32 Best Restaurants in Tuscany, Italy

Cialde, a local specialty, are circular wafers made with flour, sugar, eggs, and almonds from Puglia. The Bargilli family has been serving them with their equally delicious ice cream since 1936. Try them at Bargilli, the family's shop and probably the best gelateria in town.

It's open only for lunch and it's well off the beaten path (even if it is in the center of Livorno's shopping district), but getting here is worth the trouble: this tiny place has a short menu that changes daily, a superb wine list, and a gregarious staff. Its baccalà alla livornese (deep-fried salt cod served with chickpeas) is succulent and crisp; soups, such as ribollita, are very soothing. You could also pop in to sample a glass at the wine bar or to browse the shelves filled with wines from all over Italy.

This is, without a doubt, one of the region's most creative restaurants—an intimate place with a menu that's Tuscan but not (its signature egg yolk starter is done with élan). Not a step is missed, and although it's possible to order à la carte, the tasting menu is also popular. When it's warm, you can sit outside in an enclosed courtyard.

This institution—it's been around since 1806—began life as a butcher shop and, indeed, it still is. But it also has a little restaurant inside the shop which serves great taglieri (plates of mixed cured pork products, usually, though cheese does prominently figure as well). Soups, lasagne, various tartares, and sandwiches are also on hand. The quality of the products is exceptional.

The name means "the usual soup," but there's hardly anything usual about the soups on offer—as wait staffers often explain, this restaurant is committed to cooking seasonally, using what's currently available at the market. Expect wonderfully tasty soups and brilliant secondi (second course), all served in a room with high vaulted arches dating from the 17th century.

Local butcher and restaurateur, Dario Cecchini, has extended his empire of meat to include this space above his butcher's shop. In addition to two tasting menus—one heavily meat laden, the other with none—you'll find a homemade version of giardiniera sott'olio (pickled and preserved vegetables) that's second to none. All offerings are a nice change from the more standard options found at restaurants throughout Chianti. The bread on the table is exceptional (the product of much experimentation).

As high in Montepulciano as you can get, just behind the Duomo, this small and intimate restaurant is expertly run by the mother-and-son team of Lorena and Paolo Brachi. Passionate about the food they prepare, both have a flair for the region's traditional dishes—the pici all'aglione (pasta with garlic sauce) and the filetto ai funghi porcini (steak with porcini mushrooms) are mouthwateringly good. The wine list, though limited in range, presents a decent selection of wines from both Montepulciano and Montalcino. For a change from the usual Tuscan meat dishes, fresh fish is served on Friday. Outdoor seating is limited.

Although this restaurant is on a tiny side street and can be easy to miss, do try to find it, as it serves fantastic food, with dishes listed on the seasonal menu under "L'Innovazione" (Innovations, usually, on classics) or "La Tradizione" (Tradition). Adventurous eaters should try such flights of fancy bavarese di fegato, which comes adorned with pomegranate seeds and redefines chicken liver pâté. The Del Duca family plays an active role in what food is brought to their tables.

It's set in a lively, historic market square and frequented by locals. The menu adheres to Tuscan tradition, often including high-quality bistecca alla fiorentina, but also indulges in some flights of fantasy, as evidenced by a whimsical dessert that riffs on a liquid Livornese classic.

At lunch and dinner time, this social hub for San Miniatans turns into a full-blown trattoria serving up local specialties. You can't go wrong with any of the wonderful panini, which are made with bread baked on-site and which you can eat seated at a table with a splendid valley view.

This spot just outside the walled town of Monteriggioni is the perfect stop on the way to Siena from Florence or vice versa. The bar serves excellent coffees and sweets, and the highly informal dining room serves up terrific local specialties. Sublime panini, which can be topped with sott'olii (vegetables preserved under olive oil), can be taken to go, or you can sit outside with a nice glass of wine while you eat.

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. Outdoor dining may be had in warmer months.

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.

