Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 05 8688 1027; Borgo dei Cappuccini 5; meals €25; lunch & dinner Fri-Wed)
Traditional fish
dishes, cooked just like grandma did, lures the punters to this smart old-world
osteria
(tavern) near the water. Go local with
riso nero
(black rice) and the catch of the day, or a
simple plate of
fritto misto
(battered and deep-fried mix of thumb-sized fish).
L'Ancora
MAP
SEAFOOD
€€
GOOGLE MAP
( 05 8688 1401;
www.ristoranteancoralivorno.com
;
Scali delle Ancora 10; meals €35; lunch & din-
ner summer, Wed-Mon winter)
Gorgeous! Its canalside terrace is the white-hot ticket in good
weather, though settling for a table in the elegantly simple 17th-century, barrel-ceilinged,
brick boat house is hardly a hardship. You can get
cacciucco
here, but the
carbonara di
mare
(seafood and pasta in white sauce) is the family's pride and joy.
La Bodeguita
(Scala Rosciano 9; 9pm-1am Mon-Sat)
A red-brick cellar bar with sun-drenched wooden-
decking terrace afloat the canal off Piazza dei Domenicani in Piccolo Venezia. Enjoy a
cocktail and generously topped bruschetta while members of the local rowing club ply the
water with oars in front of you, or dance to live music after dark.
BAR
TO MARKET, TO MARKET
For foodie nirvana, get lost in Livorno's late-19th-century
Mercato Centrale
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(Via Buontalenti; 6am-2pm Mon-Sat), a magnificent, 95m-long neoclassical gem that miracu-
lously survived Allied WWII bombing intact. Arresting both gastronomically and architecturally, the
market is a gargantuan maze of tasty food stalls bursting with local produce, including the most aston-
ishing fish and seafood.
lotti; 6am-2pm Mon-Sat) transforms the otherwise quiet square into a sea of open-air stalls burst-
ing with baby violet artichokes, golden courgette flowers, hot red peppers and other seasonal fruit and
veg.
Complete the foodie experience with a visit to
VAD Formaggi
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.vadformaggi.com
; Via di Franco 36-38; 7.45am-12.45pm Mon & Wed, 7.45am-12.45pm &
4.40-7.30pm Thu-Sat), the most extraordinary cheese shop, in business since 1955. Its walls are lined
floor-to-ceiling with giant rounds of parmesan, and market days see the queue spill out the door.
