Siena Restaurants

Ok, we just got back from Italy and you must, must, eat at this place I'm about to suggest in Siena. First off let me tell you a bit about myself just to give you an idea of what my standards are. I live in Los Angeles and eat out at expensive restaurants quite a bit. However, no amount of celebrity or world renound chefs can honestly compare to "Tratorreria La Torre" (I'm sure my spelling is incorrect). It's located near the main square in a small side alley. Ask the locals where it is for there is nothing but a small sign indicating its existence. Even once you find the sign you will second guess yourself because the door is hidden by those hanging bead types of things. It's as if the locals don't really want you to find the place. The only reason we found it was because we gave our tour guide a hefty tip and asked her where the locals eat. A good rule of thumb in any foreign country restaurant is if the tourists outnumber the locals, walk out. This definitely wasn't the case with this restaurant. We were the only tourist in there. The restaurant is tiny, approximately the size of a small living room, including the kitchen which is all visible. There was only one waiter who spoke only Italian, and two cooks. In addition to this, there was no menu. The waiter simply told you your options for the day. If I had to guess just by their interactions, I'd guess the waiter was grandpa, and the cooks were husband and wife. All the ingredients were laid out on what appeared a kitchen table.

Now for the food. We had pasta as our first course. It was light and extremely delicious. For the main dish we had the osso buco. First let me tell you, I am not religious, but I swear the first bite I took made me feel like I had seen the light. This was by far the best food I had ever eaten. Never mind Mortons or the Ivy here in LA. Just thinking about it now makes me want to go back to Siena just to eat here again. The meat simply dissolved in your mouth and the sauce was amazing. The house wine was delicious, we drank a whole bottle and we usually don't like wine. The home made tiramisu was creamy and delightful.

Seriously, if you go here, can you please, please bring me back some osso buco. Warning, if you eat here you will never be able to enjoy food from other places the same again.

Favorite Dish: Osso Buco

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In Sep 2007, we stayed one night at Il Canto del Sole, a friendly B&B located in an 18th century Tuscan farm house, 10km south of Siena. The B&B serve dinner upon request, and if you are staying there I suggest you stick around for a meal - not only was it excellent, but it is the only place nearby to eat.

In summer they serve dinner out on the terrace, but in the cooler months it is served in the atmospheric dining room, which has a large central fireplace. The night we visited was a little cool, so dinner was served indoors. It seemed like everyone who was staying at the B&B that night opted to have the evening meal. There was around 20 of us all up, and when dinner was announced we filed in and chose one of the large tables to sit at.

Favorite Dish: Dinner is a set menu, consisting of typical Tuscan dishes. There is plenty of excellent local wine on offer and you can order what ever bottle you like (at your cost).

Our meal started with Pasta with ricotta and tomato - it was delicious, the ricotta was produced on the farm. Next we had Roast chicken with vegetables, and finished up with Home made chocolate ice cream, which was rich and creamy.

The atmosphere was great, helped along even more by the complimentary Vin Santo that appeared at the end of the meal. A very enjoyable evening was had by all.

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Prior to our last visit in Sep 2007, I read a review that claimed Gelateria Caribia served the best gelato in Siena. Obviously we had to try it out to see how it compared to the other places we had tried gelato on previous visits to this beautiful town.

First of all we had to find it. Although it is located just off the main square, it still took us a little while to locate it - but that is the joy of Siena, even with a map it is still tricky to navigate (in a good way!).

Favorite Dish: Anyway, we found Gelateria Caribia and ordered a couple of scoops each. Unfortunately we were not impressed. The ice cream was way too icy and the flavours not as rich and delicious as you expect from tasty Italian gelati. I didn't even bother to finish mine.

Modest terrace right in the middle of the town. Located next to the Duomo Museum, which makes it an excellent spot to enjoy lunch after a long haul through the museum. Quick service.

Favorite Dish: Jennie and I had 'bibite and primi piatti' (i.e. lunch and something to drink). Good lunch that consisted mostly of rice and vegetables.

Try eating in the alley shops. The fare is far better than in the Piazza del Campo cafes, lthe lines are shorter (if time is an issue) less expensive as well. The owners are very happy to sit and talk with you about the history.

Amazed myself by managing to find this place on my own, only afterwards realising it was a 'Rough Guide' recommendation.

It's away from the Campo, so prices are much more reasonable. It's a perfectly good cafe/pasticcheria with exceptionally good ice-cream at a reasonable price. Well worth buyin your ice-cream here (lots of flavours on offer) and then wandering onwards to the Campo rather than paying an extortionate amount for a less scrummy version around the Campo itself.

Favorite Dish: I only tried the ice-cream!

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Gallo Nero or the Black Cockerel was probably inspired by the legend of how a black rooster helped Florence gained more land over Siena back in the 13th century. Either that, the symbol of a black rooster on a bottle of Chianti symbolizes the "Lega del Chianti" or Chianti League

OK, let's move on to the restaurant. Our guide proposed for us to try out medieval Sienese cuisine and this happened to be on in the city. The restaurant was quite packed when we arrived there and we had to go to the basement (like 2 floors below ground) for our seats.

For 25€, we had a full course meal of antipasto, soup, pasta, dessert & wine. To be honest, I wasn't full after the lunch because the servings were small.

I stumbled across this restaurant on my trip to Siena and It must have been fate. First of all, the food is fantastic! The chef, Mimmo, is absolutely amazing. I am from NYC and we have some great restaurants and I think im pretty picky. Hands down this was the best meal i've ever eaten. Ok, so it gets even better.... we have this fantastic dinner ala Mimmo and the other people working at the restaurant (Stefano, Ali, Cosimo) made some great recommendations for wine, etc. We had such a GREAT time with them that we all ended up going out afterwards... they showed us the town and this really was one of the best nights I had in Italy. I have such great memories of Siena and Guido's, I really do. When i left Siena the next day, i had tears in my eyes! I wanted to go right back and see the Guido boys.... I actually tailored my trip to come back to Siena... and went back to Guido's for my final meal - then we all went to the Siena v. Fiorentina soccer game. What a great ending to a great trip. If you see this post and go to Guido's, tell Ali and Stefano that Kelly says hello!

Favorite Dish: Mimmo's truffle pasta is to die for, the man is a god. I had two different truffle dishes there and both were out of this world. I actually bought the ingredients to try and make at home... and my dish was a complete joke compared to Mimmo's. Not only is he blessed with good looks, he's blessing with an amazing cooking talent. Also - try the goat cheese appetizer - it is melt in your mouth delicious!

I really cant say enough about this place. Food, atmosphere, details - - everything was great. I guess it was a little pricey, but nothing im not accustomed to in NYC... and it was well worth EVERY penny and then some.