During quarantine I became hooked on binge watching the new Netflix series Restaurants on the Edge.
Three experts – a restaurateur, a designer & a chef – travel the world to restaurants with unreal views, that are in need of help to keep their business from going under. They then tap into local culture & community to remodel each business in a way that is uplifting & inspirational!
The series has me thinking of all my dining experiences while traveling. As much as I love a good view & am a diehard wannabe Foodie, my best experiences seem to come down to the people… Here are my favorite dining experiences while traveling Europe:
Risorante Central Venice – Venice, Italy
In between the narrow alley ways beside Saint Marks Basilica, you can find Risorante Central Pizzeria. In the middle of a long hot morning and now afternoon of touring the beautiful, crowded, Venice we stumbled upon this restaurant. As our first Italian city we were looking for some unreal pasta dishes for lunch. After searching through the narrow alleys, we found our hangry selves sitting down at Risorante Central. It was a bit more upscale than we were looking for, but we didn’t regret splurging after we left.
Simple, modern, and bright vibes fill the front dining area we sat at. Shelved all along the wall behind us was different bottles of wine. The service was wonderful. Our extremely friendly waiter was surprised to be serving an American, an Aussie, and a Canadian all in one party. He immediately knew we were on a Contiki which made us laugh. Of course when pondering where the blonde American girl was from, he guessed California, and as usual this East Cost girl was not pleased, but not surprised! He continued to chat with us about our home countries throughout lunch. There is nothing I enjoy more when traveling than chatting with locals about their city, as well as sharing bits of Philadelphia with them.
Aside from the warm atmosphere & kind service, the food did not disappoint either! Thanks to our server’s suggestion, I had the Spaghetti Alla Scogliera. The spaghetti was perfect, the seafood was fresh, and the sauce was one of the best I’ve ever had.
From my experience, Risorante Central Pizzeria was absolutely worth splurging a few more euros & I highly recommend it on anyone’s visit to Venice.
If you want great service & food, check them out!
Obba’s Day & Night – Rotterdam, Netherlands
I had little to no expectations going into my one day exploration of Rotterdam, but this city proved to be much more than just a stopover to Amsterdam. After being almost completely reconstructed following WWII, the city is now known for bold & modern architecture. Aside from the cool sites we saw, one of the highlights of our day was the Mediterranean restaurant we ate lunch at, Obba’s Day & Night. This colorful and funky spot is located on Witte de Withstraat, a popular street known for its vibrant art scene and dynamic nightlife. The cute décor of the restaurant is what drew us in when walking by.
We were fortunate enough to meet the owner, Maaike Dogan. She was a lovely woman who told us all about Rotterdam, her family’s history there, and her two Mediterranean restaurants in Rotterdam. She suggested we order their signature dish, Mezze de Luxe. It was a large platter with many mezze’s, tappas and other appetizers. It is common in the Mediterranen to share your food, so you’ll often find large platters of smaller dishes such as this. The platter was delicious and the cocktails were next level.
It wasn’t just the cute vibe of the restaurant or the awesome food that compels me to tell everyone to check out Abba’s if they find themselves in the Netherlands. It is the fun people we met while there. Not only was Maaike a great host and a good time to talk to, but when leaving she introduced us to some friends she was sitting outside with. They were all so happy for us to be visiting their city.
What I remember most of all from this moment is the friends finding out I was from Philadelphia (this was July of 2018 – AKA Post Superbowl 52) & they congratulated me on the Eagles Super Bowl win, expressing how happy they were for us Philadelphians when we won earlier that year. Sometimes other countries find it confusing the way Americans refer to their city’s team as “We” or the fact that me, a fan, would be congratulated for a professional football team’s win, that I had no part in accomplishing. But this is the norm for us in America, the city is a part of our team. So for these people living thousands of miles away from me to understand that was so cool to me. I think I was so happy that I could’ve hugged them.
This is my favorite part of traveling, meeting new people who remind you of all the good there is in life. It seems like a small gesture, but in that year to me, our first ever super bowl win, that comment was huge.
If you are looking for great service, food and an all around good time in Rotterdam – Get your ass to Obba’s!
