mello yello Posted August 7, 2013 Posted August 7, 2013 Any hitchhikers out there like to share any good overseas restaurants they recently dined in ? Town ? Restaurant? Value for money ? Service ? anything you would like to share ? I had a good experience just outside of Florence...La Bianchina, http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g635637-d2464134-Reviews-La_Bianchina-Impruneta_Tuscany.html one of those local knowledge ones, but very delicious wood fire pizza http://www.labianchina.com/
soundfan Posted August 7, 2013 Posted August 7, 2013 El Nido, Palawan, Philippines Art Cafe: http://elnidoboutiqueandartcafe.com/artcafe.html Not quite a recent experience, as last time I was there was mid 2012, but it's an excellent little cafe/restaurant in the beautiful town of El Nido in northern Palawan. They serve delicious meals of freshly caught sea food and do a superb pizza as well. Very well priced as compared to what we typically pay over here, and you receive service with a smile from the cute filipina waitresses. There are many great places to eat in El Nido, with around half a dozen right on the beach. I mention the Art Cafe as it generally attracts the tourist crowd, and always has a great vibe about it. El Nido is one of those unspoiled beautiful parts of the world, and because of it's relative remoteness, it hopefully may remain that way.
proftournesol Posted August 7, 2013 Posted August 7, 2013 The Fat Duck, Bray. UK. Expensive, even for lunch, but well worth the money
qwerter Posted August 7, 2013 Posted August 7, 2013 I am going to Italy soon. Any good places in Rome, Florence or Venice?
mello yello Posted August 7, 2013 Author Posted August 7, 2013 The restaurant I mentioned in the OP is about 5 klms outside of Florence, depending if youre driving, it is worth the drive, has a nice alfresco outdoor area, and is well worth the Florentine style wood fire pizza. Everything else on the menu is quite tasty and reasonably priced too
mello yello Posted August 7, 2013 Author Posted August 7, 2013 (edited) Venice, just in front of the Rialto Bridge is The Saracen restaurant (touristy) but a very nice seafood platter...avoid the other Grand Canal streetfronts. Backsteet is best in Venice Edited August 7, 2013 by mello yello II
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted August 7, 2013 Posted August 7, 2013 (edited) I remember a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong I ate at, back in 1987. Fabulous. First time I have ever eaten Kobe Beef. HK$250.00 per dish. No idea if it is still there. No idea if I could even find it, if it was. I was the first to sit down and be handed a menu. As soon as I saw the menu, I instructed the rest of my party that we could not afford this place. The maitre'd and I struck a deal (as you do in Hong Kong), so that we could all sample most of the dishes available for a total of HK$250.00 per person. I am very pleased we did. I have not returned to Hong Kong since 1988, but I never had a bad meal in the place (unlike Singapore, where finding a decent place to eat is difficult). Edited August 7, 2013 by Zaphod Beeblebrox
proftournesol Posted August 7, 2013 Posted August 7, 2013 I can't remember the name, but the best restaurant by far I went to in Venice had a sign out the front 'no tourist menu, don't ask'. It was a block away from the 'tourist route' trail (train station to Piazza San Marco. Half the price and twice as good!
mello yello Posted August 8, 2013 Author Posted August 8, 2013 (edited) I can't remember the name, but the best restaurant by far I went to in Venice had a sign out the front 'no tourist menu, don't ask'. It was a block away from the 'tourist route' trail (train station to Piazza San Marco. Half the price and twice as good! Thats the trouble, you stumble across a real gem, but could never find it again in a pink fit...thats why hopefully this thread will be a reference point for some of these one-offs I ate at Maccas in Paris just off the Arc De Triumph just after the Tour De France dias ceremony just for a lark ( and as a Pulp Fiction thing lol )...it was a lark I will always regret...I thought they invented french fries. Warm coke, no air conditioning, full of Aussies (lol), you can order and pay from a self serve terminal but never get the food...it was an experience alright...one to be avoided Edited August 8, 2013 by mello yello II
mello yello Posted August 8, 2013 Author Posted August 8, 2013 (edited) I remember a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong I ate at, back in 1987. Fabulous. First time I have ever eaten Kobe Beef. HK$250.00 per dish. No idea if it is still there. No idea if I could even find it, if it was. I was the first to sit down and be handed a menu. As soon as I saw the menu, I instructed the rest of my party that we could not afford this place. The maitre'd and I struck a deal (as you do in Hong Kong), so that we could all sample most of the dishes available for a total of HK$250.00 per person. I am very pleased we did. I have not returned to Hong Kong since 1988, but I never had a bad meal in the place (unlike Singapore, where finding a decent place to eat is difficult). we struck a similar thing in Italy...agriturismo. You pay per head and they keep bringing out food till youve had enough. The thing with Italian agriturismo is everything they serve must be grown or made by the restaurant themselves...home made pasta, local delicacies like porchetta and ... usually in a countryside setting beause of those tax break requirements...like Leopoldo's in Abruzzi http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhouse/abruzzo/teramo/LaFattoriadiLeopoldo-5460251/index.html this place, for me, was The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe Edited August 8, 2013 by mello yello II
Sir Triode Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 With smartphones and their built-in GPS these days - it shouldn't be hard to locate the place again.
Upfront Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 The Merchant hotel in Belfast. Too drunk at that stage to give an accurate description of food but the dinning hall was a thing of beauty. Well worth the visit.
Sir Triode Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 The Wawona Dining Room in the Wowona Hotel in Yosemite National Park.
GregWormald Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 (edited) Three in Italy. A few blocks from from the Boboli Gardens (well worth a visit) in Florence (Firenza) is Pizzeria O'Scugnizzo. Great wood-oven pizzas. It's on Via dell'Orto and very close to the highly popular cocktail bar La Dolca Vita. There is also a great family restaurant just further down the road--Il Guscio. On Lake Como a couple of train stops north of Mandello Del Lario (where the Moto Guzzi factory and museum are) in the small village of Olcio is a restaurant that does two meals a day--lunch and dinner for about 2 hours only, no menu, you just eat what the chef cooks. Villa Maggio. Great food and very reasonable. You **MUST BOOK**--get a local to book you in and tell you how to get there. There are no signs! Two years ago a meal was €15 for beer, a bottle of wine, soft drink, bread, and a full Italian meal (4 courses and dessert). I was staying just up the road at Frontelago B & B and ate there 3 times. Once I was the only customer for dinner (lunch is always packed) and the chef made me a special dinner with all local ingredients--including home made ravioli filled with goats cheese from the hills behind the restaurant. Greg Edited August 8, 2013 by GregWormald
proftournesol Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 Speaking of Lake Como, Osteria Beuc in Cernobbio, 8 euro for a 2 course lunch bread glass of wine and coffee, 11 euros for dinner and the food is very good. You know that it'll be good when it's packed with locals day and night.
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