Amazing dining experience in this small rustic Osteria! Chef Julio masterfully cooks Bistecca Alla…read moreFlorentina to perfection in his wood fired oven! Pici Con Ragu Di Cinta Sense e Tartufo is a must try. Authentic Tuscan food! Atmosphere is very cozy with shared tables.

Great dining experience. One of the best meals we had in Montepulcino. We ordered the steak, which…read morewas perfectly cooked and a couple of sides which were also delicious. The house red wine was quite good.

This place has it all, great views, great food, great wine at reasonable prices and a passionate…read moreowner who isn't afraid of telling it like it is. We went with a group of 10 and had a blast. I'd highly recommend having a great meal here.

Awesome dinner. So authentic. Delicious everything along with super friendly staff and a rustic…read moreauthentic atmosphere you would hope for. Fantastic service. A great meal, night and experience! Ciao Bella

This restaurant should really get 10 stars for its food. My mom and I had a lunch reservation when…read morewe first arrived in Montepulciano and we got the Pici all'Aglione della Valdichiana which was phenomenal. It was actually so good that we inquired about a reservation for dinner the next day! And again we got the same exact thing. I was too full to finish mine so we took it back to the hotel and I ate it at 10:40 pm cold and it was still amazing! Everyone was so friendly and it was such a great find. I cannot recommend enough!

The service and food was outstanding! They even asked me if I wanted the restaurant's Wi-Fi while I…read morewaited!

We stopped in on our first day in Montepulciano after checking in to our Airbnb. We had the most…read moreincredible, delicious, and memorable meal of our entire trip. Plans on returning next year!

Hands down, this is the best place that I ate at while I was in Italy…read more The restaurant was very unique with a vibrant interior that you can't help but love. The salad, pasta and vegetables were nothing but amazing. The pasta was fresh and the tomato sauce was indescribable. The freshness was out of this world. What also made this experience perfect was the hospitality shown by the owners. They were extremely kind and friendly. The male owner also goes around and sings to the guests, which is a great surprise. It's a very family oriented restaurant with home style cooking and beautiful ambience. 5/5!

An absolute must of you ever visit this fabled town. The perfect Tuscan experience for amazing…read morepasta!

We just arrived for a four night stay and this was one of our host's recommendations. We started…read morewith melon and prosciutto which was outstanding. Next was pici pasta in a tomato garlic sauce. Again- very delicious- if you love garlic. We finished with rosemary steak prepared medium rare and tasted perfect. We selected a nobile montepulciano wine which the region is known for. Paired nicely with our food. Service was friendly and efficient.

We arrived in Montepulciano mid week in November. This was the only restaurant open near our…read morehotel. We didn't expect much... Instead, what we found with this restaurant was one of the best dinning experiences I've ever had. The food was wonderful, and the owners were so friendly. We also learned much about wine from them. Among our dishes were lamb chops, beef cheek, and beef and pork tagliata. The meat was so tender. We also had their fondue as an appetizer, and a first dish of pasta ragu. Both were fantastic. They had a huge selection of local Montepulciano and Montecino wines and knew what to recommend and helped us properly taste them. We laughed with them and left both full and in the happiest of moods! We wish them success and we hope to return when we next come back to Italy!

The staff are so friendly, quick to smile and laugh. Very attentive working as a team. Beautiful…read moreview from every angle. Would you believe the food tastes better than it looks?

