Restaurants in Central Tuscany
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Gelateria di Piazza
As the pictures on the wall attest, many celebrities have closed their lips around one of these rich ice creams (‘All the family thought the ice cream was delicious, ’ attested one Tony Blair). Master Sergio uses only the choicest ingredients: pistachios from Sicily and cocoa from Venezuela.
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Antica Osteria da Divo
This place plays background jazz that is as smooth as the walls are rough-hewn. At the lower, cellar level you’re dining amid Etruscan tombs. The inventive menu includes dishes such as cannelloni with ricotta, spinach, grilled sweet peppers, tomatoes and Tuscan pesto sauce.
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Kopa Kabana
Flout the places with enviable locations and be rewarded with absurd mountains of Siena’s freshest gelato, starting at €1.70. A second location is at Via San Pietro 20.
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Le Vecchie Mura
This is a wonderful spot, especially if you snap up a terrace table on a warm summer's night. The food competes with the phenomenal view of rolling green hills and the wine list has more than a dozen varieties of Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Choose from a delicious selection of primi piatti such as gnocchi con tartufo e formaggio (gnocchi with truffles and cheese) and you can't go wrong with the perfectly prepared beef options. Book ahead to guarantee that panorama.
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Osteria delle Catene
The windows are plastered with the guidebook accolades it has justifiably received. The brick-barrelled interior is softly lit while the menu is heavy on strong meats - hare, boar, duck and rabbit. Alongside many Tuscan stalwarts and saffron experimentation such as the zuppa medievale, there's the spaghetti dell'Ostria (spaghetti with zucchini, sausages and chilli pepper in puréed sauce) and a small, but sublime carrot and leek soufflé.
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Osteria Il Ponte San Lorenzo
Around 15km out of town, you can get superb, home-style cooking and ambitious set menus at this rustic restaurant. Take the SS439 road south, heading towards Pomarance. About 3km beyond Saline di Volterra you enter San Lorenzo; the osteria is the highlight of this tiny, blink-and-you'll-miss-it village. They have a few rooms and the accommodation price includes breakfast if you're too bloated to drive back to Volterra.
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Osteria al Carcere
A fine osteria, offering an atypical menu (the words ‘ primi ’ and ‘ secondi ’ are nowhere to be seen) loaded with distinctive plates. There are a half-dozen soups, including zuppa di farro e fagioli (spelt and white bean soup) and creative flashes like tacchina al pistacchi e arance (turkey with pistachios and orange sauce).
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Trattoria La Mangiatoia
A highly regarded trattoria serving tempting, regional fare like the small, but tasty saccottini di pecorino al tartufo (ravioli filled with potatoes and pecorino cheese with truffle sauce). With candles flickering and classical music in the background, share it with that special someone. Or hold hands after dark on the delightful summer patio.
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Il Castello
Both wine bar and restaurant, this place has a delightful patio with views and an all-brick, glass-domed courtyard. Nosh on a macho-meaty bistecca alla fiorentina or cinghiale alla sangimignanese con polenta (wild boar with polenta), or opt for a lighter option such as the pennette with broccoli, wild mushrooms and saffron.
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Trattoria il Poggio
A popular restaurant where the cheery waitresses bustle around and find time to chat with the regulars between dashes to the electric dumbwaiter raising food from the subterranean kitchen. There's a good set menu, an outdoor terrace and rich dishes such as scampi and rocket, or ravioli with asparagus and ham in a parmesan cream sauce.
reviewed
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Al Marsili
One of the city's classiest restaurants, here you'll find white-smocked waiters dishing up traditional Sienese cuisine such as pici all'aglione (fresh Sienese pasta, with a garlic and tomato sauce). The restaurant also offers more innovative dishes such as stuffed panzerotti with truffle.
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Osteria Le Logge
This place changes its menu of creative Tuscan cuisine almost daily. In the downstairs dining room, once a pharmacy, bottles are arranged in cases, floor to ceiling, like books in a library; there are over 18,000 more in the cellars so you won’t go thirsty. There’s also a large streetside terrace.
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Dorando
Recognised by the Slow Food Movement, Dorando runs a classic five-course menu with dishes based on authentic Etruscan recipes. The menu is otherwise brief and focused (only four primi and four secondi ). The atmosphere is swanky yet cool, with intimate corners and works of art.
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Enzo
Classic pictures of Siena decorate the walls, while classy settings decorate the tables. A variety of tasting menus relieve one from the need to choose from the lengthy menu, while curiosities like the 'deconstructed cannoli' will keep you seated for dessert. Dinner reservations a must.
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Il Carroccio
Exceptional pasta and exceptionally busy, so arrive early for lunch and call ahead for dinner. Try the pici, a thick spaghetti typical of Siena, followed by the tegamate di maiale (pork with fennel seeds). It’s a member of the Slow Food Movement – always a good sign.
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Il Porcellino
Despite its dangerous proximity to Piazza dei Priori and its tourist beacon, postersized menu, this place dishes out decent meals at very reasonable prices. The menu includes game dishes, seafood and some surprises, like boar with olives. There is also a variety of set menus.
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Osteria Castelvecchio
Highly regarded by locals, this eatery has a couple of attractive bare-brick rooms. Rumbling tummies should opt for the constantly changing menù degustazione. It's also a good spot for veggies, with at least four meatless dishes normally on offer.
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La Pizzeria di Nonno Mede
Drop a coin into the well in the floor, then dive into the around buffet lunch or choose from the exhaustive pizza menu. The reasonably priced menu has a consistent spread of Tuscan favourites and the fantastic view from the terrace is also reliably Tuscan.
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Re di Macchia
This is a very agreeable small restaurant run by an enterprising couple. Roberta selects the freshest of ingredients and the wine cellar is impressive; to sample a variety, try Antonio’s personal selection of four wines (€16), each to accompany a course.
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Enoteca a Gambe di Gatto
Renowned throughout the region, exacting husband and wife team of Emanuel and Laura travel the country each winter to acquire the absolute best products from organic producers. The daily menu fluctuates wildly, depending on market offerings.
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Trattoria Diva e Maceo
An uncomplicated place, Trattoria Diva e Maceo is popular with the locals and carries a good selection of local wines. You can feast on Tuscan cuisine like taglatelle al tartufo (tagliatelle with truffles) in simple surroundings.
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Osteria Boccon del Prete
A small, hectic, typical Sienese place, offering a daily changing menu. Dishes are largely composed of lighter fare such as smoked swordfish and salmon salad. There’s downstairs seating, so don’t back out if the place appears to be full.
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Al Baccanale
A family operation favoured by locals, serving belt-challenging, pick-and-mix pasta/sauce plates, including the popular, idiosyncratic maltagliati, or ‘badly cut pasta’, the random, leftover bits after other pasta has been cut.
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Pizzeria da Nanni
A hole-in-the-wall-plus – the plus being the excellent pizzas that Nanni spatulas from his oven while sustaining a vivid line of backchat, notably with his wife. Unscheduled closings are increasing as the couple eases into retirement.
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Ristorante Don Beta
With four truffle-based primi piatti and five secondi enhanced by their fragrance, this is the place to sample the prized fungus, which abounds – insofar as it abounds anywhere – in the woods around Volterra.
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