“Hello Nico? Not gonna believe this, listen I have found a great restaurant in Siena!”
“In Siena? Are you kidding?”
“No no… You have to try the Compagni dei Vinattieri in Via delle Terme!”
Tuscany is a fantastic place… just think when you get there by car: say goodbye to the sad Lazio countryside and welcome to those incredibly green lawns, avenues of cypresses, the sweetness the horizon of the hills that bend towards the sun…
What is more, in Tuscany, you eat incredibly well!
Nevertheless, I spent really long time looking for a good restaurant in Siena without finding it. We tried different places, but we could not find an authentic one, without English menu, a place that kept her promise and his word.
All this until the phone call from last night.
So I have to say thanks to slow food guide for the very good sugestion.
The walls and windows of the restaurant filled with bottles of wines and spirits, small items and cookbooks. In the end, close entrance to the kitchen, a beautiful bar on which you can see, in the splash of crystal, the sweets that you can enjoy dinner. And there is something that sparks in this restaurant… and after a while I realized… it’s the warm light that is reflected in the glasses of wine on the shelves of which are covered most the walls. Because the Compagnia dei Vinattieri (company of coopers in english), as its name betrays, is especially and even a winehouse with choicest bottles for every budget (even not too expensive fortunately).
To welcome me was the young owner, rarely kind, and even his staff works extremely well together. The young blonde waitress and the sommelier were all taken care of me and made me feel incredibly at ease.
Leafing through the menu (hooray not bilingual for tourist) the impression that the kitchen is strongly based in the area, revisited with inspiration, wisdom and a pinch of innovation.
You can also do a tasting menu at a price very contained compared to the offer: tasting hors d’oeuvres, two samples of the first, a main course with a plate of mixed fresh water and coffee for only 40 €, 50 with the combination of three selected wines… how to resist?
The customer is greeted with a welcome drink, a practice quite nice (all the some times that happens I am pleasantly surprised): a glass of wine or sparkling wine accompanied by Tuscan bread with olive oil, spices and a spicy tomato pudding. A plate with known flavors, but with original texture.
There were a lot of things I wanted to try… as Pici (the typical fresh pasta from Siena) with cabbage and bacon (a sausage spice and bacon fat), ravioli stuffed, or, as it was winter, pumpkin soup leeks and potatoes…
In the end I chose the noodles with meat sauce of guinea fowl and pistachios… Well it was really a experience of taste, pasta artfully drawn perfectly creamy sauce with a delicate, white meat fine, and aroma of pistachios is a bit of Sicily… a dish that gives more than a smile 🙂
Obviously even the meat dishes were incredibly nice (try the pork) but I would like to highlight the deserts. I have to admit that the choice was hard. In the menu were classical things like cantuccini and vin santo, but also more international as cheesecake, but there was even a cake with white chocolate mousse cream with pineapple.
How to do? I asked my waiter to bring me a mix af all but not to forget to bring me even the wonderful sbrisolona!
What? Ask if I liked? Well the first prize goes to the fantastic Sbrisolona, perfectly mixed with dried fruit and a fragrant liquor.
In second place there was the chocolate cake with a thin crispy layer and a heart soft… My dear… I will never reveal you if I have brushed them all away, otherwise you may assume that I am a really greedy .
So now I am eager to come back to Comagnia dei Vinattieri, a small jewel in Siena city center center.
p.s. Please don’t dare to ask for a Fiorentina. You will remain an empty stomach since is not a Senese dish and there isn’t a good relationship between the two cities!
La compagnia dei Vinattieri (SIENA)
SERVICE: very nice
PHONE: 0577236568
CLOSE DAY: never, always open
ADDRESS: Via delle Terme, 79 – 53100 Siena (old town, no cars!)
PARKING: difficult (it is in the historic center, it is advisable to park a bit out)
COST: from 25-30 € to 50 € (price may vary depending on the choice of wines of course!)
WEBSITE: www.vinattieri.net
POSITIVE: very nice restaurant that offers traditional food with a pinch of innovation, great wine choice, nice service, it is not a tourist trap in Siena
NEGATIVE: no one
DISH NOT TO MISS: Sbrisolona