Where do I even start? Montepulciano is a dreamy town tucked into a Tuscan hillside. In chilly…read moremid-November, it's haunting and empty and blessedly peaceful. Admittedly, a fair amount of places were closed, possibly due to it being a drizzly (but still so atmospheric!) Monday evening, so when I looked at the menu for L'Altro Cantuccio, I was excited to see that it was open. I was even more excited to see a vegetarian entree that I figured could be made vegan. We entered the restaurant at an early time for Italy, 7:30 or 8, but we'd skipped lunch and we also were calling it an early night because we were staying at an agriturismo about 45 minutes away. Not surprisingly, we were the first customers (by the time we left around 9:30 or ten, there were only 2 other tables). If you're looking for a dark, intimate dining experience, this is your place. It's so beautiful inside, like an upscale tavern, with ambient lighting and a fireplace. I was totally unprepared for this utterly exquisite dining experience, but I had a hint of what was to come, once we were greeted by an urbane set of waiters. I asked if the farro dish could be made vegan and he said it could. That's all I ordered (besides a glass of sparkling wine, and my husband ordered some kind of steak), but we received several curated complimentary amuse bouche, presented like the edible works of art they were. Only one item was not vegan, a duck liver macaron. Besides two tiny bites of vegan pates, there were these incredible bites that appeared to be olives but were savory cocoa butter truffle that contained olive oil and crushed olives (like a filled chocolate). I never had anything like this before. This was followed by a single cherry tomato... or so it seemed! It was actually a bite of pappa al pomodoro. And then there was the divine bread service (see my photo). The main event, also presented like a work of art, the farro. It's absolutely delicious and I treasured each bite of grain, truffle, mushroom, beans in a porcini broth. This was followed by a complimentary dessert, two tiny chocolate shells with a passion fruit topped non dairy cream and two tiny spoons of chocolate pop rocks. I can't say "exquisite" enough! Now I must note my appreciation here for the service, as I was informed as to exactly what things were vegan when they brought out all the complimentary courses (I am not entitled... I never expect such service). I walked in without a reservation and this meal exceeded my expectations beyond words. And coming from the US, it blew my mind that the cost of this extravagant meal was comparable to a casual dining experience. Core dining memory may be an understatement. I'd return to Montepulciano if only to dine here.

Our Perfect Last Night in Tuscany - Best Romantic Dinner in Montepulciano at L'Altro Cantuccio!…read more After a day of strolling up and down the winding hills of Montepulciano, my wife and I stumbled upon L'Altro Cantuccio, and what a find it was. Tucked under the archway of an ancient stone breezeway, our romantic little table caught the cool evening breeze and gave us front-row seats to the quiet hum of this timeless Tuscan town. The dim lighting and centuries-old walls made it feel like we were dining inside a piece of history -- only with the comfort and warmth of a dear friend's welcome. From the start, the staff set the tone, with Leaza leading the way. "Outstanding" doesn't quite cover it -- her knowledge of food, wine, and spirits transformed the evening into an experience. She presented three perfect wine options, guided us like an old friend, and had that rare gift of knowing when to be right there and when to step back, letting the romance and flavors speak for themselves. A rustic bread board with pillowy focaccia, nutty seeded bread, and golden olive oil -- the perfect Tuscan welcome. We began with cocktails -- a Negroni for me, an Aperol Spritz for my wife -- followed by an appetizer that can only be described as edible theater. The crispy egg "candido" with pecorino foam, green coffee, and Sichuan pepper arrived in a smoked ceramic egg, releasing an intoxicating aroma when the lid was lifted. The smoked ceramic egg, opened to reveal the delicate crispy egg "candido" over pecorino foam -- like unwrapping a culinary gift. Alongside came a complimentary aperitif -- whimsical bites that looked like one thing but tasted like another -- playful and creative. A tiny "tomato" that burst into chilled gazpacho on the first bite -- a fun and surprising twist. For our first course, my wife had the ravioli of stewed pigeon topped with seared breast, Sangiovese wine reduction, and a butter-sage powder. It was perfectly cooked -- tender, rich, and delicious. I had the truffle pasta, a nest of golden tagliolini crowned with a snowfall of freshly shaved truffles, the scent so intoxicating it turned heads at nearby tables. The truffle pasta -- a mound of golden tagliolini under a generous snow of fresh truffles, plated on sculpted white porcelain. Both dishes were paired with a 2018 Talosa Nobile di Montepulciano, deep ruby in color and velvety on the palate -- a flawless choice from Leaza. The mains were pure Tuscan indulgence. The local Chianina beef cheeks were slow-cooked for 50 hours until they practically melted on the tongue, plated with seasonal vegetables and a silky sauce. The Fiorentina T-bone steak was a feast for the eyes -- thick, juicy, beautifully charred -- presented whole before being sliced and served on a black marble slab. Too full for dessert, we closed the night with an Indonesian Kopi Luwak coffee. The brewing process was presented tableside like a ceremony. Sitting there, sipping coffee in the cool night air, hearing the faint murmur of other couples, I couldn't imagine a better way to end our last night in Tuscany. L'Altro Cantuccio isn't just a restaurant -- it's a memory you'll carry home. The flavors, the setting, the care in every detail... you must eat here!

