I can confirm what has already been posted here. Yes, it is hard to find (look for the Hausbrandt…read moresign, see pic). Yes, there is in fact a grandma cooking the food (just as Jeff J. said, two in fact). Yes, the food is amazing. Maybe the reason this place is so hard to find is that it is a hidden gem that feels so authentic that you only hear whispers about it. But it is real folks. We started our meal with the fried polenta with ragu. The combination is a meal in itself. You can tell the ragu was fresh and well made because you could see the chunky bits of garlic, mushrooms and meat. The next course was the lasgna. It was rich with the ragu and ricotta. The noodles tasted homemade. It was a delicious dish blessed by a nonna. The last course was the steak Florentine. You can order it by weight. My conversion math may have been off because we got a HUGE cut of porterhouse. But it was absolutely tender and delicious. We enjoyed this delight to the bone. The service was exceptional. We were the only non-Italian folks in the restaurant but we were treated like family. I will also add that while I enjoyed our food selection, I noticed that the pizzas and pork/veal shank were also very popular and looked incredibly appetizing. My only regret is that we found this gem of a restaurant on our last night in Barga. I wish I had more time to taste more of the menu. The family owns another restaurant in Lucca (la Donna Clara) and one that's 3 km away that does seafood.

Writing this review is ridiculously painful because figuring out how we got there and its address…read morewas impossible. Their "webpage" is on Facebook, but their address on Facebook is inaccurate (stating that it's in Lucca city). On the receipt, there are two addresses, their page on TripAdvisor is matches one of the address on the receipt. When I put down the address here, the location on Yelp doesnt seem right. I tried to Google Map this place, but street images were taken in 2011, and this place wasnt opened yet. Long story short, we were driving down from Renaissance Tuscany Il ciocco resort on the SP20 looking for a restaurant, and happened to turn into this one off the side. It seemed like a traditional Italian restaurant you see on TV with cozy red chequered table cloths, a wood fire oven, and ladies behind the counter busy making pizza and pasta for you. We ordered a 4 seasons pizza (6EUR) and a personal sized lasagna (8EUR) - both of which came out of the wood oven! It was so delicious. We came in just before noon and there was only one other table filled but as we were leaving this place filled almost to the max and when we were driving out, people were waiting for our parking spot! WIth a beer and capuccion, our total was only 18.50 for too and we were so full.We really felt it was traditional Italian home cooking - awesome comfort food. We are still wishing to go back!

A very lovely spot located on a beautiful street. The mista salad was only fair because of the…read morebitter greens they incorporated into it. The pizza was good but not great and the Branzino was dry. Service was so so, we had to fetch the waiter to take our order. If we had had a great experience we would of course come back tomorrow.

Pretty decent but not over the top good authentic Italian. It tasted more commercialized than…read moreauthentic...especially the pasta.

This was an amazing meal. The best lunch we had on vacation (we only went out for lunch)!! This is…read morea beautiful restaurant in an old building. They do have outdoor seating but we loved eating indoors with the cooling effect of the stone building. The service was outstanding!! They had a pre fixed meal but we opted for a la carte. We loved the sparkling wine we started with. It was a brut nature. There were 4 of us so we just shared everything. We started with the prawn carpaccio, it was amazing!! Everything we ordered was delicious but our hands down favorite was the black truffle ravioli. The rabbit tortellini had a lovely red sauce and I don't even like red sauce! It was so good!! That was our second favorite. The pappardella was the last to come out and it was also amazing. The gnocchi was tender and delicious as well. The seafood in it was tender and perfectly cooked. While we may have had favorites it did not decrease the deliciousness of every single thing we ate!! We only ordered one main, and it was the best duck breast we've ever had anywhere!! We also ordered two desserts, which were great. One was a deconstructed tiramisu and the other a pistachio semifreddo. Highly recommend this restaurant for service and food!!

Amazing food! We had the spaghetti with seafood and the octopus. Thus far, this is the best…read morerestaurant we've had in La Spezia.

We had lunch at L'Incontro after visiting the Ferrari Museum, as it was very convenient. A short…read morefour minute walk. We arrived right around noon when it opens (beware on kin says that it opens at 11:30 am which is not accurate). Make sure you arrive before 12:30 because the restaurant suddenly fills up around this time. The atmosphere and service were very similar - no frills, but perfectly adequate. My dining companions all had pizza, which they report was very good. No complaints. I ordered a very basic chicken breast and French fries. It was nothing special, but that's exactly why I ordered it. I was looking for something uncomplicated and simple. This was a perfectly nice spot for lunch after visiting the museum, but I'd recommend arriving before 12:30 pm to beat the rush.

