Not necessarily looking for Michelin star type places on this trip, but any other recommendations are appreciated. Bonus points for:
TIA!
It’s some years since we were last in Venice but we enjoyed dinners at Al Covo, Il Ridotto, Alla Testiere & Fiaschetteria Toscana.
Some years back we rented an apartment in Venice that we accessed by going down the narrow walkway that runs down the side of Fiaschetteria Toscano, allowing us to look in on kitchen and prep areas. We might not have eaten there without all those enticing spying opportunities but were really happy we did go in and very much enjoyed our meal there.
Fiaschetteria Toscana is closed since 2017, there is a Burger King there now.
That makes me sad on so many levels. Burger King???
Me too, Gretchen.
hopefully you will get some responses from people who have visited Venice or Milan post Covid - my visits which were all prior to 2019 seem a lifetime away and much may have changed since then.
Here is a local source for Venice with some relatively up to date recommendations https://www.naturallyepicurean.org/my-venice-food-guide
we have very fond memories of some of the places from visits over the years - Corte Sconta (classy welcome and great seafood appetizer), Alla Frasca (simple, charming location) Tonolo (great pastries) Alla Zucca (veg and meat, creative touch) Ai Picccolo Tosi (pizza) - and I recall fairly recent recommendations for Da Jonny, Estro, Vini e Gigio.
Anice Stellato a former fave I believe had a change of ownership and got some negative feedback on chowhound before tourism stopped.
I also suggest looking at taking a boat out to Mazzorbo (accross the bridge from Burano) - its rural and magical in the lagoon and there are a couple of places out there, Maddalena and Venissa that have been recommended.
Quite a number of the above have open hours on Sun Mon, but check directly - google maps has been somewhat unreliable on this postcovid!!!
I hope some of the others with more current and more Milan info will respond!
I am planning a few days in Venice in early September, so eagerly interested in what you find (assuming you are going before then). Humble but excellent eatery (at least last I was there pre-Covid): Osteria La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi.
Looks like Al Covo, which I remember as excellent, is open Sundays and Mondays (Venice). I’ve booked for the Sunday night when I arrive. I’ve also booked a table at Alla Testiere, where I have never been!
It’s not gelato, but the coffee shop where I go for my coffee in Venice, Torrefazione Cannaregio, usually has a coffee granita in the afternoon that hits my spot! I have a note about La Mela Verde, but when I looked it up, I have no memory of it, so I don’t know that I’ve gone there, but it’s my only ice cream note for Venice…
Il Refolo has decent pizza al fresco in Venice.
Thanks Jen. We found some helpful recommendations here. To be honest, we had been traveling for awhile before Italy and we were pretty lazy about planning ahead. We cribed some of these recommendations and had some excellent meals at Alla Frasca (my children were charmed by the house cat), and Trattoria Da Jonny (also from your link). We ordered a pretty good cross sample of the menus at both places, and enjoyed everything. It’s easy to eat well in Italy, even in Venice. We stayed in a beautiful and very reasonable AirBnb in Venice. Anyone visiting the city can DM me and I would be happy to share.
Our favorite gelato in Milan was Oggi (Officina Gelato Gusto Italiano), located in the Brera neighborhood. Their pistachio gelato may have been the best I’ve ever had. In Venice we enjoyed Gelatoteca Suso.
Hi Jen! I know this is off topic and I really apologize for hijacking the thread but there doesn’t seem to be a way to send you a direct message on this site. I remember you very well from the Chowhound days and so enjoyed and appreciated all of your Italy recommendations and posts. My Florentine husband and I are finally back in Florence now and next week will be in Forte dei Marmi. I was looking for recommendations and recalled the famous “Allende” of Chowhound lives there (we discovered Ristorante Lorenzo because of him years ago but now are more on a budget). Of course no way to get in touch with him either now, sadly. Anyway, I’ve heard there are some great restaurants in nearby Pietrasanta. Can you please let me know if you have any recommendations? I would so appreciate it.
Welcome to the forum, Lavender
If you click on Jen’s name, you should get a pop-up box which includes a message button. If that doesnt happen, then it probably means the software is set that you have to make a small number of posts before it becomes available.
Thank you so much!
Hi i dont have any personal recommendations for Pietrasanta but I know it was esteemed by knowlegeable posters on CH as a good food town. I usually check out Slowfood before visiting a new town, it rarely leads us too astray. Peposo is the sole listing in the current guide, looks appealing to me but online reviews are mixed. There are other Recommendations for Viareggio, Camaiore and other places in the region. Gambero Rosso also has some suggestions. https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/notizie-ristoranti/mangiare-in-versilia-i-ristoranti-di-forte-dei-marmi-pietrasanta-camaiore-e-viareggio/
Im at Lake Garda now; the water or the hills seem the right destinations if this heat persists. Hope you have some good eating, id love to hear about it.
Lovely part of the world. We’ve had two holidays there over the years - both staying at Bardolino (where the Pizzeria Bardolina remains my benchmark for all subsequent pizzas and where I enjoyed pasta with a donkey ragu).
Sounds interesting. I recently had a wonderful paccheri with venison ragu at Pralongia hut in Alta Badia. It was a meal worth the hike in an absolutely spectacular setting.
Speaking of donkey ragu it’s not something I’ve had on the Brescia side of Garda where we are, but we had a lovely horse dish I think patissada - at trattoria Al Isolo in Verona a few years back which I was just recommending to a friend here!
Place in Bardolino was Al Commercio. As well as the donkey, it had a number of horse based pasta sauces.
I recall it had something written at the bottom of the menu, In Italian, which broadly said “We do not care what foreigners write about our food in Tripadvisor reviews”.
It has been quite a few years since my last visit to Venice, but my favorites on my last trip were Antiche Carampane https://www.antichecarampane.com/en/ and Venissa, which was well worth the trip to Mazzorbo.
Welcome Lavender! In addition to the private message feature, please feel free to start a thread of your own if you would like to solicit more input on Pietrasanta (and or share your findings after your trip) - we’d love to liven up the Italy discussions here. Thanks!
Thank you, Jen! Much appreciated. And agreed — on the water or in the mountains is where you need to be right now. We’re hoping to get to Garda for a few days next month.
