Siena Restaurants

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Somewhere in the winding alley between San Domenico and Casa di Sta Caterina is an unassuming osteria which, at first glance, seems to be more proud of its contrada - depicted by the dragon mascot - than its food. But the food here - at least the ones I had - is anything but second-rate.

Order their pici al ragu - thick spaghetti in ragu meat sauce for your primi piatti and you'll crave for more of their cooking. The ragu sauce is not heavy, and drizzled with the right amount of freshly grated parmesan reggiano just to give it an extra flavor. My secondi piatti - a Lombardy specialty, ossobucco or braised veal shank to you and me, is rightly seasoned and has this melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. It was a bit cold though, but I don't blame them since I sat at the al fresco dining area on a rather chilly autumn afternoon. Creme caramel - scrumptious, delectable - ended the lovely lunch on a high note.

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The sight of locals supping was the biggest draw for me. But the evening ended on a flat note. Firstly, the appetizer of mozzarella ball with grilled pepper and aubergine was unexciting. I guess it is was it is - a ball of mozzarella cheese. The main course - roast duck with fennel seeds - was dry, tasting almost paper-like, although the fennel flavor blended quite well with the rather strong flavor of the duck. The skin though, could have been roasted a little bit more, although I wasnt expecting peking-duck perfection. And the dessert, chocolate flan, was the biggest letdown - it was drier and flakier than chocolate cake!

The positives: the wine, Borgo Scopeto, was quite good - it was recommended by the waiter who used to work in the vineyards in Tuscany. And the service was prompt, attentive and friendly.

The restaurant prides itself with rave reviews from travel guides. My encounter with them was prompted by my search for something light - think seafood - after days of feasting on Siena's meaty cuisine. So it was seafood all the way.

It started with mussel soup, which was average - quite decent if you realize that Siena is hundreds of miles inland. The grilled seabass that followed was the same mediocre dish - and without batting an eyelash, the waiter proceeded to de-skin the fish - to my horror! I love my sea bass with skin and waiters usually ask before they show off their fish-handling skills. The saving grace was their homemade tiramisu - delicious!

Probably because of the positive travel guide reviews, the restaurant thinks their food was worth more than average. Paying more than average for food that is clearly average is not my idea of a good dinner - so this restaurant is best avoided if you share the same views.

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Siena is mighty proud of its culinary traditions, and the Il Carroccio is great venue to begin your Sienese food adventure. I had my first dinner here in Siena.

The food is unpretentiously simple. Their trippa alla toscana is tender, and surprisingly delicate for such a usually tough (and oftentime, discarded) part of the cow. Smoothered with olive oil and mixed with greens, it's a perfect appetizer, albeit a bit heavy. I was feeling carnivorous that evening, so the excellent tripe was followed by another excellent dish - classic pork Tuscan stew - and portion was HUGE. Again the meat is tender, and clearly had a good soaking in red wine - delicious! If I were Italian and Sienese, this would have been perfect comfort food on a cold day. Still, I made room for the scrumptious dessert - ricotta cheese with mansala sweet wine and molten chocolate - heavenly!

This small osteria is so popular and featured in Slow Food. By 8 pm, there's no vacant table - it's advisable to call ahead.

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Anxious to find a place relax and have lunch and enjoy a cool drink, we finally secured a table at one of the restaurants. It wasn’t particularly relaxing as our table abutted two others; both with German tourists. The harried wait staff didn’t clear the previous diners leftovers for at least 15 minutes. Pigeons waddled beneath the tables looking for leftovers. One whacked me on the head when it quickly took off. Our pizzas were good when we finally got them. (At last! Jill got her first pizza in Italy) We didn’t mind the 15% service charge assessed automatically, because after all, we were in Siena’s prime location.

Favorite Dish: I got a pizza but kind of wished I had gotten a salad when I saw my neighbor's. The restaurant had a decent selection of salads.

My glass of "vino rosso" was 10 euro!

I had the chicken and mushroom along with the Salmon pasta. For antipasti I had some great Buffalo milk cheese. Also, there was a great selection of wine. We had a Aioloa Chianti, which was very good.

We found Il Bargello while strolling through the streets of Siena. When the tummy starts to rumble, we start to look for someplace to grab a bite. They had sandwiches and salads that really hit the spot.

You can get your food to go or they have a seating area inside.

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Trattoria Fori Porta is a charming little restaurant, located just outside of the walls of Siena, and just up the street from our hotel. We had early reservations, so there was only one other table occupied when we arrived. However, it wasn't long before it started to fill up with locals (or tourists who spoke perfect Italian).

The decor is simple, yet charming. In the main foyer area, they have their wines displayed along with, what we later learned, was an antipasti buffet. The dining rooms were pleasantly decorated and comfortable. The waiter was very nice, helping us along with our destruction of the Italian language while ordering.

The food was all delicious. All the ingredients are fresh and flavorful, and they had some different choices on the menu. I had the roasted rabbit (coniglio) and my wife had the wild boar (cinghiale). Both were prepared perfectly. I started with bruschetta, while Sue had a Souffle of eggplant, which was delicious.

If you find yourself looking for a reasonably priced restaurant, with good food and local appeal, try Trattoria Fori Porta.

Favorite Dish: The winner on this evening was the soufflè della melanzana or eggplant soufle. The flavors were incredible - a great mix of the eggplant flavors and the other spices.