96 Best Restaurants in Tuscany, Italy

It's a most unassuming bar a stone's throw away from a massive Medici villa up the hill, and you might be tempted to walk right past it. Besides serving the usual array of coffees, spritzes, panini, and wines by the glass, it turns out terrific pizzas.

Blend is open 10 am to 9:30 pm (after most places are closed) and serves sandwiches, pasta, and creative salads. It's on a quiet little piazza right around the corner from the Duomo, and it offers outdoor seating in warmer months.

If you need a break from sightseeing, stop here for a cappuccino, sandwiches at lunchtime, or the array of appetizers set out during the cocktail hour. In summer, a few outdoor tables are set up directly on Via Nazionale, Cortona's main pedestrian street, and provide a great perch from which to people-watch.

Outdoor seating on Arezzo's main pedestrian square and a tasty range of chef's salads (named after the servers) make this a very pleasant spot for a light lunch during a tour of town. If you're here in the early evening, the dei Costanti serves up an ample buffet of snacks to accompany predinner aperitifs. In continuous operation since 1886, it's the oldest café in Arezzo, with a charming old-world interior.

Come here for a finely crafted sandwich (they have 18 different varieties on the menu), or something more substantial like the crostone ai funghi (a very large portion of toasted bread topped with local, fragrant porcini mushrooms). Tiny local blueberries, in season, appear in numerous guises on the dessert menu. At après-ski time, the place positively hums as the pizza oven is fired up, and happy skiers seat themselves on furniture that looks as if an Alpine Fred Flintstone designed it.

Locals don't flock to this restaurant on the outskirts of Strada in Chianti for the art on the walls, some of it questionable, most of it kitsch, but instead for the bistecca fiorentina. As big as a breadboard and served rare, one of these justly renowned steaks is enough to feed a family of four, with doggie bags willingly provided if required. First courses are typical, desserts are standard, but the wine list is a varied and extensive surprise. Outdoor seating on the upstairs terrace provides great views of the surrounding countryside.

If you're tired of Tuscan food (it can happen), this place on a side street near the Duomo serves up typical Asian dumplings, as well as those that are completely Italian, such as manzo e porcini (beef with porcini mushrooms). The insalatina di trippa piccante (spicy tripe salad) pays homage to both Asian and Italian cuisine. A fine list of artisanal beers is on offer, as are nicely priced glasses of wine.

Sample the local vino while satisfying your appetite with simply prepared and presented bruschetta, soups, and pastas; on Fridays, the enoteca focuses on fish. In summer, a few tables are set in the shade under the trees in the town's main square.

Detour off Greve's flower-strewn main square for food that relies heavily on local ingredients (like cheese and salami produced nearby). The lengthy wine list provides a bewildering array of choices to pair with affettati misti or one of the primi (first courses)—the pici (a thick, hand-rolled spaghetti) are deftly prepared here. All dishes are made with great care, and outdoor seating makes summer dining particularly pleasant. It's also possible to simply stop by for a glass of wine.

There's no shortage of places to try Vernaccia di San Gimignano, the justifiably famous white wine with which San Gimignano is often singularly associated. At this wine bar, you can buy a glass of Vernaccia di San Gimignano and sit down with a cheese plate or one of the fine crostini.

A short drive down a steep, serpentine road from San Miniato brings you to this rustic country ristorante with sponged walls, stenciled decorations, and checkered tablecloths. The main courses are mostly Tuscan classics, such as bistecca Fiorentina (a generous cut of grilled steak), but white truffles, the local specialty, are also showcased, and you can get them with pasta, crespelle (thin pancakes filled with ricotta), tripe, eggs, beef fillet—there's even a postprandial truffled grappa. All this good fare pairs marvelously with a fine selection of local, lesser-known wines. If truffles don't float your boat, there are nontruffled things on the menu and, at night, the staff fires up the pizza oven.

This classic Italian restaurant offers simple preparations of locally caught fish. Try the antipasto il pescato del giorno (the daily catch), an ever-changing array of six, sometimes seven, different raw fish dishes determined by the day's catch. The chef lets his imagination run wild, and it's only to the benefit of the happy diners.

Any one of this restaurant's piatti tipici (typical plates) is worth trying, though the local specialty, pici all'aglione (thick, long noodles served with sautéed cherry tomatoes and many cloves of garlic), is done particularly well. The chef also has a deft touch with vegetables; if there's fennel on the menu, make sure to order it. The interior, with white walls, low ceilings, and old wood tables, is cozy and the service is warm and friendly.

It's small, but the very cheery staff is only too happy to provide you with wonderful plates of typical Tuscan food. The kitchen stays open a little bit later than most, which makes this a perfect stop after seeing some of the amazing art that Arezzo has to offer. Reservations are a necessity if you are attending the monthly antiques fair.

