26 Best Restaurants in Tuscany, Italy

Cialde, a local specialty, are circular wafers made with flour, sugar, eggs, and almonds from Puglia. The Bargilli family has been serving them with their equally delicious ice cream since 1936. Try them at Bargilli, the family's shop and probably the best gelateria in town.

It's well off the beaten path (even if it is in the center of Livorno's shopping district), but getting here is worth the trouble, as this tiny place has a short menu that changes daily, a superb wine list, and a gregarious staff. The baccalà alla livornese (deep-fried salt cod served with chickpeas) is succulent and crisp, and the ribollita and other soups are very soothing. You could also pop in to sample a glass at the wine bar or to browse the shelves filled with wines from all over Italy.

Angelo di Donato creates some of the most delicious panini (sandwiches) in town, offering such hearty combinations as meatballs and pepperoncini or Jerusalem artichoke cream, Taleggio cheese, and fried onion; there's also always at least one vegetarian option available. Since it's a one-man show, expect a wait—but it's worth it for the quality of the ingredients and the care put into the preparations.

Locals flock to this central café to quaff a cappuccino and pick up panforte (cake made of fruits and nuts; the chocolate panforte is a real treat) and ricciarelli (almond cookies). You can get sweets to go, or rest your feet for a spell over breakfast or lunch.

Tasty dishes based on the region's cheeses are the specialty at this simple osteria on a quiet, pleasant, central square. Try versions of pici or the starter of radicchio baked quickly to brown the edges. The local pecorino cheese appears often on the menu—the pecorino grigliata con pancetta (grilled with cured bacon) is divine. Can't decide? Try the pecorino tasting menu.

"The old mill" has an antique marble serving counter filled with free nibbles and two large wooden tables in a room lined with wine bottles. The enthusiastic host, Andrea Bertucci, proudly touts local products on his simple menu, which usually consists of superior cheese and affettati misti (mixed sliced cured meats); traditional local dishes with farro grain, polenta, pecorino cheese, trout from the many local streams, and salami round out the selections. Finish your meal with a caffè al vetro con miele di castagno (coffee in a glass with chestnut honey). This osteria is open from 7:30 am to 8 pm in the warmer months and from 11 to 8 in winter.

At lunch and dinner time, this social hub for San Miniatans turns into a full-blown trattoria serving up local specialties. You can't go wrong with any of the wonderful panini, which are made with bread baked on-site and which you can eat seated at a table with a splendid valley view.

This spot just outside the walled town of Monteriggioni is the perfect stop on the way to Siena from Florence or vice versa. The bar serves excellent coffees and sweets, and the highly informal dining room offers terrific local specialties such as sublime panini, which can be topped with sott'olii (vegetables preserved under olive oil). You can order takeout or sit outside with a nice glass of wine while you eat.

It's a most unassuming bar a stone's throw away from a massive Medici villa up the hill, and you might be tempted to walk right past it. Besides serving the usual array of coffees, spritzes, panini, and wines by the glass, it turns out terrific pizzas.

Recently restored to its 19th century glory, Bar Stefano is one of Arezzo's oldest coffee shops, known colloquially and affectionately by its original name, Gli Svizzeri. Stop by for an almost overwhelming selection of homemade pastries, cakes, savory focaccias and, during the summer months, gelato, as well as excellent espressos and cappuccinos.

Blend is open 10 am to 9:30 pm (after most places are closed) and serves sandwiches, pasta, and creative salads. It's on a quiet little piazza right around the corner from the Duomo, and it offers outdoor seating in warmer months.

If you need a break from sightseeing, stop here for a cappuccino, sandwiches at lunchtime, or the array of appetizers set out during the cocktail hour. In summer, a few outdoor tables are set up directly on Via Nazionale, Cortona's main pedestrian street, and provide a great perch from which to people-watch.

Come here for a finely crafted sandwich (they have 18 different varieties on the menu), or something more substantial like the crostone ai funghi (a very large portion of toasted bread topped with local, fragrant porcini mushrooms). Tiny local blueberries, in season, appear in numerous guises on the dessert menu. At après-ski time, the place positively hums as the pizza oven is fired up, and happy skiers seat themselves on furniture that looks as if an Alpine Fred Flintstone designed it.

