Good Restaurants: Rome, Florence, Venice--Any good suggestions?

My husband suddenly thinks he is Gordon Ramsey, so he is looking for "fine" dining experiences. Being that we are on a budget, I am looking for romantic, quaint, good food...

Thanks for any suggestions!

Re: Good Restaurants: Rome, Florence, Venice--Any good suggestions?

Good luck finding "fine dining" in Italy at good prices in those cities. they are total tourists traps and will charge top dollar in addition to getting nothing for your dollar at present in comparison to the Euro. it is not in your favor at all.

i would maybe splurge on a meal or too-- or do lunch at fancy restaurants (will be cheaper than dinner) and eat dinner on the fly... like pizza, salami and bread, etc..

I know tons of restaurants in Italy, but they are all in the middle of nowhere in the north of italy. when dh and i go to see his family, we spent about 120 Euro on a 3 course family style dinner, no limit on servings for 12 people for 120 Euro... you will be hardpressed to find that in Rome, Florence, Venice.

Let me know if you find cheap eats in any of these cities--- i would love to know for next time we're over. GOOD LUCK!

Re: Good Restaurants: Rome, Florence, Venice--Any good suggestions?

Try this website, they have great recommendations

www.chowhound.com

Re: Good Restaurants: Rome, Florence, Venice--Any good suggestions?

My husband and I love to eat out at good restaurants, cook at home, try new things, drink good wine, etc. so one of our mission while in Italy was to find some amazing food. We did at these restaurants. I would recommend them to anyone:

Venice-Bancogiro near Campo di Giovanetti. This place was very reasonable considering the location right on the Grand Canal (make a reservation for an outside table in advance). Teh menue changes daily based on what the chef finds in the market that day. Fresh fish, great cheese plates, cannellini beans to die for, just really really good. About 80 Euro. I think they were cash only.

Florence-
#1-L'Osteria di Giovanni. This was one of our more expensive meals (about 130 Euro) but very worth it. Complimentary Prosecco to start off the meal. Antipasta plate was great, also had braised rabbit, dessert, a good bottle of wine recommended by the chef/owner (after we ordered our food to compliment it). The best part was at the end of the meal. The chef/owner brought over complimentary liquor soaked fruits. When he saw that I didn't like them, he brought over a bottle of homemade grappa (which was like liquid magma) and a plate of biscotti. Needless to say we left the restaurant that night needing a long walk before we crashed! We actually sat next to a couple from Muttontown who had been there 3 nights in a row, beacuse they liked it that much. Lots of locals, which is always a good sign.
#2-Cantinetta Antinori (owned by the same family who makes the wine). Also fabulous. Really excellent service. A great wine list (obviously) and again phenomenal food. About 150 Euro, but we had like a 60 Euro bottle of wine.

Rome-Ditirambo. A small place in Campo di Fiori. Changing menu daily. Had great zucchini flowers here. Wine was excellent. About 100 Euro.

I would suggest making reservations at all of these places even during the week. All of these meals we had at least 1 1st course (split) 2 2nd courses, and 2 desserts with wine.

Hope this helps. Have fun--I'm jealous!

Re: Good Restaurants: Rome, Florence, Venice--Any good suggestions?

I know a lot of places in ROme... they are not touristy at all...

Da Enzo- in Trastevere (EXCELLENT) really delicious food, but not "fine dining"

Frontoni's- Trastevere (right on via trastevere) ridiculously good panini, the best I have had and right next door to Frontonis is a great quick pizza place they make the best arancini and supli(YUM)

Navone Notte- Piazza Novona- it has great seafood and is in a cute area of town with a lot of bars.....

Ah.. i miss Rome...