On one of the first nights in Italy our host recommended Santa Lucia Pizzeria as a great authentic…read moreFamily Style Restaurant. We had an entire afternoon open and ventured down the street to the big yellow Pizzeria sign and gave it a try. All of the staff was very friendly and laughed with us at our lack of Italian but helped us pick a few items off the menu. We ordered a 1/2 Litre of Vino Blanco, Ravioli Pasta, Penne Pasta, and a specialty pizza. The dishes were proportioned well and full of flavor, and each was priced between €4-€7 with some easily being shared between two. We had a great experience and on our last night in Italy went back late at night for dessert and a full Litre of wine to share. The staff remembered us from the previous night and welcomed us back like family. I had a delicious ricotta cheesecake that was so fluffy and full of flavor I just savored it for an hour, and Nathan enjoyed a Tirolese; a chocolate layer cake similar to Tiramasu. We stayed there for a good amount of time just enjoying wine, dessert, and company with no rush just enjoying the Italian lifestyle for one last night.

On our last trip into the town Center we stopped for a quick and slightly rushed lunch at the Capri…read morePizzeria. We ordered a 1/2 Litre of House Barbera Wine, Asparagus Pizza with an over-easy egg in the center, and a Spinach and Ricotta Calzone called Panzerotto. The wine tasted a bit off and had an odd spritzy taste. It was the first wine we encountered that we didn't enjoy and actually thought they might have just blended a couple wrong wines together in the back. The Asparagus pizza was.. interesting. The egg was a little too well done and the asparagus was limp which made the whole pizza kind of mush together. It was still good but not the best pizza we'd had on the trip. The calzone on the other hand was amazing. So much ricotta and spinach goodness rolled up into a thin and crispy shell made perfectly. Each item was €4-€6 plenty of food to share between two.. but of course we each had our own!

Had lunch at this cute restaurant with local friends from Milan who have a place in Monferrato -…read morealways trust the locals! And it was worth it, especially because we were given a full, massive room just for ourselves. Recently renovated, it delivers great food at a leisurely pace: come here to relax, enjoy the scenery and the local delicacies, no need to be in a hurry. I recommend the mixed menu, which comes with four sections: veggie sufflè with a cheesy creamy, vitel tonné, the always excellent fassone tartare and an egg and onion quiche. At that price, it's a steal. The pastas are all home-made, and highly recommended, although I ended up ordering a tagliata while savoring a ravioli or two from my neighbors' dish. In Piedmont the cheese selection is also notable, the best way to end a meal, accompanied by the classic "grissini" (a sort of dry bread sticks). If you're in Monferrato, this is a good spot for both lunch and dinner (closed on Tue night and Wed); they don't have an outdoor space but the quality more than makes up for it. Visa credit cards are accepted. E buon appetito.