San Donato in Poggio
Bib Gourmand · Family trattoria in a medieval village
Inside the walls of San Donato in Poggio, one of the best-preserved medieval villages of the western Chianti, La Toppa is a family trattoria that has no interest in fashion. The MICHELIN Guide gives it a Bib Gourmand for good cooking at fair prices: mixed crostini, ribollita, pici all’aglione and slow-braised beef with vegetables, with game in season, wild boar stew above all.
Save room for dessert: the inspectors rate its caramel panna cotta among the best in the area. In warm weather service moves outside, and the mood is convivial and informal. It is the right place for a long lunch after a morning in the vineyards around Barberino Tavarnelle, or for a quiet supper once the village has emptied of day visitors.
Historic restaurant · Passignano
The name tells its history: this was once the place where riders rested and changed horses, in the shadow of the ancient abbey of Badia a Passignano. The Puliti family has run it for decades with the quiet conviction of people who know exactly what they are doing.
One MICHELIN star · Antinori estate · Beside the abbey
1 MICHELIN StarUnder the walls of the medieval abbey of Passignano, on the Antinori estate, the Osteria has held a MICHELIN star every year since 2007. Chef Matteo Lorenzini cooks from the Tuscan repertoire with a light, precise hand and is not afraid of fish; the inspectors single out a crab salad with caviar and citrus from the estate’s own trees. Much of what reaches the plate grows in the Orto della Badia beside the abbey walls.
One MICHELIN star · In a 12th-century castle
1 MICHELIN StarLa Torre is the gastronomic restaurant of COMO Castello Del Nero, set in the twelfth-century castle with long views over the Chianti hills. Executive chef Giovanni Luca Di Pirro holds a MICHELIN star for cooking that takes Tuscan ingredients somewhere more inventive; the inspectors praise its technique, creative flair and depth of flavour, and presentation that lives up to the setting.
COMO Hotels · 12th-century castle · One MICHELIN Key