Dinner & Wine in Rome, Naples, and Venice

[tbwenzlau]

I will be arriving in Rome this Friday and staying 4 nights. I am then going to Naples for two nights followed by two nights in Venice. I am going alone so the food and wine must be very good company. It will be my first time visiting each place. I love Italian food and Italian wine. My dinner budget maxes out at about 50 euros. I don't like touristy places but genuine and great food.

In Rome I will be staying at a hotel near Piazza Navona. Again 4 nights there. Looking for places close to me but really I will walk anywhere for great food. I have had recommendations for the following places:
San Crispino for Gelato
Sora Margherita for Lunch

In Naples I will be staying in the Toledo neighborhood. I hear the pizza is great, but is anything else? Have the following recommendations:
Attanasia for their sfogliatelle
Da Michele for the best pizza

Venice is small and I am staying in the San Polo neighborhood and will walk anywhere. I have no recommendations. Help with restaurants here would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help.

-Tommy

[erica]

From my Naples report, spring 2008:

Briefly:

If you are looking for good, simple food at a reasonable price, I would recommend Hostaria Toledo, a SlowFood pick a block or two west of the Via Toledo in the Spanish Quarter. We had one dinner here. The place is casual and service (by a husband and wife team) is friendly and unpretentious. Diners are a mix of locals and tourists; be sure to reserve on weekends, as we watched many non-reservation-bearing local being turned away on a Saturday night.

Here is what we ate; they seem to excell at vegetable/cheese preparations.

Salad of provola cheese with roasted peppers and tomatoes
Bucatini al forno with provola and tomato (stellar)

Eggplant parmesan..excellent
Saute de vongole..excellent
Paccheri Toledo..short, wide pasta tubes (popular in the region) with sauce of tomatoes, mushrooms, peas and mushrooms...good

With unlabeled house white wine and water, the bill for two of us totalled 55 euro.

erica Jul 16, 2008 06:38PM

[maestrette]

One of our favorite meals from our recent week in Rome was at Cul de Sac, which is very close to Piazza Navona. The wines were excellent (it is a wine bar). All of the dishes we had were tasty, but the most outstanding was the Sicilian style pasta.

[steve h.]

trimani wine bar in rome, within walking distance from the train station, is a favorite of mine for decent food and very good wine. solo dining is not a problem there. it won't be overrun by tourists and you should hit your price point. the family-run wine shop around the corner is pretty famous. you might want to pop in and say hello.

baffetto is in your neighborhood (piazza navona). good pizza. dinner only. it's small and pretty well known but worth a shot for the margherita. baffetto 2 in the nearby campo de' fiori is a little bigger and more accessible. neither are fancy nor quiet. the house reds are ok.

after that you're on your own. best piece of advice i can give is to just walk around, find a neighborhood joint where locals are eating and see if you can get a table.

[jen kalb]

I like Sora Margherita a lot (others differ) and its good for watching the scene but solo you might prefer a less boisterous atmosphere. I think some of the classic trattorias like Armando al Pantheon could be perfect for this.

I concur on Sorbillo for pizza in naples - its ok for sitting alone and their pizza bianco with sausage and greens is excellent. Think youve gotten some great reccs overall, so good luck!

[tbwenzlau]

Thanks I do enjoy people watching. Again thanks for the recs.

[PBSF]

If you enjoy people watching, I would definitely recommend in Venice: Bancogiro and the places around Campo S. Giacomo. Antico Dolo is nearby in San Polo. They are open late into the night.

[PBSF]

For Venice, where seafood can be very expensive, these should be within your budget:
San Polo: Antico Dolo, Bancogiro, Osteria al Garanghelo
Dorsoduro: La Bitta (no seafood)
Cannaregio: Osteria da Alberto, Alla Frasca, La Cantina
Also check this board for the many previous postings on Venice.

[tbwenzlau]

Thank you very very much.
-Tommy

[katieparla]

For Naples, you should not miss Di Matteo, Starita a Materdei, and Sorbillo for pizza.

For the best pastries in Naples try these: http://www.katieparla.com/the-best-neapolitan-pastry-shops/

Some of my favorite restaurants are Osteria di Donna Teresa, Cantina di Via Sapienza, and La Chiacchierata, all very simple places specializing in local and seasonal dishes. for more on Naples food, browse http://www.katieparla.com/category/na...

[tbwenzlau]

Thanks Katie,
Your site is great. Anything for Venice?

[katieparla]

thanks! glad you like the site. Im more of a southern italy expert so i can recommend a few places in venice (Vecio Bragozzo, Anice Stellato, Ai Artisti) but not many.