Detour off Greve's flower-strewn main square for food that relies heavily on local ingredients (like cheese and salami produced nearby). The lengthy wine list provides a bewildering array of choices to pair with affettati misti or one of the primi (first courses)—the pici (a thick, hand-rolled spaghetti) are deftly prepared here. All dishes are made with great care, and outdoor seating makes summer dining particularly pleasant. It's also possible to simply stop by for a glass of wine.

There's no shortage of places to try Vernaccia di San Gimignano, the justifiably famous white wine with which San Gimignano is often singularly associated. At this wine bar, you can buy a glass of Vernaccia di San Gimignano and sit down with a cheese plate or one of the fine crostini.

Bakers Francesca and husband Davide create classic Southern Tuscan biscuits such as cantucci with cinnamon and almonds, as well local Jewish delicacies like the sfratto di Pitigliano (biscuit log filled with fig paste) that is tied to the nearby Jewish ghetto's long history.

Treat yourself to one of the terrifically fragrant ice creams at this gelateria just outside the center of town. The fruit flavors—fragola (strawberry), melone (cantaloupe), and limone (lemon)—are all homemade and particularly good.

Lots of shaded outdoor seating makes this a pleasant place for lunch on a warm day. Pecorino cheese, spicy salami, and grilled vegetables sott'olio (preserved in olive oil) are served cafeteria-style. And, if you want something even spicier, the stuffed hot peppers are delicious. There is a good selection of wine, but the choice of desserts is limited, and they don't serve coffee.

An elegantly restored monastery in the upper part of Montepulciano is home to this excellent enoteca (wine bar), which has a wide selection of wines by the glass.

Wonderful wines pair beautifully with the tasty morsels served atop toasted bread, though if you want something more substantial than the delicious cheese plate, consider the soup of the day. This place is an oasis in a town overrun with day visitors; though it's still very much in the center, it's far from the madding crowds.

It bills itself as a caffetteria/ristorante, which means it opens at 7 in the morning for coffee, serves lunch and dinner, and then closes well after dinner is over. Warm-color, sponged walls and simple wooden tables and chairs provide the backdrop for some tasty fare. They're particularly big on fish here; if it's available, order the calamari spadellati su crema di fagioli alla paprika e valeriana (panfried squid on a creamy bean puree spiced with paprika and garnished with delicate green leaves). The lasagna is ample, cheesy, and thoroughly satisfying; the service is great; and the wine list is strong on local wines.

The first things you'll see upon entering this mercato e cucina (market and kitchen) is a row of dazzling, just-caught fish on ice and a display case with prepared foods to go. Select from a large array of crudi (including several raw oyster options) before opting for the fry (either mixed, anchovies, zucchini with squid, or fish croquettes) or the very tasty fish burger. Nice wines by the glass are on offer, as are bottles.

This one-room prosciutteria, which opens late in the morning and closes late at night, serves salads and sandwiches featuring pork products in their various incarnations. Locals flock here for good reason—portions are large, prices are reasonable, the wine list is strong, the hosts are gregarious, and offerings for those who don't eat meat but do eat fish include the anchovy/sliced potato salad soaked in top-notch olive oil and dotted with capers.

Homemade pastas and fresh seafood are served here with a dash of style. The chef puts a creative spin on the classics, coming up with such delights as homemade vegetable gnocchi with scampi in a butter and saffron sauce. The semifreddi (think part gelato, part cake) are particularly good. Just a few steps from Rio Marina's scenic port, this is an easy stop on your way to or from the ferry.

Panini are the order of the day here, and they come with historic names (bearing no relation to what's actually contained between those two pieces of bread). Cured Italian pork products figure heavily, but there are vegetarian and pescatarian options, too. As evidenced by the caramello burro saltato con mascarpone (caramelized butter with a soft, spreadable, cow's milk cheese), dessert might also be served on the restaurant's tasty bread.