Made the drive here from Appiano on the recommendation of a local. I'm very much into trying things that are local specialities or known to be particularly good. In this case, wild boar ragu was the local's suggestion and the puci style of pasta was recommended by the waiter as the regional specialty. The waiter was quite charming (not the older balder gentleman which many have written bad reviews about, but a plump older italian gentleman with wild hair). When we asked about the food, he remarked with a grin "the food is great, the service...? Not so good!". It was the exact opposite. We loved this guy! But the food...
We started with the antipasti (artichoke w Parmesan pieces) and the tomato mash. Both good, and the tomato mash in particular has a rich tomato taste.
Things went downhill with the entrees. We had the tagliatelle with wild boar and the puci with meat sauce. Both were so over-salted we could only have a few bites. We committed the italian culinary sin of asking for olive oil to pour on the pasta (in a desperate hope of diluting the salt!). In the end, we are only 1/4 of our entree before giving it up.
We ended with the strawberries and Creme dessert, which tasted as described. The waiter noticed and took the dessert off the bill in the end. We'd heard this restaurant was good but in the end, the town of Monteriggioni and the waiter had more charm than the food had good taste. read more