6 Best Restaurants in Tuscany, Italy

Near Saturnia is the restaurant of Italian celebrity chef Valeria Piccini, where prices are high, but the food is excellent. The prix-fixe tasting menu might include such dishes as tortelli di cinta senese in brodetto di castagne e gallina (pasta filled with Sienese pork in a chicken and chestnut broth) or cinghiale lardolato con finocchi, arance e olive (larded wild boar with fennel, orange, and olives).

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 stellar version of giardiniera sott'olio (pickled and preserved vegetables), and exceptional bread (the product of much experimentation).

In an ancient wine cellar owned by the Antinori family—who also happen to own much of what you see in the area—is a sophisticated restaurant ably run by chef Matteo Lorenzini and his attentive staff. The menu changes seasonally, and traditional Tuscan cuisine is given a delightful twist through the use of unexpected herbs.

Food lovers should not miss Arnolfo, one of Tuscany's most highly regarded restaurants, where chef Gaetano Trovato sets high standards of creativity in dishes that daringly ride the line between innovation and tradition, almost always with spectacular results. The menu changes frequently, but you are always sure to find fish and lots of fresh vegetables in the summer. Perhaps the best way to thrill at this restaurant would be to engage in one of the tasting menus.

Italian and Mediterranean risottos, pastas, and other dishes are reinterpreted with modern flair at this much lauded restaurant at the Castello Banfi wine resort. Desserts are also beautifully prepared, and Castello Banfi's excellent wines are a bonus.

The Franceschini family has been running this swank seafood eatery since the 1970s. Ebullient host Romano Franceschini is justifiably proud of the food formerly produced by his wife, Franca (she still oversees the kitchen); son Roberto, an accomplished sommelier, presides over the floor. Don't miss the fantasia di pesce crudo (fantasy of raw fish), which arrives at the table with an aroma redolent of the sea, and follow up with any of the marvelous fish seconds. Or you can leave everything in the Franceschinis' hands and order the tasting menu (€125 without wine).