Mamma Mia, the Food!
If you want to visit Italy primarily for the delicious food, you are not alone. While Italy is jam-packed with incredible historic architeture and monuments, natural beauty and picture-perfect villages, it is also renowned for its simple yet sophisticatedly delicious cuisine.
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We don't claim to be "foodies," though we do, like most people, love to eat good food. Here we are giving you recommendations of a variety of restaurants, trattorias, bars, bakeries, gelaterias, etc, where we have enjoyed eating, and will return again.
La Cantina, Spello, Umbria
About La Cucina Italiana
La Cucina Povera
Most of Italian cooking is based on "La Cucina Povera," or poor cooking. That is, in a country where poverty was historically wide spread, Italians learned to use whatever they could glean, grow in often poor conditions, hunt, or fish from the sea, and turn it into something truly delicious. The amazing artworks in churches and museums are obvious everywhere. That same artistic passion has been translated into food that is beautifully simple, using whatever is local and available.
You will find the most simple ingredients, such as tomatoes, oil, onions, and salt, become a delcious sauce. Old bread is grated into broth, and turns into comfort food known as pepperona'. Very basic foods that would be overlooked by other cultures are utilized in the most creative ways.
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You will find locals out gleaning along roadsides and in the woods at varoius times of year for the delicacies of the season, from wild asparagus to truffles. Even dandelions make their way into wonderful, fresh salads.
Pasta prepared in the kitchen of Torri Tower, Umbria.
What to know When Eating in Italy
When you dine out in Italy, you need to be aware that there are very specific mealtimes. With very few exceptions, if you miss lunch, or try to eat after standard hours, you will find most restaurant doors closed to you. The same is true for dinner. Most places are closed between lunch and dinner. Lunch is usually available between about 12:30 and 2:00 pm. Dinner service opens around 7:30 and ends by about 10:00 pm. Times can vary, but not by a lot. In this site, we list times as they are found on Google or websites, but it is always best to check.
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As for breakfast, we usually grab something at a bar. For us, that would be hot chocolate (Italian hot chocolate is amazing!) with a pastry, or if we are in Liguria, some kind of focaccia.
Hot Chocolate with cream (cioccolata calda con panna montata) at Caffe' Racca, San Bartolomeo al Mare (now closed).
Even though in recent years, some foods that were only known in very specific regions, such as pesto from Liguria, and burrata from Puglia have become more difused throughout Italy, Italian cuisine is still basically regional. When we are in Umbria we expect to eat more hearty peasant fare, with lots of truffles and cinghiale (wild boar), and when we are in coastal areas, we expect to see more fish dishes, etc.
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No matter what, though, every area of Italy offers incredible cuisine that is not only delicious, but also extremely healthy.
Pizza at Pizzeria Ristorante al Rio, Auronzo di Cadore, Veneto
Most restaurants accept reservations, and appreciate them, even if they don't normally fill all their tables. This allows them to plan their food, etc. We have given phone numbers and/or websites here, where possible.
Most menus in restaurants and trattorias (more casual/local eateries) will start with antipasti, then primi, secondi, contorni, dessert. Pizzas will be listed separately. You are not obligated to order from every catergory. We often order antipasti (appetizers), primi (usually a pasta, soup or rice dish), skip the secondi (meat or fish dishes), but order a salad, which is sometimes listed with the contorni, and sometimes order dessert. When we eat pizza, we only sometimes order a salad with it.
While tap water in Italy is generally safe to drink and tastes good, most restaurants expect you to pay for bottled water. That is something we have grown to accept. We either order "naturale or liscia"... without carbonation, or "frizzante or gassata," with carbonation.
Tipping is not expected in Italy, but we usually try to leave some Euros on the table for our server.
The restaurants, etc. in this website have been divided into regions from north to south. We have listed places we have enjoyed. This is not a professional restaurant review site... just suggestions of places where we would be happy to return, and often do! There are reviewers who offer much more comprehensive lists, especially of larger cities, and more touristy areas.
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The hours and open days here were either taken from websites or from Google. They may be mistaken, so please check with the restaurants, etc, for their schedules.
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We don't tend to eat at extremely expensive restaurants in big cities, so you won't find any of those here. If you have any questions about any of our recommendations, or anything else on this website, please feel free to email us or reach out to us through our Instagram sites, @ourenchantingitaly or @orchardhill_life.
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And thank you for following along on our life-long journey of discovering all of Italy!