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Friends will be here from Florida and am looking for a great Italian restaurant.

Friends from Florida will be in town next weekend and I am looking for a great Italian restaurant experience. Primo & Secundo, Il mulino and Il Campari Centro have been suggested, but I have checked online and there isn't much info for any of them. Any recommendations among these three or any other suggestions would be appreciated. Price, up to a point, is no object (willing to go up to $75.00/person or so (we are not big drinkers, so price includes a shared bottle of wine, tax and tip). Preferred location would be from Rene Levesque between Guy and St. Denis and then north to Jean Talon between Park Avenue and St. Hubert.
Thanks for your suggestions.

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  1. By the way, I'd be open to restaurants in Old Montreal and recall excellent reports for Da Emma. Is that a good choice?

    4 Replies
    1. re: davyboy

      Da Emma is an excellent choice, IMHO. We had a great meal there a few months back. And they have a really nice outdoor terrace, if I'm not mistaken. You can easily do it for $75/person. There's also Graziella, also in Old Montreal, but that might be a bit pricier.

      1. re: cherylmtl

        There's always Bice , I guess. It's pretty pricey and I don't think the food is AMAZING but its right downtown and its upscale. I really don't know where the better Italian restos are in Montreal since I usually eat in for Italian. Bottega is always good for pizza though.

        1. re: berbatov

          I was surprised by the food at Bice. I had a great octopus salad there and the hand made pasta is really something special. Maybe a tad too pricey and the desserts were disappointing though.

      2. re: davyboy

        Da Emma is good but If you want a more intimate place, try Cafe Della Posta on Bernard near Parc. It's my new favorite restaurant. Simply perfect. And keep some room for the desert : try their ice cream topped with an espresso! Its fabulous!!

      3. Lucca!! It's my choice for Italian, the staff is very friendly and I have never had a problem with the food. Some plates are unbelievable.

        2 Replies
        1. re: olivier1665

          It appears that some higher end Italian restaurants close for all or part of August, Primo Secondo and Il Mulino case in point. The visitors have never been to Little Italy so, Lucca, which is open, it is. Thanks for the other suggestions.

          1. re: davyboy

            Correction to my previous post.
            Primo Secondo has what I thought was a rather convoluted voice mail message which I interpreted as their being closed other than Aug. 11-14, but I left a voice mail anyway. They called to inform me that they are, in fact, open Saturday, the 15th, so I have changed the reservation from Lucca to Primo Secondo.

        2. Piatto Pieno on St Zotique in Little Italy is really good. The pizza is fabulous. And I believe it's a byob.

          1. I would definitely recommend Primo e Secundo over both Lucca and Da Emma. I love all three, and each have been a favorite at one point or another- but Primo e Secundo is so incredible. I would not go to Piato Pieno, the food was really not great last time- but a more informal option is bottega- delicious and great atmosphere for one of your other nights....