Gambero Rosso 2007

[fortedei]

The Gambero Rosso came out yesterday. All the usual suspects. In order:Gambero Rosso,Vissani,La Pergola, Pescatore, Calandre, Cracco Peck, Don Alfonso, Pinchiorri, Saracino, Laite, Madonnina del Pescatore, Perbellini, Antonello Colonna. Good list for foreigners to go to.

The Tre Gamberi list is fantastic. Good list for Italians to go to.

The hotel and restaurant business is facing tough times in Italy. Many restaurateurs are complaining (bitterly). Quite easy to get a table at what were in the past "difficult reservations." Business at upscale hotels was very poor this past year. Interesting times!

[hathor]

The hotel and restaurant business is facing tough times in Italy. Many restaurateurs are complaining (bitterly). Quite easy to get a table at what were in the past "difficult reservations." Business at upscale hotels was very poor this past year. Interesting times!

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Ciao Fortedei. What's your take on why the restaurant/hotel business is so off? Just curious what you think, I don't think its just economic reasons.

[MMerrill]

Does anyone have the list of new "oscar for quality and price" restaurants?

[fortedei]

The hotel and restaurant business is facing tough times in Italy. Many restaurateurs are complaining (bitterly). Quite easy to get a table at what were in the past "difficult reservations." Business at upscale hotels was very poor this past year. Interesting times!

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Ciao Fortedei. What's your take on why the restaurant/hotel business is so off? Just curious what you think, I don't think its just economic reasons.

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Again, I was referring to "high end" restaurants and hotels... high end meaning expensive. From what I've in the past five and a half months in Italy and heard anecdotally from friends of mine who are in that group of restaurants, there are fewer and fewer Italians willing to spend 150 plus euros per person on a meal EXCEPT for important business occasions (where bella figura is key) or special family occasions (if I may disagree with you a bit... I think a lot of it has to do with business conditions in Italy which are not good). Much of the business in these places is from foreigners and at the margin there were fewer of them this year than last, not only Americans, but the Germans and British as well. From what I've heard, the hotel business in keys resorts was off not just a little this year, but very substantially.

It was very noticeable in the town I live in, both in THE restaurant (the only really expensive one in town) and in the hotel traffic of the four very upscale hotels.

[Culinista]

An Italian friend visiting London was also talking about the economic crisis in Italy at the high end this week. Given the miserable meals we had at Vissani and EP, some places have only themselves to blame.

We ate wonderfully at Gambero Rosso, however. Up and down at Cracco Peck, OK at Heinz Beck. Don Alfonso has been sadly slipping in execution but not in hospitality, and Saracino was a bit lackluster but solid. The Tre Gamberi list is much more reliable.

I'm mystified by the rating of Vissani, as well as rave reviews from trusted friends. Maybe my only chance to eat well there is to go with the director of Gambero Rosso. He is, by the way, Italian, but I think he feels that traditional Italian food is in need of "updating." This may explain a lot.

[kkwchan]

Anyone can tell me how to make reservation in Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo for February?

I visited their website and cannot find the restaurant info. I called few times... but we are having trouble in communication... he doesn't quite understand my English and I don't understand his Italian. He mentioned Fax, but I don't use fax. Is there an email?

[Ore]

Can you please post the results for La Locanda di Bu in Nusco (AV) (Campania) as well as La Maschera in Avellino. Thanks.

Ore

[Leslie]

Anyone can tell me how to make reservation in Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo for February?

I visited their website and cannot find the restaurant info.  I called few times... but we are having trouble in communication... he doesn't quite understand my English and I don't understand his Italian.  He mentioned Fax, but I don't use fax.  Is there an email?

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[Leslie]

Anyone can tell me how to make reservation in Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo for February?

I visited their website and cannot find the restaurant info.  I called few times... but we are having trouble in communication... he doesn't quite understand my English and I don't understand his Italian.  He mentioned Fax, but I don't use fax.  Is there an email?

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Seven years of booking at Gambero Rosso convinces me that the least stressful way for the non-Italian-fluent to book is via fax. It's always worked for us. Just remember to reconfirm (we do it by phone--or your hotel will do it for you) a day or two before.

[Leslie]

Anyone can tell me how to make reservation in Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo for February?

I visited their website and cannot find the restaurant info.  I called few times... but we are having trouble in communication... he doesn't quite understand my English and I don't understand his Italian.  He mentioned Fax, but I don't use fax.  Is there an email?

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Seven years of booking at Gambero Rosso convinces me that the least stressful way for the non-Italian-fluent to book is via fax. It's always worked for us. Just remember to reconfirm (we do it by phone--or your hotel will do it for you) a day or two before.

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To kkwchan: So sorry that you are having trouble booking at Gambero Rosso. Not to be presumptuous, but are you certain that you have their correct contact information? To my knowledge, i signori Pierangelini eschew the web, so if you have found a web site, it may be for one of the many other eating places in Italy with the same name (some of them quite good in their own right, particularly Locanda Gambero Rosso in Bagno di Romagna). But I digress. The most accurate sources of contact information are the Michelin Red Guide and Ristoranti di Italia. They normally close during the winter months, so if you have tried contacting them during that time, your communication could have gone astray. The many times we have been there, la signora Pierangelini is very busy not only attending to the dining room but also the bookings. If your repeated attempts at direct communication have not been successful, then I suggest that you contact your hotel (I'm assuming you are a visitor to Italy, or to the Tuscan coast)--your concierge should be more than capable of booking a table for you. Just remember to reconfirm the day before.

I do wish you luck. Despite the bashing that this restaurant sometimes endures, in our experience it has always lived up to our expectations and often exceeded them. We are not "special people" but we have always been treated with warmth and hospitality, not only by the owners and staff, but also by fellow diners.

And the food? Well, the pigeon alone is worth the trek, year in and year out. And when we want to salivate on the keyboard, we bring up our pictures of last year's chef's menu (not the degustazione--the full blown "sorpesa" with an added course or pigeon)--to us, worth every Euro.

As for wine selection, steer clear of the obvious (if excellent) selections and be guided by la signora--she has led us to many excellent and (relatively) affordable wines from the immediate area. Some have become favorites that we seek out in the U.S.

Edited April 29, 2008 by Leslie (log)