Italy

Possibly the best seafood restaurant in Rome, the cuisine at La Rosetta is world-class. A selection of marinated seafood appetizers, such as squid with ginger and French beans, is the best way to appreciate the flavours, followed by one of the superb pasta dishes dressed with fish or seafood. The menu includes almost every type of Mediterranean fish, grilled or roasted to perfection, and desserts such as the ricotta cheesecake with honey are worth saving space for. Reservations essential. Open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday.

Food Type :Seafood

Address :Via della Rosetta 8 (Piazza Navona)

Website :www.larosetta.com

This sophisticated rooftop restaurant boasts a spectacular view of the city below, and has an elegant setting with candlelit tables and impeccable service. Many Roman food critics claim it is the best restaurant in the city, which is attested to by a list of regulars that includes Prince Rainier of Monaco, Bruce Springsteen and Glenn Close. Food is the very best of Mediterranean haute cuisine and each dish is a work of art in presentation and taste. A sundowner at the chic cocktail bar is a fine way to start the evening. Reservations essential. Closed Sunday and Monday. Dinner only.

Food Type :Mediterranean

Address :Hilton Hotel, Via Cadlolo 101, San Pietro

Website :www.romecavalieri.com/lapergola.php

Small, unpretentious and serving top-quality Roman cuisine, Ai Tre Scalini is one of the nicest restaurants in the area close to the Colosseum. The small menu is a gourmet experience, from the cheeses and salamis to porchetta, complemented by the wide variety of wines on offer. Reservations required. Closed Mondays. Open from 6pm.

Food Type :Italian

Address :ViaPanisperna

Oozing with old-fashioned romance and elegance coupled with breathtaking views across St Mark's Square, Ristorante Quadri lays it on thick when it comes to fine dining and style. Try the steamed Sea-bass in rosemary flavour with vegetable ratatouille or the lamb cutlets and loin flavoured with thyme and parsley and seved with a foundant of potato and eggplant. This restaurant might be perceived as being kitsch, but it definitely doesn't disappoint. Open daily, closed on Mondays between 1 November and 31 March. Reservations essential.

Food Type :International

Address :Piazza San Marco 120

Website :www.quadrivenice.com

Enjoy sitting outside on a starry night, taking in a beautiful view of the Giudecca from the deck at Lineadombra, one of Venice's most modern restaurants. The bass fillet with potatoes and vanilla perfume comes highly recommended.

Food Type :Mediterranean

Address :Ponte dellUmilta, Dorsoduro, 19

Website :www.ristorantelineadombra.com

Popular with tourists and featuring grand paintings that occupy entire walls, Persian carpets and beautiful views onto the square of the Fenice Theatre, Antico Martini is one of the oldest restaurants in Venice, steeped in almost 300 years' history. The superb cuisine will not disappoint and is always made from the freshest ingredients. Open daily from 11.30am to 11.30pm. Reservations essential.

Food Type :Venetian

Address :Campo San Fantin (on the same square as La Fenice opera house)

Website :www.anticomartini.com

This bustling seafood eatery serves some of the most authentic Venetian cuisine and for the right price. Locals and tourists alike flock to this restaurant for delicious pastas, seafood and other mouth-watering Italian fare. Even in off-season there can be a waiting list. Open from Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. Closed Mondays. Reservation recommended.

Food Type :Seafood

Address :Castello 4625, Salizzada San Provolo

Located away from Venice's tourist hubs, you know Alla Vedova must be good because this is where all the locals eat. With marble counters, charismatic furniture, a cosy atmosphere and some of the tastiest Venetian cuisine in town, diners can feast on dishes such as the delicately grilled cuttlefish cicchetti, pastisso de radicio rosso(lasagna with sausage, radicchio, and béchamel sauce).

Food Type :Italian

Address :Calle del Pistor, Cannaregio

Located in Calle Vallaresso, this elegant restaurant belongs to the Hotel Monaco and Grand Canal, and serves traditional Venetian cuisine, including seafood and fresh vegetables. Celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been spotted dining here and, only a few metres from the Vaporetto stop, the location is both convenient and appealing, with a very romantic terrace to sit on.

Food Type :Local

Address :Hotel Monaco, Calle Vallaresso, 1325

Website :www.hotelmonaco.it/

The airy spaciousness of this Venetian restaurant, owned by the local Rossi family, coupled with its wonderfully varied menu creates a wonderful dining experience. Located in the heart of the city's Jewish 'Ghetto' of the Cannaregio district, this eatery is popular with both locals and tourists alike. Try the delicious homemade pastas with mouth-watering sauces, or the gondola,fish baked with tomatoes, olives, capers, potatoes, and white wine in parchment paper and then folded to look like a gondola. Indoor and outdoor dining available. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Food Type :Venetian

Address :Campo del Ghetto Novo, Canareggio 2888

With small tables dotted along the banks of a canal, this trattoria serves simple, hearty and unfussy fare. Guests can sample some Triestino cuisine by starting off with a mixed platter of cured meats called salumi friuliani,from the region famous for the most delicate prosciutto in Italy and the minestrone soup is to-die-for. Other favourites are Triestino sarde in saor(vinegar-kissed fried sardines) and for the carnivores, the manzo in salsa verde(beef in a herb sauce). Closed Sundays for dinner. Reservations recommended.

Food Type :Italian

Address :Ripa di Porta Ticinese 23

Website :www.trattoriaponterosso.it

One of Milan's most popular pizzerias is bustling from early dinnertime until the night owls pop by for a late-night snack. The restaurant exudes a wonderfully rustic ambience with exposed copper pipes tracing across the ceilings of rooms overflowing with laughter and long, raucous tables. The wood oven pizzas are excellent while the menu of pastas and meat dishes is equally appetising. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Reservations recommended.

