(5 Via Luciano Bausi in Florence, Italy)

This super-chic restaurant is tucked away inside the boutique AC Firenze on the site of the old Leop...olda station. Located near to the city's historical shopping centre and across from the Piazza di Porta al Prato, the hotel has a 70s inspired contemporary interior, and the restaurant is decorated in vanilla and mocha tones with electric blue artworks. Always filled with a fashionable Florentine crowd, the restaurant boasts a beer garden for leisurely summertime lunches and the international menu is prepared with market-fresh produce. Whether you're looking for a post-shopping pick-me-up, a quiet place for a discreet working lunch or a stylish place for a candlelit dinner, AC Firenze is ideal. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. Opening hours: Mon - Sun 12:30pm - 2:30pm & 7:30pm - 10:15pm AC Firenze is located on the site of the old Leopolda station, across from the Piazza di Porta al Prato... [moreless]

(60 Via Antonio Serra in Rome, Italy)

Red alert. The gastronomes of Rome are stampeding to Acquolina Hostaria, the newest venture of the ...brothers Troiani. For years Il Convivio Troiani has been a peak of Roman dining, and now the energetic brothers Troiani have opened this small, exclusive new place. Acquolina Hostaria is modern and elegant with some al fresco seating for typical Roman weather. The menu relies heavily on the catch of the day, featuring oysters, clams and anything that swims prepared in a mixture of classic and modern styles, including raw and sushi-style preparations. The wine list, as at Il Convivio, is absolutely huge and, at eighty percent white, very well matched to the fish dishes. Dinner only, with a tasting menu that will have you hooked. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. A credit card is required to reserve a table, if there is availability - this is simply to secure your booking, absolutely no money will be charged to the card except in the case of late cancellations. A fee of 20€ per person will be charged for a cancellation within 24 hours or for a no show Acquolina Hostaria is short cab ride from Piazza del Popolo. Opening hours: Mon - Sat 8pm - 12amSun: closed all day [moreless]

(43 Via di Ripetta in Rome, Italy)

Ad Hoc restaurant in the heart of Rome is just a few steps from the Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo... and the Via Condotti. The ground floor of a 15th century building has been transformed into this delightful – and delightfully affordable – restaurant, with travertine wainscoting, high ceilings, elegant drapes, and a mixture of Dali-esque clocks and classic prints of Rome adorning the walls. The menu uses the very finest and freshest Italian ingredients and changes frequently to reflect the seasons. Dishes include Colonnata ham with bruschetta, famous handmade pasta with white ragout, black truffle and grana cheese, classic grills, ossobuco with saffron rice, orange and Grand Marnier semifreddo. The wine list includes more than 300 labels from around the country, and service is welcoming and friendly. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. Opening hours: Closed Mon LunchOpen daily 12pm - 3pm & 6:30pm - 1am [moreless]

(366 Dorsoduro in Venice, Italy)

Ai Gondolieri restaurant in Venice is something special in the Venice dining scene – a kitchen that ...concentrates its menu on meaty dishes of the mainland rather than the typically fishy fare of most other eateries here. A short walk from the Guggenheim Museum and the Accademia (take vaporetto 1 or 82), Ai Gondolieri enjoys a magically romantic setting in a genuinely old inn with its own arched bridge over a picture-postcard canal. The dining rooms are not splashy or over-decorated, with wood panelling, modern seating, white table linens, ceiling fans. Nevertheless this place attracts the starriest visitors to Venice, from presidents to film stars. The upmarket menu changes seasonally, featuring dishes like deep-fried stuffed zucchini flowers, breaded deep-fried lamb served beautifully pink, superb steaks, excellent risotto. Your host will chat in English with you about the all-Italian menu. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. Opening hours: Wed - Mon 12pm - 3pm & 7pm - 10pm Tue: closed all day Giovanni Trevisan also runs the charming restaurant at the Guggenheim Museum. [moreless]

(4346 Corte Coppo in Venice, Italy)

Ristorante Ai Mercanti in the heart of Venice between the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco is an u...pmarket, romantic restaurant in very cool style that enjoys a high-flying gastronomic reputation. The vaulted dining room is decorated in sophisticated terracotta and black with impressive shining globe lighting. The bar is wittily decorated with dressmakers’ forms and sexy corsets – great conversation starters. The menu is classically-inspired Venetian of a high order, focusing on things from the sea and changing every two months to take advantage of the and array of the freshest ingredients in true Italian style and pastas and desserts are all made in-house. In warm weather the dining room sprawls out onto the adjoining campiello for the loveliest al fresco dining anywhere – the Venetians who crowd Ai Mercanti certainly think so. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. Opening hours: Tue - Fri 12:30pm - 3pm Mon - Fri 7pm - 11pm Sun: closed all day A great favourite of the artists and audiences of La Fenice theatre who spill in after performances [moreless]

(5094 Calle Bombaseri, San Marco in Venice, Italy)