We went there for breakfast and it was so good. The view is gorgeous. The pastries and cappuccino…read moreand decor made it such a wonderful experience.

Saved our whole day…read more Our intention was to have lunch at another spot that turned out to not be open for food when we got there. They were only doing wine tasting. After walking up and down the town, we saw this place and I walked in asking for a table as I was bordering hangry moods. They put is in a corner booth that overlooked the hills. Parties of 2 can sit on the terrace with a view. There were 4 of us and 1 baby so we needed as much space as possible. As I was on my ragu game, I got their ragu and some caffeine concoction. My sister got the chicken. Let me tell you something, I was hangry no more. My ragu was amazing. The pasta was perfectly cooked. Not al dente like Rome. The chicken was amazing. The tiramisu was the best I've had and the drinks were got was bang on. We ended up having the best espresso martini we've ever sipped. Wow The service was spot on. Everyone was so nice. The guy who waited on us was super nice.

Never have I ever dined at a worse place before in Tuscany. Luckily, we did not order main meals…read moreand stopped at appetizers and drinks. We ordered glasses of wine which were fine, I mean it's wine, but the little focaccia bread sticks that they gave us at the table were bad. It was very very salty and very oily. Not to mention the bread they gave us in a bag was awful, store bought and tasteless and stale. For appetizer we ordered beef tartare, disgusting. All it was - just ground up raw hamburger meat served as a patty and shavings of carrot on top. Could not eat it and did not want to. That's not pictured; did not even want to look at it. Also extremely overpriced and expensive. Awful experience and place and a disgrace to Tuscan cuisine.

We made reservations, although it was a light evening. We were immediately seated in an amazing…read morewine room with brick rounded ceilings. They brought us a bite size appetizer from the chef that was delicious. We were asked if we wanted wine and we said yes and that they should choose based on what we shared as preferences - each glass was great. She ordered the steak and I ordered a hamburger. I know, why a hamburger in Tuscany? I thought, why not? This burger was served nearly rare and was the best hamburger I've probably tasted. It had lettuce, tomato, onion, dried tomatoes, and bacon. The steak was delicious, but the hamburger honestly beat the steak in flavor. We asked for two additional glasses of wine, their choice. Once again we were not disappointed. We decided to order dolce and asked what the dessert of the day was. The chef said there were two choices. If the choice we didn't get was as good as the one we selected, it was also amazing. The ambiance was great, the service was fantastic, and the food was very delicious. We will definitely be back. The review where someone "dined", but then didn't order dinner or anything beyond appetizers is not "dining", which literally means eating the main meal as well as eat "dinner". Please try a dining experience. I think you'll like the decision.

If you want to have an incredibly fancy food experience this is it!…read moreOMG we were gifted this experience and told to order whatever we wanted.everything was a work of art. The ambiance was spectacular and we were seated next to this open window looking out to the street and it was just dreamy. The sommelier was very knowledgeable and guided us through the wine lust making our evening so special. I believe they have a M star. Treat yourself!

If you want to have an incredibly fancy food experience this is it!…read moreOMG we were gifted this experience and told to order whatever we wanted.everything was a work of art. The ambiance was spectacular and we were seated next to this open window looking out to the street and it was just dreamy. The sommelier was very knowledgeable and guided us through the wine lust making our evening so special. I believe they have a M star. Treat yourself!