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Find the greatest dishes in Lucca, Italy

Find the greatest dishes in Lucca, Italy

by George Black
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Table of contents

  • 1. Brioches for breakfast
  • 2. Gnocchi to kickstart the appetite
  • 3. Crostini to feel the taste
  • 4. Focaccia to go further
  • 5. Carpaccio to remember the classics
  • 6. Ravioli to remember the classics
  • 7. Lasagna to go real heavy
  • 8. Spaghetti carbonara to top it all off
  • 9. Biscotti to bring it home
  • 10. Gelato to end on a high note
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The fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea nourished by the Serchio River has always provided for the people of the part of Tuscany where Lucca is located. The city itself is known as one of the Italian's "Città d'arte" or "towns of art", thanks to its intact Renaissance-era city walls, and Its very well-preserved historic buildings. This reputation is cemented by the fact that Lucca is the birthplace of numerous world-class composers, including Giacomo Puccini, Alfredo Catalani, and Luigi Boccherini. A city like that is very attractive to visitors, and visitors need to eat as much as locals. So, good food is naturally in abundance.

1. Brioches for breakfast
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Pasticceria Sandra Bianchi
#19 of 94 restaurants with desserts in Lucca, Italy
Via Borgo Giannotti, 391, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Closed until tomorrow
Brioches
Brioches

Brioche is a French slightly sweet bread, enriched with butter and eggs. Brioches can be plain or baked with different types of filling, like foie gras, sausage, vanilla cream or jam.

Starting this list is like starting the day, it's important to pick the right meal and find the best taste to accompany you. In this case, the French influence of brioches is a very good choice. A brioche is a bread whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. The resulting product has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing. Brioches are often cooked with fruit or chocolate chips and served on its own, or as the basis of a dessert with many local variations in added ingredients, fillings or toppings.

Pasticceria Sandra is a good place to start.

2. Gnocchi to kickstart the appetite
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Osteria da Pasqualino Gubitosa
#3 of 617 pubs & bars in Lucca, Italy
Via del Moro, 8, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Open until 10:30PM
Gnocchi
Gnocchi

Gnocchi are small Italian dumplings made of wheat flour, eggs and cooked potatoes. The ingredients are mixed, rolled into logs, cut into small pieces and then boiled. Optionally, pumpkin and spinach can be added to the mixture. The dish appeared in the 16th century when potatoes were imported from America.

Instead of going all in right away, we'll try to ease our way into the tastiest parts of Italian cuisine in Lucca. This means that smaller pleasantries like gnocchi are next on the menu. "Gnocchi" is the umbrella term for a sort of dumplings made of small lumps of dough composed of semolina, ordinary wheat flour, egg, cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, cornmeal or similar ingredients. In Tuscany, there's a variation called malfatti made with ricotta, flour and spinach, as well as various other herbs.

Osteria da Pasqualino Gubitosa is a good establishment with a good location to continue the path.

3. Crostini to feel the taste
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Da Rosolo
#24 of 455 Italian restaurants in Lucca, Italy
Corte Campana, 3, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Closes soon: 9:30PM
Crostini
Crostini

It's a well-known Italian starter consisting of small slices of lightly fried or toasted garlic bread and a variety of toppings. Crostini can be slathered with olive oil and topped with tomatoes, fresh basil, tangy cheese or meat. This appetizer is usually served with soups.

Continuing with the small but pleasant things, it's time to remember one of the most famous appetizers to come from Italy. Crostini consists of small slices of grilled or toasted bread and toppings that usually include a variety of different cheeses, meats, vegetables, and condiments. Alternatively, there's always the simple option with a brush of olive oil and herbs or a sauce. The recipe is centuries old, and many tricks have been invented by Italian chefs over time to perfect crostini.

Da Rosolo is said to have some good crostini.

4. Focaccia to go further
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Forno a vapore Amedeo Giusti
#1 of 455 Italian restaurants in Lucca, Italy
Via Santa Lucia, 20, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Closed until tomorrow
Focaccia
Focaccia

It's traditional Italian flat oven-baked bread that is cooked in flat sheet pans, flavoured with olive oil and rosemary and topped with herbs and vegetables. Focaccia is regarded as a pizza's precursor. It derives from the Latin word 'focacia' which means 'hearth' or 'fireside'.

We've been talking about various starters and appetizers, but the meat of the issue is ahead. So, while we're moving toward meat, why not to talk about bread. The flat bread popular in Italy is focaccia, that's often called "white pizza" because its structure is so similar to the number one Italian food. Focaccia can be served as a side dish or as sandwich bread, and it can be round, rectangular, or square. You can add almost anything to the flat bread and create a dish that has some uniqueness.

Forno a vapore Amedeo Giusti is a good place to start taking food a little more seriously.

5. Carpaccio to remember the classics
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Buca di Sant'Antonio
#3 of 746 restaurants in Lucca, Italy
Via della Cervia, 3, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Closes soon: 10PM
Carpaccio
Carpaccio

It's an Italian appetizer made from thinly sliced raw meat or fish, drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil and served with onions and capers. Carpaccio was introduced in Venice in 1950. A restaurant owner cooked it for a countess who couldn't eat boiled meat for medical reasons.

