in the USA. (No, we didn't kill him immediately! :D). On closer questioning, what he meant was that it's a whole different cuisine. American Italian food has evolved to the point that it's sometimes hard to reconcile it to Italian Italian.

 

If it's not your first trip to Italy, you already know the things I'm going to say. For first-timers, try to keep an open mind. These are some things I've found out from experience:

 

Pizza will be thin and crispy with only a few toppings, applied sparingly, and not normally cut into wedges. Usually everyone gets their own, but sharing is not frowned on if you're not very hungry. Look for a place with a wood-fired oven (forno al legno) if possible The further you are from Naples, the more you should hesitate to order pizza. By the time you get to Venice, I wouldn't count on getting a good one.

 

Spaghetti and meatballs? Never seen together on the same plate or in the same course. Spaghetti Bolognese? Doesn't really exist, since the sauce is not considered to be the right consistency for spaghetti. But Tagliatelle Bolognese is delicious, especially in Bologna, as you would expect. :). Chicken or veal parmigiana on a bed of pasta? No, and I don't recall ever seeing chicken or veal parmigiana even without pasta either. Chicken, shrimp or anything Alfredo? No. Any sort of Ceasar salad? No. Butter or olive oil with your bread? Maybe if it's the season for new oil, but otherwise, only if you ask, or if they get a lot of tourists, and you might get the side eye. Asking for cheese with a fish dish will get you a look, maybe an indrawn breath, and possibly a lecture. For your own good, of course. ;) Asking for more bread to mop up delicious sauce is technically something that should only happen at home, but it is sometimes done, and the chef will usually take it as a compliment.

 

Cappuccino after dinner? You will DEFINITELY get the side eye. You might even get an outright refusal. (If they don't flinch even a little, you know they've been worn down by repeated requests from tourists). Caffè macchiato (espresso with a teeny bit of milk) is (barely) acceptable after dinner. (My mother often drank coffee with her dinner. I could never persuade her that she could order it whenever she liked, but it wasn't going to arrive until after she'd finished eating). If you just ask for a coffee, you will normally get an espresso. If it's a place that has experience with international visitors, they might ask you if you mean Caffè Americano. A good restaurant will often plonk down a bottle of Grappa, Limoncello, Mistra or some sort of local hooch, and some small glasses with the coffee and let you help yourself. Taste with caution - some of that stuff could double for rocket fuel!

 

Contorni (vegetables or salad) are normally served after the secondo, or meat course. If they think you're a tourist, all bets are off. Contorni could arrive at any point during the meal, depending on what they think you'd prefer. And lastly, you should never be given the bill without having to ask for it. It's considered rude to appear to hurry someone along.

 

I hope you find lots of meals to enjoy!

Such fabulous information.....thank you thank you!!! Yes this will be my first time in Italy. No i am not expecting the kinds of meals you are stating as they are very traditional american italian. I want true authentic. I need to know how to order! what to order! I eat everything. I love every bit of information you wrote.

Il Gabriello and Ciampini, both walkable from the Spanish Steps.

However, regarding the larger question of best Italian food, IMO you need to head south for the best food from Neapolitan Pizza to Sicilian Arancini or any seafood "fra diavola."

we will be in Naples and Sicily and recommendations there? I believe I will be doing some sort of touring along the Amalfi Coast

Such fabulous information.....thank you thank you!!! Yes this will be my first time in Italy. No i am not expecting the kinds of meals you are stating as they are very traditional american italian. I want true authentic. I need to know how to order! what to order! I eat everything. I love every bit of information you wrote.

More than "fabulous," the above poster's comments are a bit over generalized across a country with vast culinary differences.

With the exception, perhaps, of no cappuccino after 10 AM, one cannot make across-the board comments about things like pizza. Tuscan versions may have mostly thin crusts with Roman even thinner and crispier. Neapolitan pizza usually has a somewhat thin though flexible/foldable crust. True that you will not find a "salad bowl" of ingredients on that pizza. Most popular in the south will be Margherita, Salciccia (e funghi), and Blanco (w/clams). Round pizzas come in the slices Americans are used to. Square versions are cut into rectangles and usually sold by weight depending on size desired.

There's actually a term for using bread to sop up sauce, a very common practice throughout homes across towns and villages throughout the country. It's called "di fare la scarpetta"

As for Alfredo, some versions of Cacio e Pepe will have some cream added. Cacio e Pepe is found everywhere.

And, with a few very traditional recipes, no cheese on fish dishes is nothing more than a wives' tale other than maybe in inland towns where fish dishes may be fewer and more expensive. Seafood risotto for me please!

Most popular pastas for Bolognese: tagliatelle along with rigatoni or pappardelle. Bottom line is that the pasta needs to be sturdy.

In Sicily, do eat tuna, swordfish, Arancini and anything "fra diavola". Enjoy some Nero D'avola and Etna Rosso for vino there.