Places to eat

Here I collect a basic directory of the best places I've eaten within, as a reminder to myself and as an advice to anyone else.

Italy

La Spezia

  • Dove Vuoi
Emilian cuisine, but with some twist. They do escargots and fried frog legs, which is not that easy to find. Extremly nice service. Good ravioli.
Via del Prione, La Spezia

Sarzana

  • La Scaletta
Down to earth but very good place. Mum's favourite.
Via Bradia 5
  • La Ratatouille
Fish, classy, not cheap but worthwile.
Via Sobborgo Spina 21

Genova

Nice and tasty restaurant in the old harbour of Genoa. Typical Genoese cuisine.
Vico Palla, Genova

Bologna

  • Bertino
"Old-style" place with a wonderful bollito misto. Closed on Sundays and Monday evening.
+39 051 522230
Via Lame 55
  • il Biacchese
Old traditional Bulgneis cuisine. Cheap and good but outside the city.
Via dei Maceri 3, Lago Biacchese loc. San Lazzaro
  • al Matusel
Good and cheap in the University zone; fish and Sicilian stuff as well
Via Bertoloni 2
  • Trattoria Danio
Typical Italian trattoria with one of the largest menus I've ever seen. Nice selection of fried stuff (including porcini and frogs); they also claim to serve bison meat. Cheap and no-nonsense, with the occasional let down, but overall worth a visit for a casual dinner with friends.
Via San Felice, 50
+39 051 555202
  • Paradiso d'Oriente
Chinese restaurant but much higher in quality than average, and with a neat selection of thai/viet stuff. Definitely recommended.
Via degli Usberti, 6
+39 051 236056
  • L'Ortica
A bio pub/cafè with lots of stuff not easily found elsewhere in Italy, from chai tea to ginger beer. Exceptional microbrewery selection.
Via Mascarella, 26
+39 051 5876455 , http://www.lortica.net
Nice, vast Asian place in the Bolognina; 10-euro all-you-can-eat but overall good quality. Recommended to stuff you up in a pleasant way.
Via Ferrarese 119/2 ; tel. 051 6310490
  • Megu
Japanese sushi all-you-can-eat, served on a table, on an evening, for 20 euros? You can. Definitely a wonderful deal.
Via della Grazia 35 ; tel. 051 9916521
  • Miyako
Rolling dishes japanese all you can eat, now a fixed destination in Bologna. Good quality for an AYCE, in the center, with large selection especially at evening.
Via Marsala 3
  • Osteria dell'Orsa
Who doesn't know it? Cheap and awesome: crescentine and salumi are essential. Also usually very good daily dishes. Crowded.
  • Trattoria Belle Arti - il Ristoro del Meridione
Southern Italy stuff, good quality, cozy ambient. Reasonable prices.
Via delle Belle Arti 6, Bologna

Milano

  • Antica Focacceria S.Francesco
Sicilian rosticceria
via San Paolo 15
  • Seven - Casa dei Ciliegi
Original meat-focused restaurant.
via Bertelli 4
  • Wafu
Small but good Japanese restaurant
Viale Gorizia 12 - 20136 Milano
  • Jumping Cafè
No-nonsense pizzeria close to the station -I didn't eat there but my dad swears for it!
Via Mauro Macchi 2 - Milano

Roma

  • Kebab
Despite the name is a good restaurant, not a kebab kiosk. Mediterranean cuisine, wonderful cous-cous, fish kebab on Friday.
Via Valenziani, Roma
  • Gelateria Romoli
Viale Eritrea 140
  • La Fraschetta di Mastro Giorgio
Absurdly good Italian cuisine - best pasta I've ever had was a fish amatriciana there. Cheese selection is otherworldly as well.
Via a.Volta 36 - via mastro giorgio 19

Catania

  • Trattoria Saltimbocca da Giancarlo
One of the best fish restaurants in town.
Via Asilo S.Agata 24, angolo Via Costa
Tel. 095 531337 ; 333 7569638
This simply another world. In a tiny fishmongers' shop they suddenly prepare a table, bring you excellent wine in an ice pot, and then it's an endless series of fish crudités, with the most fresh, tasty fish one can ever dream of experience. And also with a sublime taste and attention. All for a ridicolously cheap price. It's an orgasm. You can't but dream to go back there, over and over.
Via Dusmet, 1, Catania ; 329.5356423

Firenze

  • Osteria Cipolla Rossa
Tuscany cuisine, cheap but very good and cozy
Via de' Conti, 53, 50123 Firenze

