VIAREGGIO. The hours are counted New Year’s Eve and also this year, a Viareggiothere will be many waiting for midnight in a restaurant room. Whether it’s couples looking for a romantic atmosphere, families or large tables of friends, little changes: many restaurants in the city will be fully booked for the last dinner of the year, an evening that proves to be special even in a moment of general difficulty in the restaurant sector.
«I can say, with happiness, that for New Year’s Eve we have been fully booked for a few days already – he declares Roberto Franceschiniowner of the historic restaurant in via Mazzini From Roman – confirms itself as an evening that still “pulses” and that makes people want to spend it sitting at the table, in the company of friends and loved ones, between excellent food and music». Among the best restaurants in the city (one Michelin star), “Romano” offers a fixed menu from 200 euros per person (excluding drinks) which starts from fish and ends with meat, from gratin cuttlefish and spaghetti with lobster to capon broth and the inevitable cotechino with lentils. «An evening that certainly remains special – continues Franceschini – but which unfortunately does not act as a driving force for the days before and after». It will also be a special evening at the flagship venue of Marina di Torre del Lagoil Fresh Basil Of Giacomo Pezziniwhere «we have closed reservations for New Year’s Eve for over a month fortunately – confirms the owner – having a solid base of loyal customers who will wait with us for midnight. We will host around 140 people – he explains – who will dine with our fixed menu based entirely on fish, which will not miss the famous Catalan dish. All with the always appreciated background music.”
Another iconic Viareggio restaurant that has been fully booked for days is The Port in via Coppino, whose renowned terrace with a view – together with the fixed menu of 160 euros per person with rice with scampi, lobster and red tuna – has attracted many for New Year’s Eve. According to the owner Bruno Bertihowever, «even on an evening like this you can see all the difficulties that our sector is facing – he declares – for New Year’s Eve we managed to fill the place, also thanks to a base of regular customers who are loyal to us and the evening was certainly special, but the situation can be understood by how many “no” a restaurant has to say: if in past years there were even hundreds of them, this year perhaps there are around ten of them». Similar analysis also for the days immediately following New Year’s Eve, “when perhaps those who hadn’t been able to find a seat for the evening of the 31st came to eat – explains Berti – while to date there are no reservations for the 2nd and 3rd. A situation which, I must say, our category deserves to some extent, given the too many often unjustified increases which clash with a clientele which, instead, is increasingly careful and measured in its choices”.
If New Year’s Eve fills the rooms of several restaurants, «it won’t be the same for everyone – he says Maurizio Baccili of Confesercenti – a distinction must certainly be made between the more historic establishments, perhaps based on a solid family management, and those which have opened more recently. For the former, New Year’s Eve will almost certainly be sold out, given the established name and a pool of loyal customers. For the latter, however – he explains – the picture is not necessarily so rosy.” According to Baccili, proof of this would be “the choice, made by an increasingly large number of restaurateurs, to present an à la carte menu even on occasions such as New Year’s Eve dinner in an attempt to attract a larger segment of people”. The average for a fixed menu on New Year’s Eve “is now around 100 euros per person excluding drinks – he concludes – and it will hardly be sustainable for a family of four, for example”.
