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There are three aspects that define a great restaurant: the food, the service and the ambiance. Quality of food and quality of service are the absolute key elements for any restaurant, whether it be high-cuisine or fast-food. However, you can compromise on ambiance if you're just looking for a good restaurant but it becomes a vital ingredient in the making of a great one.

Quality of food is, perhaps obviously, the prime requirement. The two key things that, for me, define a great Italian's restaurant's food are the quality of its pizza and the freshness of its fish: I have found that if they score highly on those two aspects that other things such as their pasta and meats usually follow suit.

Great pizza is a huge treat. It's the lushness of the pizza base that does it: thin and crispy but miraculously soft at the same time such that the topping becomes almost secondary. Even if you don't fancy a pizza as a main meal, why not have it as a starter to share amongst your party?

Freshness of fish has to be one of the hallmarks of a great restaurant, Often the fish dishes will not be listed on the menu because the chef won't know until the day what fish he can source, so the fish selection should be recited by your waiter and - another hallmark of a great restaurant - you will be given the choice a to how you want it cooked: grilled, fried, baked, steamed; sauces, no sauces. It'll be up to you.

The pleasure you get from outstanding food can be dulled by indifferent service, so this really has to be excellent to make a great restaurant. Prompt, polite and attentive waiting is a "must have". The waiting staff should be knowledgeable about the food, wines and any other drinks available and able to make any recommendations that you should require.

A good ambiance is the third ingredient necessary for a great restaurant. Since we are talking Italian, then the first element to assist with this will be that the waiting staff should all be Italian. If the men waiters sing and flirt with the females in your party, then all the better - that is an essence of Italy! Good Italian waiting staff tend to be mainly male but if you're lucky there will be a fine "fanciulla" to balance interest for the men in your party! First and foremost though, you want to hear that wonderful lilted language of theirs as they talk to each other!

Decor and music are also important elements of the ambiance. Opulence is not really the Italians' style but a great restaurant will be smart and tidy. All of the artwork displayed should remind you of Italy, as should the Italian music, which I do enjoy in restaurants, particularly when it is played at an unobtrusive volume: you choose if and when to focus on it.

Find an Italian restaurant with the right combination of these three elements of food, service and ambiance and you will know you have found a great one because you will feel as though you really are in Italy!

Learn more about this author, Alex Tours.
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