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!

I was in Lucca and stopped here for dinner. The reviews were good and the menu online showed more…read morefish being offered I thought they would have more seafood, but being in Tuscany, I realized that most places don't. That's OK. The inside was very homey and nice. The owners, I believe are a husband and wife team who are helpful. Salmon carpaccio was an appetizer special - it was excellent Swordfish for the main was a mistake. Should have stuck with a pasta. This fish looked like it was frozen and it's was fair, nothing special. Tiramisu for dessert was so good. totally made up for the swordfish. It was made fresh that day and you could tell. This and the service raised the rating from to 4.

Both the gorgonzola gnocchi and the lasagna were some of the best dishes we have had in Lucca…read more Great service and a super helpful staff

"cucina tradizionale casalingha, pasta , dolci e pane di nostra produzione cotto al forno a legna,…read morespecialita' carne alla brace e baccala', patate cotte sotto la cenere verdure grigliate ecc." one of the best restaurants in the garfagnana! i highly recommend it.

It has been a while since we came here - for no good reason. But we love it every time we go. The…read morecuisine is genuine and delicious, the staff charming and attentive, and the setting beautifully rustic. I highly recommend this restaurants. Why on earth have I not been back for a while? This omission must be rectified soon!

We were visiting Italy in April and stumbled upon Antica Locanda di Sesto. We had the pasta in the…read moreparmesan wheel and the steak cut at the table. It was literally the best meal I had in Italy. The service was great. Definitely will come back.

Following locals' suggestion we ended up at La Lira to enjoy one of the best pizza in the area. It…read moredid not disappoint but we were surprised to end up in what felt like a 'foreigners' restaurant. Very "German" but the food was very good nontheless.

La mia prima serata in Italia, visitando famiglia di mio padre, questo restaurante e stato favoloso…read moree mi hanno persino offerto pasta senza glutine

The atmosphere (namely the view) gets 10 stars. You have one of the best views of the sunset,…read morewater, and sunset in Riomaggiore. Note, from town ground level, it is a climb - 225 steps to the restaurant. The food was great, we had the spaghetti alla mari and lasagna al ragu, plus a limoncello and a local sweet wine, Sciacchetrà, which reminded us of a port but less sweet. The service was fantastic - our waitress was friendly and checked in with us occasionally which was perfect. We didn't have reservations but they kindly sat us at a table with an amazing view.

(Spring Italy Trip 2025) Remember when Frodo and Sam had to…read moreclimb the stairs of Cirith Ungol? Quite similar. I've heard about "earning your meal" by doing a workout but this was a bit extreme. First, just trying to find the bottom of the stairway was a task as every map app we used brought us to a dead end including literally a break in a wall where the tide was rolling in. So we used the Force. The Force worked. At least right up to the point where we found ourselves behind the restaurant supplier who, and I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, is using a motorized push cart with TANK tracks to bring produce, meat, drinks etc, from the bottom to the restaurant. The good news was it forced us to slow down to catch our breath. The bad news is it forced us to slow down and catch our breath. Reminded me when I'm at the gym and I'm silently cursing my trainer to hurry the F-up and get this session over with. You come to Cinque Terre and you definitely want to combine some great food with some great views. Ristorante La Torre hits both of those at a price. That price was a "I'm lost" and "I'm going to die on this path" hike up winding stairs wondering if the restaurant is ever going to appear. But its worth it. The view of Vernazza and the neighboring towns and of course the glistening Ligurian Sea are just breathtaking. There is inside dining but thankfully the weather permitted us to sit on their multilevel patio. We did opt for some shade because by the time we got up there it was a little bit of sun and my buttery body was melting. I really could have used some wine but I was dehydrated enough so skip. Service was surprisingly attentive, perhaps a nod to understanding the American tourist. Is this a touristy place? For the quality of service and food I want to say no. It has been my experience that a tourist trap sacrifices one or both. Yes I was sweaty and wondering how much will a hospital stay in Italy cost me but this was a great visit. Food: sadly, no gnocchi (which is what I zeroed in on first) related dishes that day. Maybe the ingredients were stuck in the bottom of the hill. I'd normally dock off some love but given I literally witnessed the effort to get supplies I'm not going to complain for a shortage of a dish. Fritto misto : great lightly fried batter on sardines, calamari, shrimp. Spaghetti alla Mari (seafood spaghetti): perfectly cooked pasta with generous amount of shrimp, langostino, calamari in a simple olive oil and garlic sauce. Tagliolino all' Aragostella (taglino with lobster): again perfect al dente pasta in a pomodoro sauce Pasta (forget which style substituted for said absent gnocchi) in pesto. Simple and comforting. All the food was super fresh and tasty Oh and downhill was easy.

Reasonable, price fix dinner, delightful patio seating. Courses were just right and white wine was…read moreexceptional. (Red was fine) The sauerkraut and eggplant starter was excellent. Then toast with toppings (sausage delicious) then salami and fried buns ( so good!) , main was thinnest slices of moist pork and sautéed vegetables, ended with a wonderful chocolate custard pie. The view from the patio was wonderful, watched the sun go down. Ample Parking on street below restaurant. Owner and waitress took great care of our large group. Make a reservation, but we saw walk ins too. Worth the short drive up the hill!

We both enjoyed the meal, and the host, our waiter. He brought us expertly prepared local dishes of…read morethe region. The Lucca wine was perfect. You order by the half litre for two, full litre for four. This meal is $20E per person and $5E more for wine per person. The road from Lucca is windy and narrow' , don't doubt yourself it is seemingly out of the way and makes you feel lost' , keep going, well worth it. Great ambiance and served family style. No menus, trust them for an excellent meal. Meat dishes were tender and tasty, local produce prepared with flavor and zest, the bread pillows (what we called them), out of this world! Rosie's dessert was superb and quite surprising, all in all a 5 star find!

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.