A new restaurant for Bagni di Lucca

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Debra Kolkka

Bagni di Lucca has a new restaurant, La Tana del Ghiro. It is not far from the pedestrian bridge from La Villa…on the opposite side of the river from the town.

The interior is pleasantly furnished.

All the food is prepared from local produce. We were delighted with our selections.

Bread, hot from the oven. It is a pizza base with oil and herbs.

…and regular bread.

Antipasti.

Ravioli with local trout.

Trout with roast potatoes.

Prosciutto with potatoes.

Beans with onions.

Pannacotta with fruit of the forest.

La Tana del Ghiro is a great addition to Bagni di Lucca’s list of restaurants. The food is good and reasonably priced, the service is friendly…I hope they do well. They will also be selling local produce in the future.

Phone…0583 805 869

Email…latanadelghiro@hotmail.com

Anyone fancy a burger?

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Debra Kolkka

We all love Italian food, but sometimes it is good to eat something else. Who doesn’t love a good hamburger? Eataly has opened a “Hamburgheria” in Via Fillungo in Lucca, and the hamburgers are great. You can have your burger cooked to your liking, rare, medium or well done, the bun is good and it is all well presented. (The chips could be better)

As you would expect from Eataly the cafe is very stylish.

They also have pastries and desserts…to be tried on another visit.

This is well worth a trip to Lucca.

Eataly…91A Via Fillungo, Lucca. It is in a courtyard off Via Fillungo, so you might need to look carefully to find it.

Santina, San Cassiano

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Debra Kolkka

Santina’s restaurant is well known in Bagni di Lucca. It is one of the first restaurants I went to when I first arrived in the area 13 years ago. It is as good today as my first visit.

I was there on a Sunday and it didn’t take long for the room to fill.

At Santina’s the food just keeps on coming. The pasta is delicious, but you need to remember not to eat too much because there are several other courses to enjoy.

In summer there is a lovely terrace with great views over the valley.

It was a misty autumn day when I was there, but some yellow flowers beside the door brightened up the day.

The misty view is delightful.

Santina…Via Chiesa 9, San Cassiano

(39) 0583 809278

Paolo’s pastries

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Debra Kolkka

Paolo from Cafe Catene in Fornoli has recently brought in a new pastry chef. The man is a genius!

As well as delicious pastries and cakes they do excellent sandwiches.

Make sure you drop in to say hello…and sample some of the delights…the coffee is good too.

Porcini mushrooms

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Debra Kolkka

Ristorante del Sonno in La Villa has had a delivery of porcini mushrooms. A clever person found a hidden cluster deep in the forest nearby and rushed them into the restaurant.

With the recent rain there should be some more soon.

Da Mamo

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Debra Kolkka

Da Mamo is a friendly family run restaurant in La Villa, just off Via Umberto, near the entrance to Hotel Europa. The interior is bright and cheerful.

They do excellent seafood.

…and vegetable sformato.

…and calzone.

…and pizza.

…and dolce.

Ristorante da Mamo.

Via del Riposo, La Villa.

Ph. (39) 347 2940371

Closed Tuesday.

Paolo’s pasticceria

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Debra Kolkka

Catene Cafe has had a transformation. The gelato counter has been replaced by delicious pastries.

The grand opening was this evening and the lovely Paolo was in fine form.

The selection of pastries is excellent and we were able to sample quite a few…and they were just as delicious as they look. The girls were mobbed by people wanting to try things.

Good luck Paolo, I hope your new venture is a huge success.

Something a little different

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Debra Kolkka

For those who would like a change from delicious Italian food, how about a delicious curry?

On Friday 26th February Ristorante del Sonno in La Villa is having one of their famous curry nights. For just €10 you can enjoy chicken, beef or vegetarian curry with rice. The price includes a small beer or a quarter litre of wine. Call 0583 805080 or 3356197303 to make a reservation.

Osteria I Macelli

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Debra Kolkka

The translation of I Macelli is The Slaughterhouses. I am guessing that the site of this excellent restaurant was once an abattoir. The bright yellow building sits beside a little stream behind the main commercial area of Borgo a Mozzano, the village near the Ponte della Maddalena.

The restaurant is one of our favourite places to dine, with good reason. The food is very good, the setting pleasant and the service is friendly and efficient.

To get there, drive down the one way street in the centre of Borgo a Mozzano and turn left at the sign for the restaurant.

I look forward to many delicious meals at I Macelli when I return to Bagni di Lucca very soon.

Bagni di Lucca in 2015

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Debra Kolkka

It has been an eventful year in Bagni di Lucca. It is interesting to look back.

Click the highlighted words to see the original post.

There was a tornado early in the year which caused lots of damage. Our lovely park in La Villa was devastated, with wonderful old trees wrecked by the wind.

Many houses suffered with damaged roofs and other property damage. I hope we don’t see a weather event like that again.

Late winter is the time to plant pansies on the bridge at Ponte a Serraglio.

You can see some green appearing around Lucchio in early spring.

Gorgeous yellow forsythia appears to brighten up the cool days.

Then wisteria shows its lovely lilac face.

The beautiful house where the Barrett Brownings stayed in La Villa was lovingly restored.

Circolo dei Forestieri reopened and began serving delicious food…lucky us.

Soon on it was time to replace the pansies with geraniums. This year I had help in the form of Paul and Sheila.

In May there was much excitement, and some new roads, when the Giro d’Italia came through Bagni di Lucca.

Not long after the magnificent Mille Miglia graced our streets.

May was also the perfect time for a lunch at Rifugio Fiori in Pieve di Monte di Villa, followed by a walk down to Ponte a Serraglio along the forest walk.