Miscellaneous Tips, San Marino

Visitors to San Marino will find themseleves inundated with more than their fair share of touristy snack bars that offer only the standard pizza-ice cream-soft drink options. However, the Republic is not without its culinary treats. Perhaps the best restaurant in the whole country is La Fratta, with an extensive Italian menu and a wine list featuring some of San Marino's quite good native vintages. La Fratta's decor generally fits in with San Marino city's medieval feel, although with a bit of a modern twist. The service is friendly, almost familial, and the food is the best in the tiny country. The other restaurant worth a visit is Righi La Taverna. Although the food here is not the equal of La Fratta, it is still pretty good, and the decor is even more medieval, allowing diners to feel as if they are really eating in a castle. The service is friendly, if a bit less relaxed than at its chief competitor. Beyond these two restauants, the food at the Hotel Titano restaurant is top notch, and the service very friendly - they opened the whole restaurant just for me so that I could eat after my plane was delayed. The restaurants at the Hotel Cesare and the San Marino Grand Hotel are also far better than the standard hotel fare. Also, there are several good bars scattered throughout the town of San Marino - all with the same medieval motif - and a few excellent bars in the town of Borgo Maggiore that have the extra added benefit that they see fewer tourists despite the fact that they are only a cable car ride and a short walk away.
La Fratta, besides having a sort of neo-medieval atmosphere, is the best restaurant in the Republic, though it is not pretentious. The food is quite good, but it is the friendly staff that you will remember the most. They will treat you like family. Righi La Taverna offers a more authentic medieval feel - it's just like having dinner in a castle - and also offers alfresco dining right across from the Sammarinese parliament building.

A warm alcoholic drink not native to San Marino but consumed in the Alpine border region between France and Italy, Gorollo dell' amiciza, served at the La Fratta restaurant, is definitely worth trying. The word 'grollo' refers to the terracotta vase in which the drink is served, and 'amiciza' means friend. This refers to the fact that it is drunk by everyone at a table from the same vase. Grollo dell'amiciza is made only from ingredients that were available in medieval times, and is generally served only during the Republic's late summer medieval festival. The flavor is unlike anything you've ever had before and it packs a wallop, so you probably won't remember it anyway.

Visiting San Marino?

Visiting San Marino?