several: "Excellent dining in Gubbio" Top 5 Page for this destination Umbria Restaurant Tip by Trekki

Gubbio has a lot of good restaurants with delicious meals, in almost all price ranges. Rather than writing one review for each I add my three favourites in one review.

Antico Frantoio:
By now this is one of my favourite restaurants in Gubbio. It is not as classy as Taverna del Lupo but down to earth AND the meals are very delicious. The restaurant is located in the cellar of an old oil mill (at least that is what the name frantoio suggests) and has seating for approximately 200 people, although this is not really obvious. But this does not mean that tables are available anytime: reservations are highly recommended. I once came at 21:00 on a Sunday and it was impossible for me to get a table. The waiters are very friendly and will make excellent recommendations if one is unsure of what to eat. And they serve the best pizza in town. In case of good weather there is also seating outside.

On my first visit I had carpaccio, followed by pasta tagliatelle with wild green asparagus and pannacotta with raspberries as desert (approx. 22 Euro altogether) and on my second time I tried their delicious tagliata (beef, roasted as whole piece and then cut into small pieces, main photo) served with rucola (rocket). The latter was indeed very good, the best tagliata I had in Italia so far.

They are open during lunch time and seem to have adapted to non-Italian eating hours; the sign tells that they serve pizza from noon on (No Italian would eat at noon). In the evening they open at (I think) 19:00, but since this is not yet Italian-dinner time, it is easier to get a table then. Closed on Mondays.
separate review about Antico Frantoio on my Gubbio page.

Location of Antico Frantoio on Google Maps.

Alla Balestra:
Another excellent dining option in the old town centre without having to pay an arm and a leg is “Alla Balestra”, in Via della Repubblica, just where the Corso (Corso Garibaldi) leads off to the east. They have excellent pizza and many other good dishes. I eat here very often in the meantime, also because Federica's guests get discount (ask for Mario, the friendly owner). Their dishes are all listed on the website below, albeit without prices. But we paid approx. 5,50 Euro for our pizze (mine was a Napoletana). My other dishes were Penne alla Balestra (a type of arrabiata), Crocchette e olive ascolane, delicious pannacotta and a very delicious lemon sorbet.
separate review about Alla Balestra on my Gubbio page.

Location of Alla Balestra on Google Maps.

Taverna del Lupo:
Taverna del Lupo is said to be Gubbio’s prime option for dining and this might be true. It is located in a very atmospheric cellar-like room, where the individual seating areas are separated from each other by cupboards or walls. The ambience is very elegant. They offer a few selections per course only, a sign that all might be freshly prepared.
I had gnocchi as starter and primo (photo 1), which were delicious and only in tomato sauce with basil. As main course I opted for the beef (rare is the one and only way I like beef) with salad and aceto balsamico with chopped onion and garlic. It tasted excellent, soft and really rare. As desert I found the selection at the trolley very inviting but did choose a wild berry mini cake only, which was soft and light enough to fit in and made me feel not too full.
separate review 1 about Taverna del Lupo on my Gubbio page, separate review 2 about Taverna del Lupo on my Gubbio page.

Location of Taverna del Lupo on Google Maps.

© Ingrid D., June 2008 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts), major updates April 2012.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate if you would decide if my review was helpful or not and if you could leave a comment => here :-).

Comparison: more expensive than average
Price: US$31-40
Rating: 4
Theme: Local
Website: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/80c21/24a39/2/