Al Graspo de Ua restaurant lies near Venice’s famous Rialto Bridge. Al Graspo de Ua – ‘The Bunch of... Grapes’ – started as an unassuming osteria in the 19th century and blossomed into a favourite of artists and movie stars in the 1960s. It still has a loyal following of Italians and Venetians who love the typical Venetian menu, the historic dining room with its 13th century tiled floor, low beams inscribed with Venetian proverbs like ‘Bread and wine bring happiness’, the tasteful artworks, the warm welcome from Lucio Zanon, former maitre d’ of Harry’s Bar in New York. The menu includes dishes like an unmissable gran antipasto misto that may include shellfish from the lagoon lightly dressed or whatever is seasonal, cuttlefish simmered in its own ink over grilled polenta, crème fraiche ice cream on yellow fig compote. The cooking and welcome are assured and the location makes it a superb choice for entertaining guests or colleagues. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. Opening hours: Mon - Fri 12pm - 3pm & 7pm - 10:30pmSat 7pm - 10:30pm Sun: closed all day The restaurant beams are inscribed with Venetian proverbs... [moreless]

(35 Via del Vantaggio in Rome, Italy)

Just off the heaving via del Corso you will find an outpost of civility and authentic Roman feeling ...in Al Vantaggio. Founded in 1920, this traditional eaterie was originally a tavern for carriage drivers, but now has a much more comfortable ambience – half-paneled walls, 17th century style frescoes, white tablecloths, artfully folded napkins, air conditioning. Run by a pair of brothers who grew up with this restaurant and are dedicated to it, Al Vantaggio is a relaxing and elegant place to enjoy a true Roman kitchen with a few Calabrian twists. Dishes include a rather spectacular spaghetti con frutti di mare, rich oxtail stew, and home made tiramisù. Italian wines complete the picture. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. Al Vantaggio restaurant is located near Popolo Square. Opening hours: Mon: 12pm - 3pm & 7pm - 11pmWed - Sun: 12pm - 3pm & 7pm - 11pmTue: Closed Al Vantaggio has been used for filming popular Italian movies [moreless]

(1e Via Eleonora Duse in Rome, Italy)

All’Oro restaurant in Rome’s Parioli quarter north of the Villa Borghese is a news-flash addition to... the Roman dining scene. Chef Riccardo di Giacinto has worked with Europe’s hottest chefs – Ferran Adria and Marco Pierre White to name two – assimilating their perfectionist tendencies about flavour and quality. All’Oro, his first restaurant, is a tiny gem in shades of cream and gold. The décor is modern in a Pan Am, dolce vita retro kind of way, with classy dark wood tables, pale seating, cutout screens, and spotlit walls. Just sixteen dishes adorn the menu, changing all the time. Breads and puds are home made and everything exalts cooking to the highest level. Dishes might include starter of parmesan soufflé with calamari ragu and roast porcini, first course of lasagne of duck ragout with juniper berries and orange peel and formaggio ubriaco, main course of roast cod with chickpea and rosemary butter, carrot marmalade and saffron sauce, and dessert of bavarois of crema catalana with caramel sauce and chocolate cannoli. The short wine list is entirely Italian and you may find yourself greeted by di Giacinto’s beautiful fiancée, Ramona. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. A credit card is required to reserve a table, if there is availability - this is simply to secure your booking, absolutely no money will be charged to the card except in the case of late cancellations. A fee of 30€ per person will be charged for a cancellation within 2 days or for a no show Opening hours: Mon - Fri 12:30pm - 2:30pm & 7:45pm - 11pm Sat 7:45pm – 11pm Sun: closed all day Closed during the month of August [moreless]

(53 Via Giraud in Rome, Italy)

L’Altro Mastai is a fabulously chic, trendy restaurant a few steps from the Piazza Navona. This exc...iting newcomer to the Roman restaurant scene attracts a flock of beautiful people and foodies. The décor is warm and smart in cream-coloured marble, detailed with mosaics and modern art. It’s Michelin-starred, and why not? Head chef Fabio Baldassarre has worked under Raymond Blanc and Heinz Beck in the legendary La Pergola, among others. He’s a chef to watch. The cuisine is beautifully well-sourced Mediterranean with exquisite attention to detail. Seasonally changing dishes include starter of watermelon and taleggio cheese salad with macaroon syrup, first course of rabbit and endive tortelli with anchovy butter, main course of red mullet with pickles and mustard seeds, and dessert of sfogliatelle with cream, morellos and lemon sorbet. Enormous wine list, mostly Italian and French. L’Altro Mastai is also known for its service. On arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. Opening hours: Tue - Sat 7:30pm - 12am Mon - Sun: closed all day [moreless]

(29 Via del Proconsolo in Florence, Italy)

Hidden deep in the heart of Medieval Florence, Angels Restaurant and Wine Bar is a welcome surprise ...for those who need a change of historical scene. It might be a stone’s throw from the 15th century Duomo, but this futuristic restaurant is a cathedral of hip, with a mood-lit space and high vaulted ceilings that are more about martinis than the Medici. Inside, beautiful Florentine fashionistas meet at the sleek American bar to sip champagne and nibble on antipasti in a modern-day Fellini fantasy. But while the vibe - and crowd - at Angels Restaurant and Wine Bar are molto trendy, the food is still hearty enough to fill you up. The popular Sunday brunch is a spread of classic international treats such as omelettes and luscious crepes, while the restaurant’s regularly changing, seasonal lunch and dinner menu is built resolutely around the sunshine flavours of traditional Tuscan cooking. Upon arrival, please inform the restaurant that your booking was made via toptable. Opening hours: Daily12pm - 3pm & 7:30pm - 11:30pm The space age interior is hidden behind a historical façade on one of the city’s oldest streets... [moreless]