Food Type :Pizzeria

Address :Via E. De Amicis 22

Website :www.premiatapizzeriamilano.it

Giorgio Armani and other trendy fashionistas frequent Da Giacomo restaurant, and its elegant dining area was put together by world-famous interior designer Renzo Mongiardino. The menu features a selection of traditional Tuscan cuisine such as grilled turbot, or linguini with scampi and zucchini flowers. Open for lunch and dinner daily, reservations essential.

Food Type :Italian

Address :Via Pascale Sottocorno, 6

Website :www.giacomomilano.com

Established in 1933 and located down a narrow lane in one of the oldest sections of the city, the Trattoria Milanese has a three-beamed ceiling sheltering its long, communal tables. Serving traditional local cuisine such as risotto alla Milanese, with saffron and beef marrow, and an excellent minestrone soup, this is a favourite with locals. Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner, and Monday for dinner only, reservations essential.

Food Type :Local

Address :Via le Gorizia

Website :www.trattoriamilanese.com

Linked to the Peck Store, adorned with beautifully modern décor and with masterchef Carlo Cracco at the helm, this is a fantastic choice for a night of fine dining. Serving first class starters and mouth-watering mains, this restaurant was voted one of the world's top 50 by Restaurant Magazine.Open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday. Saturday the restaurant is open for dinner only. Closed on Sundays.

Food Type :International

Address :Via Victor Hugo 4

Website :www.ristorantecracco.it

This eatery is the place to be seen! As part of a worldwide chain of exceptional restaurants, this is where food fanatics can sample such famous dishes as black cod in misu sauce, as well as sushi and sashimi, while sipping on sake with gold leaf. Closed for Sunday lunch. Reservations essential.

Food Type :Asian

Address :Armani World, Via Manzoni 31

Website :www.noburestaurants.com/milan/experience

Famous for its Neapolitan pizzas topped with the freshest selection of seafood, such as clams, mackerel, mussels and sardines, Anema e Cozze is a firm favourite in this neighbourhood. It may not be Milan's most stylish restaurant, but it serves tasty affordable food and the fish infused pastas and other antipasti are also delicious. Bookings advisable.

Food Type :Italian

Address :Via Palermo, 15

Website :www.milanomia.com/anemaecozze.htm

This authentically Venician restaurant is famous for its great wine selection from the Veneto region and for its flagship dish, cicchetti(Italian tapas) made up of wedges of Mortadella sausage speared with curly, piquant Tuscan peppers and crostini topped with creamy tuna and shredded leeks. Cantinone-già Schiavi's lively atmosphere and warm and friendly locals is what Venice dining is all about. Travellers will love the food, prices and authentic Italian cuisine at one of Venice's best kept secrets. Closed on Sundays.

Food Type :Italian

Address :992 Fondamenta San Trovaso, near the Accademia Bridge

Not somewhere many tourists would know about, unless escorted here by a local, La Cantina is run and owned by the passionate Francesco who is temperamental yet obsessive about food. Come here for some indulgent and lip-smacking crostini piled with tongue, chopped pickle, smoked ricotta and layers of fresh horseradish shavings, washed down with a glass of local wine. Open when the owner feels like it - usually closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Food Type :Italian

Address :Campo San Felice (Strada Nuova), Cannaregio

This cosy pizzeria is located alongside the canal where diners can pull their boats in, sit under an umbrella at a shady table and feast on homemade crusted pies filled with roasted figs and prosciutto, among other exotic flavour combinations. Open for lunch and dinner from April to October. Closed for lunch on Mondays.

Food Type :Pizzeria

Address :1459 Santa Croce, Campo San Giacomo dallOrio

Widely recognised as Florence's most famous restaurant, the stylish décor and innovative Tuscan cuisine intertwined with subtle notes of French cuisine make dining here an experience to remember. Start with a poached egg with cauliflower, crispy bread and pancetta with black truffle before moving on to a mouth-watering rack of lamb with garlic and herbs served with Jerusalem artichokes and mint. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday. Bookings recommended.

Food Type :Italian

Address :Via Ghibellina 87

Website :www.enotecapinchiorri.it

One of Florence's little treasures, this family-run trattoria has been serving local Florentines for over 30 years. Try the pesto spaghetti or spinach ravioli to start, before diving into the tasty beef stefado with potatoes and Osso Buco (veal crosscut shin) cooked in tomato and served with mashed potato, or the tender stewed rabbit with a side of grilled vegetables. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Food Type :Italian

Address :69/71 Via Palazzulol

Website :www.trattoriailcontadino.com/index.html

A fabulous place in central Florence, Ristorante Celestino serves a mouthwatering array of traditional Tuscan dishes. With candlelit dinners in a picturesque courtyard, this restaurant is a must for any visitor to Florence. Start with the Tuscany Salami and polenta canapés or a tortellini soup before moving on to freshly made pasta or Florence style crepes with buffalo mozzarella. The Risotto with champagne and porcini mushrooms is delectable, and the option of adding a truffle to your meal is not to be missed. Their menu has a wide selection of meat and fish dishes and a whole page dedicated to cheese as well as desserts such as chocolate truffle, green apple sorbet or gelato. Closed on Sundays.

Food Type :Local

Address :Piazza S. Felicita

Website :www.ristorantecelestino.it

No trip to Italy is complete without pizza. Florence has a wide selection of pizzerias but Da Tito I Peccati di Gola Pizzeria takes the cake. This funky restaurant has a vast selection of pizzas and a piping hot clay oven. Be sure to try the simple Amon with porcini and prosciutto or the Caprese with buffalo mozzarella and rocket leaves.

Food Type :Pizzeria

Address :Via Francesco Baracca 145

Website :www.datitoipeccatidigola.it