The outstanding gelato, sorbet, and ices, some of which are sugar-free, served here are prepared three times a day according to the same recipes used by the Arnoldo brothers when they opened the place in 1927. The pièces de résistance are frozen fruits stuffed with creamy filling: don't miss the apricot sorbet–filled apricot.

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.

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.

Wine lovers shouldn't miss this wine bar/eatery, which is just off Piazza Grande and has more than 700 labels on its list. Seasonal traditional dishes, such as acquacotta del casentino (porcini mushroom soup) or baccalà in umido (salt-cod stew), are served in the simply decorated, vaulted dining room. You can accompany your meal with one, or more, of the almost 30 wines that are available by the glass. Limited outdoor seating is available in warm weather.

Though it's still very much in the center, it's far from the madding crowds. Wonderful wines pair beautifully with the tasty morsels served atop toasted bread. If you want something more substantial than the delicious cheese plate, soups of the day may be found on the menu. This place is an oasis in a town overrun with day visitors.

It bills itself as a caffetteria/ristorante, which means it opens at 7 in the morning for coffee, serves lunch and dinner, and then closes well after dinner is over. Warm-color, sponged walls and simple wooden tables and chairs provide the backdrop for some tasty fare. They're particularly big on fish here; if it's available, order the calamari spadellati su crema di fagioli alla paprika e valeriana (panfried squid on a creamy bean puree spiced with paprika and garnished with delicate green leaves). The lasagna is ample, cheesy, and thoroughly satisfying; the service is great; and the wine list is strong on local wines.

This charming, white-walled restaurant, a few steps from Piazza dei Cavalieri, is reason enough to come to Pisa. They can do it all here—serve up exquisitely grilled fish dishes, please vegetarians, and prepare tagliata for meat lovers. Three set menus, from the sea, garden, and earth, are available, or you can order à la carte. For dinner there's an early seating (around 7:30) and a later one (around 9); opt for the later one if you want time to linger over your meal.

Although it calls itself an osteria (tavern), this place much more resembles a wine bar, with a bill of fare that includes several different types of pâtés and a short list of seasonal soups and salads. The sampler of goat cheeses, which can be paired with local wines, should not be missed. Operatic arias tend to play softly in the background, and service is courteous.

The first things you'll see upon entering this mercato e cucina (market and kitchen) are a row of dazzling, just-caught fish on ice and a display case with prepared foods to go. Select from a large array of crudi (including several raw oyster options) before opting for the fry (either mixed, anchovies, zucchini with squid, or fish croquettes) or the very tasty fish burger. Nice wines by the glass are on offer, as are bottles.

This one-room prosciutteria, which opens late in the morning and closes late at night, serves salads and sandwiches featuring pork products in their various incarnations. The wine list is particularly strong with bottles from the area, and its prices are reasonable. Locals flock here for good reason: portions are not small, and the hosts are gregarious. For those who don't eat meat, but do eat fish, the anchovy/sliced potato salad soaked in top-notch olive oil and dotted with capers, is a winner.

Lovers of seafood fill this unpretentious trattoria, where the unremarkable decor (yellowed walls, fluorescent lights) can be taken as a testament to the singular focus here on high-quality cuisine. Start with the insalata di mare tiepida (seafood antipasti), and follow with the flavorful spaghetti all'ammiraglia (admiral-style, laden with mussels, baby clams, squid, and fresh tomatoes).

Homemade pastas and fresh seafood are served here with a dash of style. The chef puts a creative spin on the classics, coming up with such delights as homemade vegetable gnocchi with scampi in a butter and saffron sauce. The semifreddi (think part gelato, part cake) are particularly good. Just a few steps from Rio Marina's scenic port, this is an easy stop on your way to or from the ferry.

Panini are the order of the day here, and they come with historic names (bearing no relation to what's actually contained between those two pieces of bread). Cured Italian pork products figure heavily, but there are vegetarian and pescatarian options, too. As evidenced by the caramello burro saltato con mascarpone (caramelized butter with a soft, spreadable, cow's milk cheese), dessert might also be served on the restaurant's tasty bread.