10228 Wonderful restaurants in Volterra

We recently spent 4 nights in Volterra, and were a little unsure what standard of restaurants we would find. There were plenty of restaurants offering very similar tourist menus, but, thanks to a personal recommendation, we went to "Amarcord", one of the best gastronomic experiences of our lives! It is just a few minutes walk from the main square in Via San Lino 33, tel 0588 86298. It is run by Betty Simoncini - she does front of house, her mother is the chef. The decoration is an eclectic mix of styles - very stylish. The menu is wonderful, especially the game section. Betty advised us well, and I ordered the peposo, a special dish only served in a few restaurants in Tuscany. It is "muscoli di vitello" (not sure what cut that is in English!), simmered for 5-6 hours in red wine and black pepper. The result is astonishing - the sauce is deep black and so savoury. We ate there again on our last night, both having the peposo this time, and for our starter were offered pappardelle alle lepre (hare) which her mother had just made that day. It was sublime! The wine list is incredible - Betty is very knowledgeable, so let her be your guide here. It is well worth a detour to Volterra just to eat at "Amarcord" (although Volterra is, of course, a wonderful place in its own right); their website is [url]www.amarcordvolterra.it[/url].

Betty recommended another Volterra restaurant to us - a wine bar called "Web & Wine" very near the centre in Via Porta all'Arco 19, run by Federico Frosali; they have a restaurant next door, "Sala Dioniso". The menu was fantastic; one of the specialities was gnocchi with asparagus and pecoro di Fosso; we both had filetto di maiale di Cinta Senese - the best pork I have ever tasted. The wine list is excellent, and not just Tuscan. We had a wonderful Elena Walch pinot grigio. Great food, lovely staff, fantastic wine - highly recommended. Their website is [url]www.webandwine.com[/url].

Between "Amarcord" and "Web & Wine", you can have a wonderful gastronomic holiday in Volterra.

Category
Eat & Drink

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 08:48

Sorry not to have replied sooner - I didn't expect any replies to my initial message! I think the first night at Amarcord we paid about 75 Euros; the second time it was nearer 100, because we had a fanastic bottle of red wine, as good as Brunello, but from Bolghero. I think Web & Wine was in the 80-90 Euro range. Do try these two restaurants if you are ever in the Volterra area - you won't regret it!