If you find yourself arriving in Vienna on a Sunday, first orientate yourself by taking the tram all the way around the Ringstrasse - a one day travel pass costs 5 euros. When evening begins, head for the Rathaus (you'll have seen it on the tram ride) where you will find every food choice you can think of in the park. Join the Viennese on an evening out by making your choice and sit in the free seats in front of the Rathaus (what a great name for the town hall). A recording of a memorable recent classical concert or opera will be shown on the screen before you. Relax and enjoy.
The Rathaus is on Dr. Karl Lueger Ring;
By underground: Rathaus or Schottentor station
Go here for genuine Italian food.
2 Hollywood Road, London, SW10 9HY; tel: 020 7352 8484
Try pizza for Cubans, sold from house windows. If you look around you can get this cheap and tasty local pizza for as little as 5 peso cubanos. Greate taste. Enjoy your meal!
Try Piro Guinart, the green house on the corner, a few metres from the bus terminal.
The food is very rustic and basic but the restaurants tend to only cook local regional food specialising in either fish or meat. My favourite restaurant can be found in Grottomare Alta and is called Osteria dell’Arancia. It has a sister hotel on the Kings Road, London but the original is better – last time I was there dinner was about €40 for everything.
Atmospheric harbourside tapas restaurant. The staff buzz around chatting away in Spanish. It's unhurried and the portions are a healthy size. Perhaps too much choice on a diverse menu with over 50 dishes.
57 Prince St, BS1 4QH;
tel: 0117 925 6014
Amazing tapas, especially the ham (Pata Negra pigs), which melts in your mouth.
9, Park Walk, Chelsea, London, SW10 0AJ - behind the Goat and Boots on the Fulham Road; tel: 020 7352 1330
A great restaurant tucked away in the new town close to the river. They do wonderful schnitzel and seriously good roast pork. Not great for vegetarians, but great if you want a taste of traditional Austrian fare. Well priced and the service is very friendly. The atmosphere gets better as the evening goes on and more beer is had by all. A great night out.
Linzergasse 47-49, Salzburg;
tel: +43 (0)662 88 22 00
Boustan is my fave place for lebanese wraps in Montreal. It's the perfect place to get a bite to eat after a night of partying on Crescent Street (they're busiest at 3am). Their shish-taouks are fantastic. Made with garlic mayo, pickled turnips, the entire wrap is fire roasted before being served. A real cheap eat as well at about C$4 each.
2020A Crescent Street (on the north west corner of Crescent Street and de Maisonneuve Blvd);
tel: (514) 843-3576
A surefire way to guarantee proper vegetarian food. If you're sick of trying to explain your preferences to baffled authentic Japanese eateries go for the international restaurants down here. The Indian is particularly tasty and staffed by people who understand exactly what 'no fish and no meat' means.
Get in a taxi and ask for Canal City. After eating, shop!
Bim Bom is an ice cream place at the end of La Rampa near the Malecon. They have lots of great flavours, with the best pistachio in town! There are lots of sauces and toppings to choose from, at low prices and with friendly staff. It's the best place to cool down.
Calle 23 y Infanta, Vedado. Plaza de la Revolución, at the bottom of La Rampa, near Malecon;
tel: (53) 7 879-2892
The Parque Central area is the place to stay when visiting Havana. A cheaper alternative to the Parque Central Hotel is the adjoining Hotel Plaza, which was built circa 1905 and has since been renovated, with a marvellous entrance and lobby. Rooms are small and dark, but you only use them for sleeping. No pool but you can use the one down the street at the Hotel Sevilla for a few CUCs (1.08 $ U.S.) One should visit the rooftop dining room at the Sevilla, have a drink at the sidewalk cafe of the Inglaterra, and see what's happening on the Inglaterra roof, Friday or Saturday (all within 1 minute from the hotel). The roof of the Plaza gives the best view of the Bacardi building just to the east. The Sevilla and the Telegrafo are intermediate in quality and price, between the Plaza and the Parque Central. Also, it’s very close to the two art museums (don't miss the modern one of Cuban art, in between the Sevilla and the Museum of the Revolution).
