Versilia

Piccolo TitoAt the start of the pier

The plastic-chair half of Tito, the same kitchen and the same morning's catch as the linen half next door, at just under half the price. Frittura in a paper cone, clams in a paper-rimmed bowl, and the wine still arrives in a proper bottle.

Tito del MoloNext door, on the corner

The other half of the same building, with linen, wooden chairs and a terrace over the boats. For the night that earns the tablecloth.

Il DelfinoNext along the pier

The same model with more garlic and oil, and always fried octopus, which alone is worth the stop.

Il CapitanoAcross the footbridge, in the Darsena

The caciucco. You point at the counter, they weigh it, they cook it, and the men in navy overalls from the yards eat it at the round table by the door. One heavy course, no dessert.

Da CeccoTorre del Lago

Sea on one side of the menu and marsh on the other. The pigeon over polenta is still one of the best things I have eaten in this part of Italy, and the owner asks whether you have been before, then tells you to come back.

Adagio SunsetOn the sand at Torre del Lago

Grilled fish, a Vermentino they replace without asking, and nobody in a hurry.

Emilio e BonaLombrici, on the road up to Casoli

An old oil mill on a stream with the millstones still in the room, the family living upstairs and cooking downstairs, and a terrace above the water. The tordelli carry a Tordello d'Oro. Where we go for an anniversary, and I would call it the most romantic table in Versilia.

Osteria Il RivellinoIn town

Five or six tables, the kitchen is the room, and the tordelli are folded two metres from your fork. Black truffle on everything in season.

Bisteccheria da AlanVia di Mezzo

A butcher by day and a steakhouse Friday to Sunday. Five cuts of beef and nothing else, which is the correct answer.

BonuccelliVia di Mezzo

The salumeria with tables out the back: sbriciolona and biroldo on a plank, bread, and a carafe from the hills.

Trattoria Gatto NeroPiazza Carducci, by the post office

Ten covers, stone walls that have been stone walls since about 1300, a fireplace lit from October to April, and Alberta making the same eight or nine things she has made for thirty years. Nobody will move you along in three hours. The crostini first, then the trippa alla fiorentina, the best in Versilia.

Il VaticanoA small room off a side street

Fiorentina and lardo from Colonnata and not much else. The lardo comes first on warm bread, then two kilos of steak on a board, eaten for an hour. Do not ask for a side.

FilippoAcross town

No menu. Filippo cooks what Filippo feels like and you pay what the meal costs.

Il DuomoOn the square

Not a restaurant. The whole point of the town, in a glass.

Trattoria da CarlinoVia Versilia, Tonfano

The vongole, every time, and caciucco on Sundays only. Paper tablecloths and locals through February. Call ahead in winter.

AlexViale Versilia, Marina di Pietrasanta

A 1900s villa done out with tropical plants and marble, three tasting menus balancing fish and meat, and a wine list that is the real reason to book, since every bottle is also for sale from the shop. Where I go when the evening earns more than paper.

Sirena CaféOn the front

One of many cafés on the front, and the one we go back to for the counter of bignè, in more kinds than I have managed to count. Two or three with a coffee and you have had dessert without the whole cake.

The porchetteria on the squareTonfano

I once asked whether they ever put cheese in the panino, the way they do in Rome. The owner looked at me for a full second. No. Tuscan porchetta is meat, and we add more meat.

Lo StudioBehind the square in Tonfano

Bar, antique shop, concert venue and circus, run by a man who dresses as a clown and makes excellent cocktails for his friends. One of the most Italian things I know.

Caffè RomaPiazza Garibaldi

Not for the food. For the table on the corner of the square where the whole town walks past you for the price of a coffee.

Ristorante UlisseVia Campana

Mario Fiori's room. In late September and October the mushroom tasting menu, and eat the porcini raw if they are offering them that way. The rest of the year, the regular menu and the same kitchen.

Il Giardino del MediceoBy the palace

Where we first ate in this town, back when we still lived up the mountain.

The four-table place in ColonnataOn the street above the car park

The one with the man on the slicer and no menu. Penne with lardo, no cheese, and a glass of the local red that is red without being polished. Any of the small rooms up here will do the same. That one did it for me.

The bar on Piazza GramsciCarrara

Plastic chairs and a one-euro espresso, with the change handed over without a smile, the way you hand it to a regular. One of the kindest gestures I have had in a long time.