I can confirm what has already been posted here. Yes, it is hard to find (look for the Hausbrandt…read moresign, see pic). Yes, there is in fact a grandma cooking the food (just as Jeff J. said, two in fact). Yes, the food is amazing. Maybe the reason this place is so hard to find is that it is a hidden gem that feels so authentic that you only hear whispers about it. But it is real folks. We started our meal with the fried polenta with ragu. The combination is a meal in itself. You can tell the ragu was fresh and well made because you could see the chunky bits of garlic, mushrooms and meat. The next course was the lasgna. It was rich with the ragu and ricotta. The noodles tasted homemade. It was a delicious dish blessed by a nonna. The last course was the steak Florentine. You can order it by weight. My conversion math may have been off because we got a HUGE cut of porterhouse. But it was absolutely tender and delicious. We enjoyed this delight to the bone. The service was exceptional. We were the only non-Italian folks in the restaurant but we were treated like family. I will also add that while I enjoyed our food selection, I noticed that the pizzas and pork/veal shank were also very popular and looked incredibly appetizing. My only regret is that we found this gem of a restaurant on our last night in Barga. I wish I had more time to taste more of the menu. The family owns another restaurant in Lucca (la Donna Clara) and one that's 3 km away that does seafood.

Writing this review is ridiculously painful because figuring out how we got there and its address…read morewas impossible. Their "webpage" is on Facebook, but their address on Facebook is inaccurate (stating that it's in Lucca city). On the receipt, there are two addresses, their page on TripAdvisor is matches one of the address on the receipt. When I put down the address here, the location on Yelp doesnt seem right. I tried to Google Map this place, but street images were taken in 2011, and this place wasnt opened yet. Long story short, we were driving down from Renaissance Tuscany Il ciocco resort on the SP20 looking for a restaurant, and happened to turn into this one off the side. It seemed like a traditional Italian restaurant you see on TV with cozy red chequered table cloths, a wood fire oven, and ladies behind the counter busy making pizza and pasta for you. We ordered a 4 seasons pizza (6EUR) and a personal sized lasagna (8EUR) - both of which came out of the wood oven! It was so delicious. We came in just before noon and there was only one other table filled but as we were leaving this place filled almost to the max and when we were driving out, people were waiting for our parking spot! WIth a beer and capuccion, our total was only 18.50 for too and we were so full.We really felt it was traditional Italian home cooking - awesome comfort food. We are still wishing to go back!

A very lovely spot located on a beautiful street. The mista salad was only fair because of the…read morebitter greens they incorporated into it. The pizza was good but not great and the Branzino was dry. Service was so so, we had to fetch the waiter to take our order. If we had had a great experience we would of course come back tomorrow.

Pretty decent but not over the top good authentic Italian. It tasted more commercialized than…read moreauthentic...especially the pasta.

This ended up being my favorite dinner of our entire trip to Tuscany. The staff was incredible and…read moregenuinely accommodating. I even called from the U.S. to make our reservation. I tried my best Italian, they met me with their English, and somehow we understood each other perfectly. This is clearly a place the locals adore, and it was evident the moment we walked in. I'm pretty sure we were the only tourists there, which made us love it even more. The menu was surprisingly available in English, though not everything made complete sense but that was part of the charm. Our server did a phenomenal job guiding us through the menu and offering thoughtful recommendations. The pasta dishes were exquisite. My husband decided to be adventurous and ordered a mushroom pasta (despite hating mushrooms) and ended up absolutely loving it. My ravioli with sage was unforgettable. I still think about it. I can't quite pinpoint what makes Ristorante L'Altana so special. It's a simple restaurant, nothing overly fancy, yet there was something about the food, the ambiance, and the beauty in its simplicity that made it stand out as the highlight of our trip.

Great food (nonna would approve), service is wonderful, it's like eating at your nonna's home!read more

This is the second time we have been and every time the food and service are excellent. Grazie…read moremille. The Ferrari memorabilia that fills the walls are reminders of the glory days of Ferrari racing.

