I had prepared my gastronomic trip to Venice, Italy, quite well, but not good enough. The two restaurants that I wanted to visit for sure, Martin's Ristorante Da Fiore (not the Trattoria da Fiore, don't mix them up!), and The Fortuny Dell'Hotel Cipriani, were both closed that time of the year. De Pisis was not on our list, but we found it only by pure coincidence. A nice surprise, though. The food is quite expensive, but the wine list contains some real bargains, especially from the Trentino region.

Nurnberg is a very nice city to visit and to walk around in, particularly in the Altstadt. It is there, close to the theatre, that we discovered this restaurant. Traditional German dishes are served as well as some more French oriented ones. We went for the Dinner for Two, a 4-cours meal consisting of a Kir Royal served with smoked ham and melon, a nice creamy winzersuppe with tinyly sliced vegetables, grilled salmon, a jucy Argentinian Beef tournedos with mushrooms and rosti, and finally a figue-desert with icecream. We ordered one of the famous Wurzburger Pfaffenberg Weiss Burgunder Spatlese (2002), mineral water and coffee, and had this all for less than 90 Euro. If you're in Franken, go to Nurnburg, and find that place. You won't be disappointed if it is still run by Volker Thiel with the same quality as we enjoyed.

L'Ecluse is not the type of restaurant that makes it worthwhile going to Grossbliederstroff. But if you are there for another reason, then you might as well hop in, since, after all, the restaurant is located in a nice setting along the Saar river, and the food is good. They have a couple of good bottles on their wine list, amongst which a Pomerol from 1976, for very reasonable prices. Diners and AMEX are not accepted. Mastercard does, if you know your pincode.

You would not expect a restaurant of this quality to be located on an ugly main road in a totally un-interesting village. And also the house itself, at least from the outside, is not really inviting. But once inside, and certainly after having been served the first plate, you discover how wrong it would have been not to enter. Dining à la carte is expensive, but the menu has an excellent price-quality ratio. The wine-list is fabulous, and I do appreciate the large quantity of high quality small bottles from the mid 80's to 90's, all at very reasonable prices.

Facility with both a restaurant and a bistrot. The restaurant being closed, we had to enjoy the bistrot. The Breton pancake with sea food was excellent, though rather more a main dish than an appetizer. The deer steack was nice, but nothing special. The bistrot has a wide selection of wines on the glass, ranging from € 1.8 to € 6. A cheap Elzas Riesling was excellent, but the Scharzhofberger Spatlese, costing nearly the double, disappointing. Service was rather slow.
Diners or AMEX are not accepted.

An excellent restaurant, belonging to the top 50 of Germany, yet not exceptionally expensive. The wine list is impressive and most wines moderately priced. The best price/quality ratio is found amongst the wines under € 85, many excellent German wines even being under € 45.
Not a place to go to if you are hungry, but rather to enjoy delicate dishes.

A very good restaurant offering value for money in Sarreguemines, a small town close to Saarbrücken. It received its first Michelin star in 2001.
I recommend taking one of the menus ranging from € 35 to € 65, lunch being served for € 20.
The restaurant has a nice selection of wines, specifically from the Elzas such as Gustave Lorentz of which we tried, with great pleasure, the TOKAY PINOT-GRIS Grand Cru ALTENBERG Vieilles Vignes 1997 and 2000.
Diners or AMEX are not accepted.

Nothing is cheap in Switzerland, at least if you are not Suisse. So try this restaurant, member of the Relais et Châteux, and having the highest rating in the area around Geneva, with a large enough credit card. Not because it is that expensive, but simply because, if you have tried it once, you want to go back the day after, and the day after, and ...

Located in the downtown Taverna hotel, the Gambrinus is an award-winning restaurant by some considered to be among the top ten in the country, though personally, I doubt it. We were pleased, for sure, but not surprised. With modern interpretations of classic Hungarian and International dishes the restaurant setting is formal, although music from the excellent gypsy trio helped lighten the atmosphere considerably.

The restaurant is situated between Deak ter and Vaci utca right in the centre of town. On the ground floor, there is an antiques shop belonging to Iren Legradi of the famous Legradi family. Upstairs, is the restaurant which is furnished with antique items. The chairs and historical portraits on the yellow walls give the venue an elegant atmosphere. The low arch of the ceiling and discreet lighting make the restaurant comfortable and friendly but stylish at the same time. This restaurant is favoured by politicians and businessmen alike - it was voted Restaurant of the Year in 1994 by American Express and the Hungarian Catering Industry.

This is the oldest and most famous restaurant of Lisbon. We were there before its (relative) decline at the end of the nineties, but it figures now again on the top thanks to a new owner.
Back in 1994, it was cheap compared to Belgian restaurants of the same quality, although horribly expensive compared to other Lisbon restaurants.
Remarkable fact: it was possible to have port of over 100 years old by the glass.