Ingnacio Agramonte 267, Habana Vieja, Havana, in the north east corner of Parque Centrale, adjacent to Hotel Parque Central. Food, drinks, bottled water, bank just across the street
To visit the valley just outside Trinidad you can take a taxi-tour for 20 cuc or the train (which doesn't run everyday). It's beautiful.
In Trinidad stay at Ruth's, she is very friendly gives you huge portions if you have dinner there.
Ruth Martin Rodriguez: c/ Frank Pais 38 ( 01 ) 419 4396
Trinidad
Outstanding Greek bring-your-own-wine restaurant on the lovely cobblestoned street of Duluth. Generous servings of well-made food. I can't say it's imaginative, but it does all the familiar Greek dishes with flair. Also has a lovely outdoor patio in the summer (Montrealers love their patios).
521 Duluth Avenue East, (Near Chateaubriand);
tel: (514) 521 4206
Great food market in the Mile End portion of the main (St Laurent Boulevard). Cheap cheap, authentic corn tortillas and fantastic nachos, as well as a good selection of Mexican foodstuffs.
5274 Boulevard Saint-Laurent;
tel: (514) 495-0606
One place I can thoroughly recommend in Montreal is a restaurant called 'Au Petit extra', the starters and mains are good but the reason to go there is for the “melt-in-the-mouth/to-die-for” crème brulee for dessert. I admit it is nearly 8 years since I was there but it was sooooo divine, I ate there on my way from Toronto to Quebec City and stopped into Montreal again on the way back just for second helpings.
1690 rue Ontario Est
Tel: 514 527 5552
www.aupetitextra.com/petitextra/fr/index.asp
Iranian restaurant in the charming east end of the french Plateau. Voted into Montréal's "Best Of" by the Montréal Mirror in 2004-2005; also ongoing "Most Memorable" since 1999.
Have never had anything here that I've not liked: Delicious appetisers, pastries, menu. Outstanding selection of teas to finish. Don't plan on a quick lunch - service is relaxed but the meal also has many courses.
Good if you're vegetarian or otherwise.
1499 Laurier est (cross Papineau);
(514) 523 9396
Trogir is teeming with bars and restaurants, densely packed along the Riva and in the narrow cobbled streets behind. Many of them are open all year round, including all those listed below.
Top of our list of Pizzerias is Mirkec, half way along the Riva (Boardwalk), and with exceptionally friendly and efficient staff.
Our favourite restaurant is Skrapa, serving good quality plain Dalmatian food in a rustic environment at reasonable prices. You’re assured of a warm welcome from the owners, who specialise in mildly eccentric (ie phallic) table decorations.
There’s a boat restaurant, near the marina, on the Čiovo side of the bridge which is not as expensive as it might sound and if you want a posh meal, at the higher end of the price range, try Fontana or Alka in the old town, a short walk from the Riva.
Pizzeria Mirkec
021 883 042
Skrapa
021 885 313
Boat Restaurant Čelica
021 822 344
Fontana
021 885 744
A restaurant specialising in food from the north east - carne seca, carne de sol, aipim. Very reasonable prices, large portions, and in addition to the beer on draft you can choose from a huge list of tropical juices to wash your food down.
R. Paulo Barreto 25, Botafogo, five minutes walk up R. Voluntarios from Botafogo metro station;
tel: 2286-2176
A large, marble-floored, glass-roofed space, impressive as a piece of 19th century architecture in itself, that now houses various shops, cafes and restaurants. It's a little expensive to eat and drink here, but the surroundings somewhat compensate - just wander around and take a few photos if you don't need nourishment. You're also likely to find performances of various kinds going on, but beware the usual hawkers trying to sell you stuff.
Via San Carlo;
www.italyguides.it/us/napoli/umbe.htm
A great little lunch place on rue Saint Pierre which has all the feel of a sit down restaurant at cafeteria prices, ranging from 8-12 dollars. Not worth going to visit on its own, but a great place to recuperate at lunchtime if you are visiting the old town
445 rue Saint Pierre, near Vieux Montreal; tel: (514) 849 0894;
Metro: Square Victoria;
titanic-mtl.ca