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.

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.

We ordered a couple espressos and two items that were more similar to each other than we meant them…read moreto be. My wife ordered the Prosciutto e funghi (which we now know to be tomato, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms) and I ordered the Calzone farcito (which is tomato, mozzarella, ham, artichoke, mushrooms) We should mention that neither one of us are big fans of ham and thought it was going to be like American Prosciutto, so it was quite a surprise when we saw chunks of ham covering our plates. However, the crusts and sauce were very fresh and tasty and each had an enormous plate of food for about €6, leaving us very full and satisfied. We did end up going back a couple days later for a nice dinner, and were much more successful at ordering a 1/2 Litre of wine, Risotti frutti di mare, and a Diavola pizza with spicy sausage and salami... and little cut up pieces of hot dog, that part was a bit strange. They have a really nice location and the patio area is really great.