Barb

I would love to hear any restaurant recommendations for Tuscany. We are staying in Radda at the Fattoria Vignale for three nights. WE would like to have one dinner in San Gimignano, one in Siena and one in or around our place. Anyone?

robin-k

A very frequently praised restaurant in Siena is "Cane e Gato" at V. Pagliarese 6, tel (0577) 287545. There have been several threads earlier this year discussing this restaurant. I went to Siena for a 1/2 visit & so, don't have a personal recommedation to offer. I'll see if I can raise up those prior topics on this place.

Elsa

The Dorando in San Gim. is excellent. Don't bother with La Terrazza in the Cisterna Hotel in S.G.

steve

The hardest thing about dining in Chianti is driving home after all the wine. We stayed down the road from Radda at the Hotel L'Ultimo Mulino. We we quite pleased with the food and wine. The atmosphere is a little lacking (no great views or Piazza's (just a patio room attached t the hotel). It is however only about a 5 minute drive away if you do not want to wander far.

Dean

San Gim our favorite is Il Pino. Simple traditional cooking featuring Piccione in Vernaccia and roast lamb. Nice wine list. Very good food for a tourist town. <BR> <BR>In CHianti, on the road from Poggibonsi to Castelling is Il Pestello. This is a middle of nowhere treat at very good prices. They do an especially good job on vegetables. The roast potatoes with sage are wonderfully flavored and crispy, the sage roasted to a crisp. Their lamb is crusted with salt and rosemary. Their soups are outstanding. For Chianti the prices are very reasonable L120,000 for a nice dinner for 2. If they have fresh porcini you absolutely shoud have them! <BR> <BR>If yo are going south to Montepulciano or Monte Oliveto (a stop we reccomend) try La Chiusa for a spectacular meal. Expensive but worth it. They or their neighbors grow most of the raw ingredients that go into the food. We had a 7 course tasting menu that was one of the top 5 meals I have ever had in my life (and probably the best non seafood meal ever!). Its about an hour drive or maybe a little more from Siena but worth the detour. <BR> <BR>As for Siena, all our Tuscan friends say theres not much great there.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

have never been called “ BOB THE GOURMET. Most of the places mentioned <BR>here are from others, including many of my former clients. It is hard to get a <BR>bad meal in Italy, but these are special. <BR>________________________________________ <BR> <BR>TOWN NAME ADDRESS PHONE COMMENT <BR>______________________________________________ _____________________________________ <BR>FLORENCE Enotoca Pinchiorri Via Ghibellina 87 055-242777 The best ! <BR> <BR>FLORENCE CIBREO Via del Verocchio 8 055-2341100 The trattoria <BR>behind the main ristorante is half the price for the same dishes. <BR> <BR>SIENA AL MANGIA Il Campo 42 0577-43996 Great location <BR> <BR>SIENA CANE E GATO Via Pagliaresi 6 0577-287545 Excellent <BR> <BR>LUCCA BUCCA DI ST. ANTONIO near San Michele Reservations <BR> <BR>LUCCA IL GIGLIO Piazza del Giglio 0583-494508 Charming ! <BR> <BR>MONTEPULCIANO LA GROTTA San Biagio Temple Upscale Tuscan fare <BR> <BR>MONTEFOLLONICO LA CHIUSA via Madonnina 88 577-669668 Call to <BR>reserve here. Small and quaint with flawless service and Tuscan fare. <BR> <BR>MONTALCINO POGGIO ANTICO Just south of town 577-849200 Also a <BR>wonderful winery. Great place for lunch when near this wine village. <BR> <BR>COLLE VAL D’ELSA ARNOLFO via xx Settembre 50 0577-920549 This <BR>one is excellent but expensive. Only 24 seats so call ahead. <BR> <BR>CASTELLINI ANTICA TRATTORIA LA TORRE town square Best in town <BR> <BR>SAN GIMIGNANO LE VECCHIE MURA ask locals to find simple but good <BR> <BR>

Julie

You are staying at the hotel associated with one of the best restaurants we ate at during our recent trip to Tuscany. The Vignale has one restaurant in the downstairs of the hotel. It was closed the day we were there so we walked around the town a bit an luckily found the Vignale restaurante which I believe is associated with the hotel but a couple of blocks away from it. We had lunch there with open windows overlooking "the hills of Tuscany." The view was spectacular and the food was on a par with the view. It's the top-rated Michelin choice in Radda. It has wood beams and ladderback chairs. The Panzanella was terrific. I had homemade crepes with eggplant, tomatoes and cheese followed by duck breast with balsamic, honey and rosemary. Cost of lunch for two with a nice bottle of white wine was only about $100 US. I ranked the meal on a par or maybe even better than the one I had at La Chiusa in Montefollonico that has one Michelin star and raves from many on this site (our lunch tab there was about $170 US). You are lucky to be staying so close to this great restaurant. Don't miss it.

canuck

We were very fortunate indeed last July to have the Cane e Gatto all to ourselves one evening for our group. It was an unforgettable evening with wonderful food and lovely hosts. It's in Siena and would highly recommend it.

sandi

Here's info from my trip report about San G. <BR> <BR>"We had dinner at La Stella ristorante on via S. Matteo,77 just doors down from our hotel. My husband and I tried so hard to order, and eat, like an Italian but there’s no way I can ingest that much food. We had fabulous gnocchi (?) with a tomato cream sauce and the steak Florentine. We ordered it medium but it was still very rare..and the pieces were huge. I felt so bad that so much was wasted. (The spinach with butter is delicious) The food was excellent though. For the 3 of us, including wine and service, was only about $50.00 (US).

Nancy

We had a wonderful dinner at Cane e Gatto in Siena a couple of weeks ago. It was a 6 course meal paired with wine. It is a family ran restaurant in business for the past 15 years. Pappa makes up the menu daily. I have more information (fax #, detailed directions to the restaurant) if you would like, just email me. <BR> <BR>We stayed in a farmhouse in Tuscany near San Gimignano so had most of our evening meals there. My favorite was Le Vecchie Mura. They have indoor and outdoor seating, the outdoor view is great. There are signs directing you to the restaurant (not in the square) and I would recommend reservations (We made ours there a day in advance).