After an exciting visit at the Ferrari Museum, the nine of us had worked up an appetite! My husband…read morecalled the restaurant, to see if they could take our large number and they said they could- they were setting up our table as we got there. We had the best lunch- from the Caprese salad, to the different pastas and pizzas (not pictured) we had - all delicioso! Our waitress was very helpful, she helped us pick out a white wine that we loved, and was very friendly! I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you are in the area.

This is the second time we have been and every time the food and service are excellent. Grazie…read moremille. The Ferrari memorabilia that fills the walls are reminders of the glory days of Ferrari racing.

We were in Maranello to do a Ferrari tour and stumbled upon this cute unique restaurant. It was…read morefabulous. The interior is interesting with all kinds of racing memorabilia. We were fortunate to get a table without a reservation. There were many locals having lunch. The service was outstanding as in a 5 Star restaurant. The food was wonderful. We ate too much and had wished we saved room for dessert. They had a dessert cart and everything looked fresh and delicious.

The perfect trattoria in THE PLACE where the cult Italian movies "Peppone e Don Camillo" were…read moreshot... Brescello di Reggio Emilia. The place is family owned and run according to the best Italian tradition for trattoria. Super friendly and smiling people all over giving you any advice about the super delicious traditional food you are going to order. Starter with prosciutto, culatello, salame and pancetta is a must. Deliciousness for your taste buds and wow, how good was that piece of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese..... wooooooo!!! My first main dish was Tortelli di Zucca (pumpkin kind of ravioli) served with a very local soffritto sauce. Woooooooooooooooo!!! The capelletti were also super good and really like my mother's.... Yesssss!!! I stopped here but the second dishes were all super ones. Ok, nothing dietary or vegetarian, but this is all about super traditional tastes and super comforting northern Italian food. Like being on a Christmas banquet :) Local Lambrusco red wine is the one to drink. Nothing else. Rustic but so fitting the taste. I could not refrain from tasting the dessert and I went for Zuppa Inglese, can.t translate, but if you never got it..... you definitely miss something delicious. Espresso of course and yes, grab the bottle of Nocino to sip this Amaro while you chit chat and end this spectacular dining experience. So, tradition with real care to great tastes enhanced from "you are guest at my home" type of welcoming atmosphere. Not expensive. Book in advance as the place is small and can get crowded. Ohh, I did not mention, all over the walls pictures and posters from the cult Italian movies I mentioned earlier. They are proud of them, and so it should be :)

Amazing Place! Charming atmosphere and the food is so good!…read moreI suggest to everybody the "Ravioli alla Bottarga" dish, because it's wonderful! I will surely go back very soon!

What a marvelous evening! The setting is beautiful, the food exquisite and the staff extremely…read morefriendly and willing to extend themselves to bridge the language gap between us who don't speak Italian and them who don't speak English. We felt very welcome, receiving unasked for extras.

It was an amazing meal from a visual and sensory perspective. Each dish is a painting that is…read moreserved and evolves on your plate through color and space. The staff nicely explains each dish and the background of its story. You receive a printed card showcasing the story and theme before the meal (in our case misery and nobility), then a copy of the printed menu, and a separate menu with the substitution if you have a dietary restriction. I didn't know they had an extensive kitchen and staff of 65 that works on the preparations and execution behind the scenes. It was definitely the most expensive fine dining experience in Europe, possibly the most expensive restaurant in Italy. But it was worth trying it. Very different from the Paul Bocuse experience, and different from Japanese fine dining too.

Wow, wow, wow! Had the most amazing dining experience at O.F to celebrate my 10 year anniversary…read morewith my husband. Service was top notch, the food was perfectly presented and everything we were served was divine. I am still dreaming about this meal and also meeting Chef Massimo and his lovely wife Lara. Hoping to return for another special occasion one day soon. Molto bene!

The food, service, and atmosphere of this place are absolutely amazing. One of the owners, Raluca,…read moreserved us and answered our many questions about Montecatini Alto - she is the sweetest! If you have a chance head up to the second floor (bathroom is there too) and check out the view from the balcony! This place was one of the highlights of our trip and we hope to visit again and take one of the cooking classes they offer!

Lovely setting, with small rooms that make the place so charming. The meal was great, homemade…read morepastas. Very attentive staff. They offer an extensive wine list.