Leaving Oct 1st. for my honeymoon. Any places in Florence and/or Rome that are just must eats.

I enjoyed the broccoli and bacon raviolli at Alla Rampa near the spanish steps in Rome

http://www.allarampa.it/sala_anticaroma.php?language=English

I haven't been to florence but my favorite thing to eat of all of the places I have been in Italy is to just duck into a pizzeria and try a slice

We ate at a place called Acqua Al 2 in Florence. Technically, it's a chain, as there is a sister restaurant in DC, but it was good food. They have a filet with a blueberry balsamic reduction that is very good (sounds weird, I know, but it's delicious). They also have an option with just a balsamic reduction, as well as a bunch of pasta options. However, after eating pasta for so many days straight, I was ready for a steak.

Rome is overwhelming when it comes to restaurants. There is literally one every few feet. I didn't have anything that just blew me away, but none of the food was bad, either.

If you're interested, we did a pasta-making/cooking class through a company called Walks of Italy. It was outstanding. It's a max of 14 people, and you get a cooking lesson (plus wine/prosecco and dessert) from two chefs at a private apartment. This was one of the highlights of our trip. WoI also offers some outstanding small group guided tours. We used them for the Colosseum and The Vatican, and I really can't recommend them enough.

Florence Restaurant Recs.

We did Taste of Florence or taste of Italy walking tour - it was great

If you have an afternoon to spare while in Rome then I recommend taking a little side trip to Civita to have lunch. It's a tiny little town with beautiful views of the countryside, and you basically have the whole place to yourself. I think the name of the restaurant we ate at was Alma Civita. It was about an hour from Rome.
Civita di Bagnoregio

In Rome, I would recommend wandering around the Trestevere neighborhood and just popping into a place that gets your attention. While there are some good places to eat in the city center, there are also a ton of overpriced, tourist traps. I generally try to venture out for dinner. San Lorenzo is another fun neighborhood to have dinner and drinks if you want to get out of the center. It's northeast of Termini Train Station.

It's been about 7 years since I was in Florence, and I don't remember much about where we ate.

Please return and post about your trip when your done. I'll be in Florence and Rome in December and would like to hear if you found any interesting places to eat!

This place was the bomb in Florence



Buca Mario

Bistecca Alla Fiorentina at Osteria Del Cinghiale Bianco in Florence.. You order it by the gram. My friend and I split 2 kilos so about 4 pounds of steak. Best steak I've ever had. Really any of the places along Via di Santo Spirito or around that street have good Steak Florentine.

Then right around the corner pop in to Archea Brewery for a flight of beer. Good way to end a good steak dinner.

In Rome we ate at The Meat Market Roma. Again.. delicious steak and burgers. If you're looking for something fancy Ristorante Arlu over by St. Peter and Vatican is awesome and non-touristy. Good little romantic place.

Best meal of our trip was at ZaZa Trattoria in the city

We stayed in an AirBNB in Florence and really explored the local neighborhood around us. There was a simple family owned trattoria on just about every corner. Usually relatively cheap and delicious!

Just an idea if you are looking for something casual

Everywhere we are was good. Mainly just went of recs from our Airbnb host.

We did a cooking class that was awesome. The setting, food, wine, etc were all awesome and I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.

https://m.viator.com/tour/florence/cooking-class-and-lunch-at-a-tuscan-farmhouse-with-local-market-tour-from-florence/0-5070FARMHOUSE/info.htm

Rome:

La Pergola - phenomenal dining experience
Agate e Romeo - very good
Acquolino Hostaria - incredible seafood

Florence:

Enotecca Pinchiorre - if you're in Firenze and don't eat here the Aggies will never win a national championship; do the right thing
Arnolfo - a little (about an hour) outside Firenze, but well worth a stop if you're sightseeing in the area

Enjoy some great food!

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We did Taste of Florence or taste of Italy walking tour - it was great

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We did the taste of Italy walking tour in Rome. Was also really good.

thanks. i will into some of these this morning.

My husband and I had our honeymoon in Venice and Rome. Enjoy the trip. We had a fantastic time.

Rome: Our two favorite places were Trattoria Melo and Osteria la Gensola.

Melo is owned by a guy from Sicily. He and his wife seem to run the restaurant. Great food. We were able to walk in with no reservation but I would still call ahead.

Osteria La Gensola was a great also. It's located in a cool area aross the river. We had to make a reservation. Small place and it was filled up. They have a delicious house wine.

If you've never been over there, just a heads up that most restaurants don't open until 7 or later. So check the hours.

We were there a couple of months ago. In Florence we liked iMangiarino. Awesome food & small family owned that was recommended by the man we rented an apartment from. Our son lived in Italy for 5 months & he suggested a pizza place in Rome. According to him it was the best pizza he found in Italy & a unique Italian dining experience (crammed into tables w/Italians!). It is obviously a local hole in the wall which is the type of place we like & we were staying in that neighborhood so we could walk there easily. It is Baffetto, Via del Governo Vecchio, 114.

The one from Rome that stuck out from all the other places was Trattoria Vecchia Roma