Venezia

One of the best restaurants I've ever been into. Incredibly rich-tasting vegetables interpreted creatively. A must.
Closed on Sunday.
Santa Croce 1762 , tel. 041-5241570
  • Gam Gam
Jewish cuisine in the Jewish ghetto. Overall good and true to Jewish tradition; the fried artichokes with tajine are divine.
Sottoportico di Ghetto Vecchio, Cannaregio 1122 ; tel. 041.5231495
Perhaps slightly overrated but still very good place; nice cicchetti, very good meatballs, excellent mixed fried fish. Not so wonderful the fegato alla veneziana instead.
Calle del Pistor | lungo strada nuova, Venezia, Italia
tel. 041-528-5324
  • Cantina Do Mori
Excellent and well known cicchetti place; nice selection of polpette and otherworldy polipetti.
Sestiere San Polo 429, Calle dei Do Mori. Tel. 041/5225401.
  • Cantinone (già Schiavi)
One of the best cicchetti of Venice, an amazing selection of stuff of every kind (plus good salumi). And a wonderful choice of wines. Definitely recommended.
Closed on Sunday.
Ponte San Trovaso, Dorsoduro 992. Tel. 041 523 0034.

Verona

  • Giulietta e Romeo
Despite the cheesy name, it's a no-nonsense, good but surpisingly cheap trattoria.
Full Veronese-cuisine meal for less than 20-euro.
Corso S.Anastasia 27 ; tel. 045 8009177
  • Trattoria L'Altra Colonna
The specialty are the cotolette alla milanese, that are good and overall HUGE. Like, really HUGE. And, if you wish, with toppings, just like pizza (the Grana and Porcini one is the best). But really good stracotto d'asino and other stuff. Not incredibly cheap, but worth it.
Via Tezone 1 ; tel. 045 591455
  • Hostaria Alla Vecchia Fontanina
Very cozy place close to Piazza delle Erbe, it is overall good for a date. Good baccalà and pasta dishes, excellent finishing with biscuits and recioto
P.tta Chiavica 5

Monteriggioni (Siena)

  • Il Pozzo
One of the best restaurants I know; typically Tuscan cuisine but careful to be creative. Very careful about quality as well. Not cheap.
Piazza Roma 20

Udine

  • Osteria Alla Ghiacciaia
Nice place, good food, cheap wine. Can be crowded.
Via Zanon 13
tel: 0432 502471

San Daniele del Friuli (UD)

One of the best places in Friuli; true San Daniele ham and great selection of cheeses etc.; awesome in-house wine
Via Trento e Trieste
tel: 0432 957322 ; 339 5360653
Closed Wednesday evening and Thursday

UK

Cambridge

  • Eagle Pub
Apart from being historical, one of the best pub foods in Cambridge.
Benet Street (just at the Corpus Christi's clock corner)
A cozy indie pub with quirky but excellent kitchen -stuff like monkfish rolled in bacon served on top of black pudding!
Prospect Row, Cambridge
CB1 1DU
  • Brown's
One of the very few places with good British cuisine.
23 Trumpington Street, CB2 1QA
  • Anatolia
Good Turkish cuisine
(close to Quayside, right before Magdalene Bridge)
  • Teri Aki
Probably the only worthwile Cambridge japanese restaurant. Remember to reserve in advance on weekends.
Quayside.
  • India House
After a few false starts, finally found a good Indian restaurant, just next to the Granta pub.
31 Newnham Road, CB3 9EY
+44 1223 461661 / +44 1223 460173 / +44 7985 522120
[1]
Genuine, good Italian pizza in a delightful location on the river just before Jesus Green.
Thompson's Lane, Cambridge CB5 8AQ, England

London

  • Fabrella
small place with Greek-Cypriot cuisine at Fulham
786 Fulham Road, SW6 5SL, tel.020-77365585 (vicino al Putnam Bridge)
Quite famous Italian Venetian-sided bistro. Not exactly a bacaro as it claims (no signs of sarde in saor or of baccalà mantecato, sigh), but food is truly good and the atmosphere is perfect. Go for the grilled polenta and the cuttlefish ink gnocchi. Portions are small, but prices are reasonable given the quality.
You cannot reserve for dinner, only for lunch. Open on Sunday lunch!
41 Beak Street , London W1F 9SB. , 020 7734 4479
Nice Chinese restaurant in the heart of Chinatown. As the name indicates, specialty are dumplings. Very nice environment, fast (even if a bit dodgy) service.
15-16 Gerrard Street , Chinatown, London, W1D 6JE
Phone: (020) 7494 1200
Heart-of-Soho cozy French bistro. Quite expensive but the bacon&fried egg bap is dreamlike, and the cappuccino one of the best I had in UK ever.
13 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 5GQ
Nice Indian at the edge of Soho, practically behind the Trocadero. Food is good, prices can be slightly above average given portions which are substantial but not overwhelmingly generous as in other places. All in all, recommended.
4 Denman Street, Piccadilly, London W1D 7HD