We were in Maranello to do a Ferrari tour and stumbled upon this cute unique restaurant. It was…read morefabulous. The interior is interesting with all kinds of racing memorabilia. We were fortunate to get a table without a reservation. There were many locals having lunch. The service was outstanding as in a 5 Star restaurant. The food was wonderful. We ate too much and had wished we saved room for dessert. They had a dessert cart and everything looked fresh and delicious.

Food, ambience, and service were all outstanding. The pasta was excellent, but the dessert (piatto…read moreforte Lucchese) was especially exceptional which combined different textures and flavors flawlessly. Ambience was beautiful and elegant without being boring or pretentious. Staff were all kind and responded very professionally to requests and questions. Price was unbelievably low considering the quality and the experience.

Food was fabulous. We each had a different pasta dish and…read moreboth were really memorable. The ambiance is very nice as well.

We were just in Italy for our honeymoon. We went to Rome, Tuscany, Lake Como and Milan and visited…read morehere during our time on Tuscany. The truffle pasta was so Devine. The vibe inside is so cute. Highly recommend!

Hole in the wall restaurant serving amazing and very flavorful food. Nothing here disappointed!…read moreSomewhat limited seating, but it's a great place for a more intimate meal.

A lovely secluded balcony that overlooks a vista seemingly untouched for hundreds of years. The…read morefood was amazing; a truly homemade Italian experience. Plus, the service was kind and helpful.

Great little place, spending the next couple of nights here in Vinci. Stop by chance and wasn't…read moredisappointed. We had the brochette, mixed salad, grilled vegetables-zucchini/egg plant, blue cheese gnocchi and grilled steak with Parmesan and arugula.

We had lunch at L'Incontro after visiting the Ferrari Museum, as it was very convenient. A short…read morefour minute walk. We arrived right around noon when it opens (beware on kin says that it opens at 11:30 am which is not accurate). Make sure you arrive before 12:30 because the restaurant suddenly fills up around this time. The atmosphere and service were very similar - no frills, but perfectly adequate. My dining companions all had pizza, which they report was very good. No complaints. I ordered a very basic chicken breast and French fries. It was nothing special, but that's exactly why I ordered it. I was looking for something uncomplicated and simple. This was a perfectly nice spot for lunch after visiting the museum, but I'd recommend arriving before 12:30 pm to beat the rush.

After an exciting visit at the Ferrari Museum, the nine of us had worked up an appetite! My husband…read morecalled the restaurant, to see if they could take our large number and they said they could- they were setting up our table as we got there. We had the best lunch- from the Caprese salad, to the different pastas and pizzas (not pictured) we had - all delicioso! Our waitress was very helpful, she helped us pick out a white wine that we loved, and was very friendly! I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you are in the area.

Good food, we enjoyed our lunch, it was very good. Service was OK, it was not that busy but we went…read moreduring an off hour.

I was in Lucca and stopped here for dinner. The reviews were good and the menu online showed more…read morefish being offered I thought they would have more seafood, but being in Tuscany, I realized that most places don't. That's OK. The inside was very homey and nice. The owners, I believe are a husband and wife team who are helpful. Salmon carpaccio was an appetizer special - it was excellent Swordfish for the main was a mistake. Should have stuck with a pasta. This fish looked like it was frozen and it's was fair, nothing special. Tiramisu for dessert was so good. totally made up for the swordfish. It was made fresh that day and you could tell. This and the service raised the rating from to 4.

The food, service, and atmosphere of this place are absolutely amazing. One of the owners, Raluca,…read moreserved us and answered our many questions about Montecatini Alto - she is the sweetest! If you have a chance head up to the second floor (bathroom is there too) and check out the view from the balcony! This place was one of the highlights of our trip and we hope to visit again and take one of the cooking classes they offer!

Lovely setting, with small rooms that make the place so charming. The meal was great, homemade…read morepastas. Very attentive staff. They offer an extensive wine list.