A Foodie’s Guide to Lucca, Italy, Lucca, Italy

I’ll be honest and say the food wasn’t the primary reason we chose Lucca. I mean, it’s Italy, so I knew we couldn’t go too far wrong. But our main thinking behind Lucca was - believe it or not - its attitude towards dogs. After spending three months in relatively dog-unfriendly countries, we wanted somewhere we could take our Yorkie everywhere - into restaurants and bars, to parks and public spaces. Lucca is an old walled city, surrounded by grass and with a tree-lined walkway ringing the city on top of its ancient walls. Coupled with a huge raft of Tuscan restaurants (that actually let dogs in!), Lucca sounded like paradise.

But Lucca has its own unique dishes, too. The favourite (to the point that almost every restaurant serves it) is tordelli Lucchesi: crescent-shaped stuffed pasta with a meat-based filling, topped with a beef ragu that’s variously spiced with nutmeg, clove or even juniper.

And we were not disappointed when we arrived. At least, not by the city’s food and greenery. (The weather left a little to be desired, but that’s another story!) As you’d expect in Tuscany, Lucca’s restaurants serve plenty of Tuscan food specialities including Fiorentina steak and pasta with gamey sauces like wild boar and rabbit. But Lucca has its own unique dishes, too. The favourite (to the point that almost every restaurant serves it) is tordelli Lucchesi: crescent-shaped stuffed pasta with a meat-based filling, topped with a beef ragu that’s variously spiced with nutmeg, clove or even juniper. In springtime, look out for garmugia: a soup of spring vegetables studded with pork. And after dinner, don’t forget a digestivo of Biadina Lucchese - a traditional aromatic liqueur that comes (somewhat bizarrely) with pine nuts floating in it. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).