Cantine Bernadini, Lucca - This elegant restaurant lives up to its brilliant reviews.Exquisite food and wine, beautiful surroundings, excellent service; we couldn't have asked for more. The vin santo reduction with the liver paté was incredible and the tortellini was light and creamy. The pork and the duck for our second course were both complete perfection and the chantilly cream dessert with almond and orange crisps was an utter joy. After an enjoyable discussion with the very charming Fabio, the Lucchesi wine we chose, Altair, was delicious. For a menu so surely heading towards a Michelin star or two, the bill was also most palatable. Around 70 euro for two, including 3 courses, wine and coffee. - Luisa
Da Carlino, Castelnuovo - Had a bad experience at this restaurant recently. Food was OK and waitress service good but when checking the bill we noticed that we had been over-charged by 10 euros. The owner was quite ungracious and without apology just put a 10 euro note on the bar and walked away. We won't be eating there again! - Luisa
, - This is my favourite restaurant in the area for the quality of its food, the friendliness of the owners and the amazing views from the dining terrace. The menu changes every day but we recently ate a tasty antipasti of crostini with fresh tomatoes and mushrooms (specially put together for my vegetarian guest), farro with mushrooms, home made maccheroni with ragu, and then roasted pork with sauted artichokes and fried potatoes, again home made, not frozen! The dessert was a mixture of bite-size pieces of a nutty tart and a ricotta cake, accompanied by an excellent dessert wine. The wine was a very drinkable house wine. The bill came to just under 25 euros for both of us. Marvellous! Need to point out that it`s not open for dinner on week nights during the winter months. - Luisa
La Lanterna, Piano di Pieve - We stayed at La Lanterna recently. The hotel and its setting are very pleasant. The reception staff most accommodating (no pun intended). The restaurant served a good menu of local dishes and the wine list was pretty good too. The restaurant staff were friendly and helpful. There is a nice-looking terrace for outside dining in the summer. Would definitely recommend both the hotel and the restaurant. - Luisa
