Food/Wine: People: Foodie Picks in Rome and Florence

Foodie Picks in Rome and Florence

Indagare member A.B. visits Rome often and shares with us her favorite hotel and restaurants.

“I stay at a wonderful place called Crossing Condotti (crossingcondotti.com), owned by the same people who own Crossing the Rock in Sicily. I either stay at the townhouse just off Via Condotti, but most recently they were full and offered me their new apartment nearby, which was even better. It is perfect for anyone who doesn’t need the services of a full-fledged hotel, and the concierge Marco is extremely resourceful.

“Some of my favorite restaurants in Rome include Armando al Pantheon an excellent trattoria near the Pantheon. I have been going since 1999 and the food is always fantastic. Reservations are necessary for dinner. All’Oro in the Parioli neighborhood, is not-to-be-missed. I recommend booking a reservation way in advance. Ristorante Settembrini (Via Luigi Settembrini 25; 39 06 323 2617) is a very chic place in the Prati neighborhood and La Gensola serves delicious seafood in Trastevere.

“In Florence, I love Trattoria Sostanza, known as Troia for its Florentine steak. The restaurant is legendary for being a no-frills place with hand-written menus and a cash-only policy. Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina in the Oltarno is a great little wine bar across the piazza from the Pitti Palace. They do a wine-tasting (mainly Tuscan wines from the best producers and you can also buy the bottles here—we bought an excellent Brunello). They also serve small plates of food to go with the wine and you can make an evening out of it if you don’t want a big restaurant-type meal.”