Eateries recommendations? (Rome and Venice)

[renchow]

Hi!
Does anyone have recommendations of restaurants / eateries in Rome and Venice where we can find GOOD (and hopefully reasonably priced):
- traditional family-style italian cooking?
- pizza / calzones?
- gelato?
We heard wonderful things about places that private tour guides took their customers to, but many of the recommended guides have already been booked up. If there is a place we can get to by ourselves, that would be awesome!
Thanks!

[Mike Andrews]

In Rome for a great Pizza I recommend the Pizzeria da Baffetto on via del Governo Vecchio 11(not far from Piaza Navona),it is a great place and very busy,then afterwards walk to the Gelateria Giolitti on via degli Uuffici del Vicario 40 for superb ice cream (not far from Piazza Montecitorio) and in Venice I recommend the Trattoria alla Madonna for seafood on calle delle Madonna (off Fondamenta del Vin) near the Rialto Bridge. Have a few glasses of Prosecco in the Cantina do Mori close by on Sotopoetego dei do Mori before your meal.

Mike

[This message was edited by Mike Andrews on 05-01-04 at 12:32 PM.]

[trixie54]

Mike - can you help me? You seem to know your way around Rome - we'll arrive at 9AM, staying at Exedra Hotel (near Termini). Will be tired & jet lagged...just how far/difficult a walk would it be from Piazza Repubblica (near Diocletian Baths)to the Colosseum & Forum, then to the Pantheon? Which way is easier - starting from P.de Rep. should we head towards Col. 1st, or Pantheon 1st?

[AltaJoe]

I second Alla Madonna. A trip to Venice would not be complete without a meal there.

Pacific Princess Oct. '95
Explorer of the Seas Nov. '03
See the Explorer Pics: [url="http://community.webshots.com/user/altajoe"]http://community.webshots.com/user/altajoe[/url]



Nordic Empress (Empress of the Seas) April '05

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[Mike Andrews]

Hi Trixie,

You can take the subway direct from Piazza Repubblica to the Colosseum but from the Colosseum you can easily walk up the Via dei Fori Imperiali through Piazza Venezia to Via
dei Corso then left towards the Pantheon and through to Piazza Navona. [url="http://WWW.romaturismo.com"]WWW.romaturismo.com[/url] and [url="http://WWW.atac.roma.it"]WWW.atac.roma.it[/url] , may be of help to you.

Mike

[Bruin Steve]

I usually let my nose lead me...
And I try not to fall for those expensive touristy places...I've always stumbled across small holes in the wall in both cities with great food at outstanding prices...and they're in nobody's guide book or recommended tourist lists...

In Rome, there are lots of very reasonable places with multi-course dinners with a lot of good food in the area around the central train station...

In Venice, the street that leads from the train station in the direction of the Ghetto has a large number of small restaurants with "price fixed" multi-course dinner menus...This last cruise, we ate one meal at a restaurant we had also eaten at on our honeymoon--I forget the name, but, it's outdoor tables on the Piazza Santa Margarita, in front of an old hotel...the atmosphere is great and the food not bad...but we spent twice as much for half the food...everything was "a la carte" and the bill mounts...the next night, we picked a place near the train station and got an EXCELLENT all inclusive meal for about 10 euros apiece...

One trip, we ate a a trendy touristy place near the Pantheon and spent an incredible amount of money for an a la carte piece of veal the size of a pocket calculator...

Okay, one place NOT to eat near the Pantheon...Directly across the square from the front of the Pantheon there is now a.......MC DONALDS!!!! Sacrilege!!!

Summit, July 3, 2004: Alaska: 13 night cruisetour

[renchow]

Thank you everyone for all the helpful recommendations and tips [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[trixie54]

I second that thank you! Mike - I can finally relax about our day in Rome - grazie!