Germany

Jülich

  • Imbiss Akropolis
It's a takeaway/no-nonsense Greek grill, but it is perfect to stuff you up on good grilled meat.
Große Rurstraße 31
+49 2461 8699
  • Pinocchio
Italian restaurant in the center, where real Italian cook and make proper Italian stuff. Pizza is good even for Italian standards.
Kleine Kolnstrasse 5, 52428 Julich
+49(0)2461 51615
  • El Toro
Argentinian restaurant, apparently best place for a juicy steak.
Grosse Rurstr. 34, 52428 Julich
+49(0)2461 58100

Cologne

Probably one of the best Middle Eastern restaurant I've eaten in. The mixed entrees are sublime. The main course portions are huge, like, really huge, take care when ordering. Almost on the river, just south of the station.
Buttermarkt 3, 50667 Köln
Cute small music club, with nice new wave/'90s rock selection.
Trierer Strasse 65, 5067 Köln
Soviet-themed bar and restaurant. Best vodka of my life was had there.
Zülpicher Platz 11, 50674 Köln, Neustadt-Süd
Small but nice sushi bar in central Cologne, with better than usual quality. One of the oldest sushi bars in town.
Brüsseler Str. 46 50674 Köln Tel. 0221 - 5103433  ; info @ fisch-hof.de

Düsseldorf

  • Libanon
Good Lebanese restaurant in the center, nice service, overall recommended.
Bergerstrasse 19-21
+41 0211 134917
Brazilian rodizio, that is: huge (HUGE) skewers of juicy meats (beef, pork, etc.) are sliced on your plate, again and again, until you just can't anymore. While you drink a caipirinha and thank your gods for not being vegetarian. Fixed price, in all-you-can-eat fashion. Great.
Elisabethstrasse 82 , Ecke Bilker Allee
+49 0211 3083322

Aachen

Classy, not cheap but very high quality restaurant in central Aachen. Definitely interesting fish. Menu is not fixed; dishes come and go during the months.
Pontstrasse 117 , info@reuters-house.de , +4902411897666


Cool club for drinking and dancing; be sure to try the spicy Polnische Rakete for an experience.
Südstraße 54, 52064 Aachen
+49 177 8246717

Elsewhere

Barcelona

  • Vinateria
Best tapas of Barcelona, truly beautiful place. Exceptional sweet wines+dessert coupling.
Carrer de Sant Domenec del Call
  • El Glop
Catalan stuff. Really good. Lots of meat.
Calle Sant Lluís, 24

Lausanne

  • Cafe de Romandes
Beautiful typical French Switzerland restaurant. Huge fondue, incredibly good tartare.
Place St.Francois

Paris

  • Cafe Daguerre
Good no-nonsense French stuff in a cozy place in Montparnasse
4 Avenue General Leclerc , close to Denfert-Rochereau metro stop.
  • Cacao et Chocolat
Chocolate-only shop in Paris: not cheap, but truly awesome.
29 Rue de Buci, 75006 Paris
(There are other two: in 63 rue Saint Louis en l'Ile and 36 rue Vieille du Temple)
  • Creperie de Port-Manech
Awesome crepes made with saracene grain, and the best Breton cider ever had, in a tiny lovely location. There are a lot of creperies in the same street, but this one seems to have an edge. The savoury stuff is amazing, chevre cheese/bacon/tomato for example.
52 rue du Montparnasse, 75014 Paris
01-43219698

Amsterdam

  • Kagetsu
Excellent Japanese with Japanese chef. Tempura is not great but the sashimi is the best I've had. Slighty pricey.
Hartenstraat 17 , 1016 BZ Amsterdam
020-427-38-28
Beer place with awesome selection of beers, mainly Dutch and Belgian. I've had an excellent pale ale and good trappist beers.
Herengracht 90
Nice portuguese restaurant: nothing truly superb but overall solid, and a safe bet for a Mediterranean Europe-style meal.
Kerkstraat 34

New York

  • Peter Luger

todo

Ithaca, NY