Trip to Florence and Rome

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
1

We had a wonderful trip to Florence and Rome and want to thank board members who reported about their trips in prior threads and gave us a road map for places to eat and sleep.

In Florence, we stayed at the Hotel Degli Orafi. Perfectly located between the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio bridge, it was very convenient to just about everything on both sides of the Arno River. Classically styled Italian Hotel, a bit worn and need to paint, new rugs, etc., it was still very beautiful.

Le Volpi e l’Uva - Nice wine bar just over the bridge and in the Oltrarno. Tiny place with a few outside tables. We ate lunch here twice. They had a cold trout dish that was perfect for lunch, as was their Italian cheese plate. Good lunch spot.

Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina - We have been to this gem for lunch once before and loved it. A board favorite, we ended up there twice for dinner this time. Magnificant. Smaller places for dinner, I loved their pasta with truffles. The type of wine bar that one just dreams about visiting. Small production wines that are really good and not expensive; a very, very knowledgeable staff; wines with age on them for reasonable prices. The only problem with this place is that they have not opened a branch in my neighborhood at home.

Osteria dell Enoteca - Owned by the people who own the Enoteca above, we went there at the recommendation of several people here because we wanted to try the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florentine Steak). Unbelievably good. One of the best things we ate in Italy. We had a very nice 2016 Brunello from Fattoi there. Never heard of Fattoi before, but the wine was excellent, although in need of more time.

Ristoro di Lamole - We took a tour of Chianti with Grape Tours. Not that wild about any of the three wineries we visited (guess I am not a huge Chianti fan), but fell in love with this restaurant where we had lunch. May have been the best restaurant from our trip to Italy when you put together food, view, etc. The Red Onion and Fresh Truffle flan there was to die for (another on the short list of my favorite foods from our trip). Ristoro di Lamole – cooking with passion in the heart of Chianti Classico Grape Tours did an excellent job with the tours and I recommend them if you want a tour of a Tuscan wine region.

Nugolo - Interesting restaurant, with a more modern take on Tuscan cuisine. Really liked the duck we had there.

Logo Restorante - really liked this place - had a wonderful fish dish. Sad to see that they were only about half full on a Saturday night. Still, I recommend this place. The food was quite good.

Mercato Centrale Firenze - Had lunch as this dream of an eatery one day as we just happened to run into this. Fabulous place - so many choices. Go there at least once.

5 Likes
2

On to Rome. We stayed at the Hotel Nazionale, which is a beautiful hotel not far from the Pantheon. Love the location. Love the hotel - this is our third time staying there. Most importantly, it is around the corner from Giolitti Giolitti | Local and one must keep priorities straight.

The first night we were in Rome, we went to a wine dinner at Rimessa Roscioli Rome. Note that this is not the same as their regular restaurant (Roscioli Salumeria) but rather more a place for special events. We had a guided eight course dinner with eight wines led by a person from Roscioli running the event for the evening. There were 10 people in a basement wine room set up for these events. Just great. Another highlight of our trip. We enjoyed meeting new friends from all around the world (including strange places like Ohio, Delray Beach (Florida), Holland, Israel, Germany and one guy from Italy who lived for a while in Australia but now is working in Rome. Fantastic dinner. Loved the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in addition to all the food and wine.

Go at some point to this great bakery in the Jewish Ghetto in Rom. Fabulous. Passticeria il Boccione – Rome, Italy - Gastro Obscura (atlasobscura.com)

Armando al Pantheon. Had the cacio e pepe and loved it (my wife preferred the cacio e pepe here (which was a bit richer) while I slightly preferred the one at Roscioli (loved the spice of their pepper). Also had a wonderful lamb dish. Not easy to get into but real convenient to our hotel.

4 Likes
3

What a great trip!! Agree, so much excellent info on this board makes it hard to go wrong with places. Love Ristoro di Lamole, what an amazing place and was a highlight for us as well. Thanks for the post!

1 Like
4

Great write up Howard and a few of our favorites in Florence and Rome. Thanks for taking the time to share.

1 Like
5

Fred and Jack

Thank you for all your help when we were planning our trip. Posts by you and others were tremendously helpful. I am just trying to do for others what you guys did for me.

In general, I find this board to be the best restaurant guide around when going to Europe. What a fabulous resource.

1 Like
6

I agree - posts regarding restaurants have been great (and delicious) and incredibly helpful both abroad and when traveling to other cities. Aside from our first night in Florence when we arrived late and just ate at a place next to the hotel every other meal was a recommendation from the various Italy threads. In my mind there isn’t a reason to search elsewhere for places to eat.

1 Like
7

@Howard_Cooper thanks for sharing and glad you had a great time in Florence in Rome. We were in Florence last fall and also loved our lunches at Le Volpi e l’ova and Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina. Such great little places!!

Never been to Rimessa Roscioli - do they offer the same menu as at the Salumeria? We too had a great meal at Armando - takes a lot of perseverance
to get the reservation but was one of my top meals in Rome.

8

I have not been to Salumeria and don’t even know the menu at Rimessa. Sorry I cannot help. Maybe someone else can. I can only say that the wine dinner was a ton of fun and I highly recommend it.

9

The hotel you stayed at is also close to Tazzo d’Oro, where the coffee granitas are just so good.

1 Like
10

Hi Maire- i have not been to Rimessa but from what I see from the website the menu is a bit different as well as the focus and format. We did hit Salumeria twice, Emma Pizza and Antico Forna and loved them all.

2 Likes
11

Thanks for the report, I have a daughter going in a few weeks and this was very helpful.

1 Like
12

Has she been before? If not, her first focus should be walking around Florence and Rome. I love the art just walking around (for example at the Piazza Navona or just walking by the Duomo in Florence) where art is a part of life and the city and not just something you look at in a museum. Florence is just an incredible walking city.

13

She’s been to Rome, but not Florence. Yes, agreed that walking around Florence is most beautiful and the best way to get a feel for the city. Thanks again for the great report.

2 Likes
14

Thanks Howard, my daughter reported back that they loved it . . . and yes they had the Bistecca. They were also recommended a nice, reasonably priced Barolo. It is good to see a restaurant not take advantage of a couple of 20-somethings and try to gouge them knowing they do not know a ton about wine.

1 Like
15

Tips for getting a reservation at Armando? I am about 37 days out and I know they open up 30 days in advance. Do I need to time it to the exact minute the system opens?

16

I don’t remember doing anything special but I did do it that day. I know I thought about the fact that 30 days might start at midnight Rome (or 6:00 pm the day before on the east coast of the US) but cannot remember whether I took advantage of that.

1 Like
17

I would figure out the timing of when the openings go live and be ready to jump. Especially since they were included on the Tucci show, they go quickly. And if you have a particular time you want or need, even more so. Enjoy!!

18

I was lucky enough to log in at the right time yesterday and got a reservation for 8pm at an outdoor table on the night we wanted. Very excited to try this spot

3 Likes
19

The classics are excellent as well as the veal saltimbocca is the best version I ever had. Portion sizes are perfect as well to try several dishes and they have an excellent well priced wine list. Enjoy !

1 Like
20

Tazza d’Oro and Sant’Eustachio both have outstanding coffee, true local Roman coffee shops that are a must-visit on any trip to Rome. :smiley:

2 Likes