This lovely trattoria has been around for a long time, and with good reason—the Tuscan classics rely heavily on the local cheese (pecorino) and local meats (especially wild boar, among others), and the wine list is long and very well-priced. The white walls, tile floors, and red tablecloths create an understated tone that is unremarkable, but once the food starts arriving, it's easy to forgive the lack of decoration.

The name means Happy Tufa, and you will be happy, too, if you eat at this fine restaurant cut directly into the tufa rock plateau upon which old Pitigliano sits. The cuisine is local and regional—the pappardelle al ragù di cinghiale (pappardelle pasta with wild boar sauce) is particularly tasty, as is the acquacotta (seasonal bread and vegetable soup served with quail egg). 

Highly regarded by residents of Colle di Val d'Elsa, this trattoria serves Tuscan classics that often feature game such as pheasant, pigeon, or quail. The decor is simple, and the service is first-rate. In warmer months, you can sit outdoors on a square.

Locals crowd into this tiny place, which has a lovely view, to feast on lunches and dinners featuring treats from the sea. Antipasti such as raw oysters or code di manzancolle (deep-fried shrimp) are perfect starters, followed by delicious pasta dishes or succulent mixed fry. Finish your meal with sgroppino (lemon sorbet pureed with vodka) to help cleanse the palate.

Lots of shaded outdoor seating makes this a pleasant place for lunch on a warm day. Pecorino cheese, spicy salami, and grilled vegetables sott'olio (preserved in olive oil) are served cafeteria-style. And, if you want something even spicier, the stuffed hot peppers are delicious. There is a good selection of wine, but the choice of desserts is limited, and they don't serve coffee.

Jazz plays softly in the background as you sip wine and dine either indoors, at rustic tables amid exposed brick-and-stone walls, or alfresco with a splendid view of the Piazza del Duomo. Typical wine-bar fare, such as plates of cured ham and cheese, shares the menu with a surprisingly sophisticated list of daily specials. For example, you might try insalatina con foie gras condita con vinaigrette (foie gras with dressed greens).

Inside a 13th-century palazzo, chef–owner Romano Magi prepares Tuscan and Arezzo specialities with a slow-food ethos. Beef is king with Magi sourcing high-quality IGP Chianina for all his raw, grilled, and roasted dishes. 

On Sunday afternoon, this old-fashioned farmhouse-esque trattoria teems with lively Italian families. Grilled meats are the house specialty, and if you have room for dessert, the kitchen whips up a mean tiramisu. Eat in the dining room, or choose a shady table in the garden overlooking the vineyards.

An elegantly restored monastery in the upper part of Montepulciano is home to this excellent enoteca (wine bar), which has a wide selection of wines by the glass.

A perfect stop for lunch while exploring the region's wineries, this trattoria offers cucina casalinga (home cooking) that can be eaten in the dining room or on a lovely outdoor patio. Outstanding primi include maccheroni alla nonna (macaroni with asparagus in a light cream sauce dotted with truffle oil), while secondi usually feature delicious misto alla griglia (mixed grilled meats).

Part of the elegant Hotel Byron but open to the public, La Magnolia is helmed by chef Marco Bernardo, who knows his basics and allows flights of fantasy to take over. The games begin with amuse-bouches—his take on fegatini (a typical Tuscan chicken liver spread) with a gelatin made from Aleatico (a serious red wine) sets the stage for what's to follow. Stellar service and a well-informed sommelier also make the meal memorable, especially when it's served poolside.

Multicolor gingham tablecloths provide an interesting juxtaposition with rib-vaulted ceilings dating from the 13th century. The menu is seasonal—in autumn, don't miss the tonnarelli cacio e pepe (thick spaghetti with cheese and pepper), and, in summer, eat lighter fare on the intimate, flower-bedecked terrace in the back.

This lively, gaily colored little trattoria (the name means "black sheep") with a high-vaulted ceiling is staffed by giovani disabili (both mentally challenged and learning-disabled young people), who wait tables under the supervision of a nondisabled companion. The food's terrific, from the made-in-house pizzas and focaccias to the traditional torta ai pinoli (pine nut cake). Great care is taken with sourcing, when possible, local organic ingredients, and such care translates into a lovely meal.

The very unassuming decor (wooden tables, wooden chairs) sets the scene for terrific Tuscan food. Though there's not a truffle dish to be found on the menu, there's lots to satisfy the palate. The tasty food arrives in nicely sized portions; excellent house wine is on offer, as are other wines by the bottle, which are all nicely priced; and desserts are pretty good here.

You can enjoy straightforward Tuscan fare in the massive tower at the abbey's entrance, or, when it's warm, on a flower-filled terrace. The pici ai funghi (extra-thick handmade spaghetti with mushroom sauce) or zuppa di funghi (mushroom soup) take the sting out of a crisp winter day, and the grilled meats are a good bet at any time of year. If you want lighter fare, there's a bar serving panini that has outdoor seating.