The next lighter offering on our list is a tale worth repeating. Every food aficionado knows the story how carpaccio was conceptualized and invented based on the Piedmont speciality carne cruda all'albese. It happened in 1963, and the creator was Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice. The formula comprises beef, veal, venison, salmon or tuna, thinly sliced or pounded thin, and served raw. Over time, fish and other products have been adopted into the recipe.

Buca di Sant'Antonio is the place to try it.

6. Ravioli to remember the classics
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Antica Locanda di Sesto
#1 of 746 restaurants in Lucca, Italy
Via Ludovica, 1660, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Closes soon: 10PM
Ravioli
Ravioli

This dish dates back to the 14th century Venus and means 'to wrap'. It's a type of dumplings and it's pasta in the form of small dough cases with a savory filling - meat, cheese or vegetables. Ravioli are usually served with broth or sauce.

Yet another relatively lightweight dish is a bit more serious this time. Everyone probably knows ravioli as the market-sold frozen kind of food exported and made according to the original technology. However, only a real Italian restaurant can make ravioli right and make sure that the pasta comprises a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough and is combined with the right sauces to enhance the original formula. Traditional ravioli are made at home. The filling varies according to the area where they are prepared.

Antica Locanda di Sesto is the place to choose here.

7. Lasagna to go real heavy
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Pizzicheria La Grotta
Via Calderia, 18, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Closed
Lasagna
Lasagna

This traditional Italian dish comes from Bologna and it seems the oldest type of pasta. Lasagna is stacked layers of wide and flat pasta and a variety of other ingredients, including sauce, vegetables, cheese, meat, etc. The word 'lasagna' refers to a pot where this dish was cooked.

Here's the classic food that finally lets us lean more heavily on the food side of things. Lasagna is not the lightest of meals since it's made of stacked layers of the lasagna pasta alternating with fillings such as ragu, vegetables, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan, as well as a combination of seasonings and spices that can be standard or invented by the chef of a place that really knows how to make the dish. Of course, this is also accounting for the regional variations.

Pizzicheria La Grotta is the spot to try in this case.

8. Spaghetti carbonara to top it all off
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Osteria San Giorgio
#12 of 455 Italian restaurants in Lucca, Italy
Via S. Giorgio, 26, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Open until 10:30PM
Spaghetti carbonara
Spaghetti carbonara

It's a classic Italian pasta made of spaghetti or other long pasta, guanciale or pancetta, parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper. Carbonara means 'in the manner of coal miners'. There are different theories for its origin. The dish could be the main meal for charcoal workers or just the black pepper flecks look like coal dust against the creamy pasta.

Of course, this list was impossible without spaghetti. At least we avoided pizza, but pasta has always been associated with Italian cuisine, so it's only natural that both the locals and the guests of the city of arts would love some spaghetti carbonara. As always, one must remember that the trick for this dish is in the proper balance of eggs, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper. Normally, guanciale or pancetta are used for the meat component.

Osteria San Giorgio would be a good choice.

9. Biscotti to bring it home
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Caffè Santa Zita - Biscotteria In Lucca
#153 of 533 cafes in Lucca, Italy
Piazza S. Frediano, 16, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Closed until tomorrow
Biscotti
Biscotti

Biscotti, or cantucci, are popular Italian almond biscuits that are twice-baked and crunchy. They trace back to Ancient Rome when they were so popular among soldiers and travelers. Biscotti are made without eggs and fat and they can be stored for a long time.

Since we're nearing the end of the list, we should probably bring up the famous almond biscuits that originated in the Tuscan city of Prato. Biscotti has that homely look if made right, so it is recommended to try it with an accompanying drink and in the appropriate atmosphere. Traditionally in Italy, biscotti di Prato are sold together with another sweet speciality of Prato, the bruttiboni. Today the regional variations of the original are still adhered to, but the modern mass-manufactured biscotti are in fact closer to cantuccini, variations of biscotti.

Caffè Santa Zita is a wonderful place for biscotti.

10. Gelato to end on a high note
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La Bottega del Gelato
Via Santa Croce 87, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, 55100
Closed
Gelato
Gelato

It's traditional Italian ice cream acknowledged to be one of the best frozen desserts in the world. Gelato was introduced by the Italian chef in Paris in 1600. This dessert contains 3.25% milk and sugar. It has a lower percentage of fat and less air, that's why it boasts of a richer texture.

Most of the food that we've been talking about has been hot to one degree or another. The ending, however, should be a little more on the cool side. In Lucca, people love their gelato, both in classic low-cal variations and with different additions to the formula. Traditional flavours of gelato consist of vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut, almond, pistachio, custard, and stracciatella. More modern flavours include raspberry, strawberry, apple, lemon, pineapple, and several others.

La Bottega del Gelato is a rather obvious choice.

Old-school atmosphere, classic Italian architecture, and an ambience full of music and creativity - just the right place to enjoy classic Italian food. Enjoy Lucca as much as you can!

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