https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Two Japanese tourists who were dining in the Italian capital in early September were charged an eye-watering €429.80 for two plates of fish, spaghetti and water. https://www.thelocal.it/20190927/rip-off-in-rome-japanese-tourists-slapped-with-430-bill-for-two-plates-of-spaghetti Fri, 27 Sep 2019 16:29:16 +0200 rip-off-in-rome-japanese-tourists-slapped-with-430-bill-for-two-plates-of-spaghetti Owners of one Italian restaurant have come up with a new way to manage the large number of customers bringing their dogs to dinner. https://www.thelocal.it/20190104/restaurant-in-vicenza-welcomes-dogs-if-they-pay-a-cover-charge Fri, 04 Jan 2019 13:08:45 +0100 restaurant-in-vicenza-welcomes-dogs-if-they-pay-a-cover-charge At least 5,000 restaurants across Italy are in the hands of the mafia, consumer group Coldiretti has warned. https://www.thelocal.it/20170404/at-least-5000-restaurants-in-italy-thought-to-be-mafia-run Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:52:14 +0200 at-least-5000-restaurants-in-italy-thought-to-be-mafia-run A family who enjoyed a meal out at their local restaurant on Sunday had a welcome surprise when they got the bill for their food: it included a five percent discount for their 'well-behaved children'. https://www.thelocal.it/20170214/italian-restaurant-gives-discount-to-family-with-polite-children Tue, 14 Feb 2017 13:04:14 +0100 italian-restaurant-gives-discount-to-family-with-polite-children With three Michelin stars to his name and a restaurant recently crowned the world's best, Italian chef Massimo Bottura is used to serving the wealthy in his Modena restaurant. https://www.thelocal.it/20160818/the-top-italian-chef-feeding-homeless-rio-olympics Thu, 18 Aug 2016 10:54:49 +0200 the-top-italian-chef-feeding-homeless-rio-olympics Until 2006, nudist sites were illegal in Italy. Ten years on, the country is about to host its first ever nudist dinner. https://www.thelocal.it/20160711/italy-to-open-its-first-ever-naked-restaurant-milan Mon, 11 Jul 2016 14:39:39 +0200 italy-to-open-its-first-ever-naked-restaurant-milan The first Italian restaurant to be named the best in the world celebrated its win on Tuesday as controversy erupted over the selection, with several big name chefs not making the list. https://www.thelocal.it/20160615/row-erupts-as-italian-restaurant-voted-best-in-world Wed, 15 Jun 2016 10:13:20 +0200 row-erupts-as-italian-restaurant-voted-best-in-world Italy's "Osteria Francescana" was crowned world's best restaurant of 2016 at an awards ceremony in New York on Monday, the first Italian establishment to win the annual accolade. https://www.thelocal.it/20160614/italian-restaurant-crowned-the-best-in-the-world Tue, 14 Jun 2016 10:39:02 +0200 italian-restaurant-crowned-the-best-in-the-world A tourist celebrating his wedding anniversary at a Venice restaurant was reportedly beaten by waiters after refusing to pay for a steak that was badly cooked. https://www.thelocal.it/20150923/tourist-beaten-for-refusing-to-pay-for-steak Wed, 23 Sep 2015 12:24:15 +0200 tourist-beaten-for-refusing-to-pay-for-steak British police are investigating the suspicious death of an Italian restaurant owner, who died after falling from the third floor of a flat in London early on Wednesday morning. https://www.thelocal.it/20150828/uk-police-probe-death-of-italian-restaurateur Fri, 28 Aug 2015 15:58:25 +0200 uk-police-probe-death-of-italian-restaurateur Massimo Bottura's restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, northern Italy, has won second place on a list of the world's 50 best restaurants, after lingering in third place for the past two years. https://www.thelocal.it/20150602/italy-has-worlds-second-best-restaurant Tue, 02 Jun 2015 12:26:05 +0200 italy-has-worlds-second-best-restaurant A request by the Italian government to get the Spanish crime-inspired restaurant chain ‘Mafia’ to change its name has been rejected, Italian media have reported. https://www.thelocal.it/20150219/spain-sticks-by-mafia-restaurant-chain Thu, 19 Feb 2015 18:25:00 +0100 spain-sticks-by-mafia-restaurant-chain Italian health authorities have seized 50 kilos of insects - including wasps and worms - destined for dishes at a Milan restaurant. https://www.thelocal.it/20141104/wasps-and-worms-off-the-menu-in-milan Tue, 04 Nov 2014 12:30:00 +0100 wasps-and-worms-off-the-menu-in-milan For the second year running, Massimo Bottura's restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, northern Italy, has won third place on a list of the world's 50 best restaurants. https://www.thelocal.it/20140429/italian-restaurant-third-best-in-the-world Tue, 29 Apr 2014 11:49:00 +0200 italian-restaurant-third-best-in-the-world A restaurant owner in northern Italy set himself on fire on Monday night, injuring two others who came to help him, over fears that he would have to close his business. https://www.thelocal.it/20140225/italian-restaurant-owner-sets-himself-on-fire Tue, 25 Feb 2014 11:49:00 +0100 italian-restaurant-owner-sets-himself-on-fire A chain of mafia-themed restaurants is winning plenty of fans in Spain but some Italians are less than thrilled about the crime-inspired eateries. https://www.thelocal.it/20140220/spains-mafia-eateries-spark-italian-outrage Thu, 20 Feb 2014 13:11:00 +0100 spains-mafia-eateries-spark-italian-outrage It was another busy night for the staff with Down syndrome at the Girasoli restaurant in Rome, which serves up traditional pizza and pasta dishes along with a new way of looking at disability in the workplace. https://www.thelocal.it/20140214/disability-restaurant-a-great-victory-in-rome Fri, 14 Feb 2014 10:32:00 +0100 disability-restaurant-a-great-victory-in-rome The owner of a restaurant in Salerno came up with a novel way of alleviating boredom among a group of Russian diners - and ensuring a huge tip - by allowing them to smash up his car with a sledgehammer. https://www.thelocal.it/20131016/italian-invites-bored-russians-to-trash-his-car Wed, 16 Oct 2013 13:25:00 +0200 italian-invites-bored-russians-to-trash-his-car In a sign of bitter rivalry in Sicily's food business, a restaurant owner has been charged with impersonating a priest after calling up a rival and making a fake lunch booking for 48 people. https://www.thelocal.it/20130911/priest-plots-rival-restaurants-bankruptcy Wed, 11 Sep 2013 14:31:00 +0200 priest-plots-rival-restaurants-bankruptcy Being offered €45,000 to serve dinner exclusively to a Russian tycoon and his friends might be a dream come true for most restaurant owners. But not so for one on the plush island of Ischia, whose "dignity" comes before money. https://www.thelocal.it/20130904/restaurateur-rebuffs-russian-tycoons-45000-bribe Wed, 04 Sep 2013 13:49:00 +0200 restaurateur-rebuffs-russian-tycoons-45000-bribe