I FINALLY made it to Volterra last night and want to weigh in on this place. Overall, we had a great meal. Loved the food, the space, the pacing of the meal. Service was good if a bit too eager. I didn’t find the room too noisy. In detail, starting with the good: -Our table of 3 started with a round of cocktails including the rosemary lemon drop and the bellini. The lemon drop was a knockout, bellini just OK. Everyone liked the bread and olive oil on the table. -Appetizers were the mussels with sausage, eggplant with goat cheese and meat plate for 1. I liked the mussels best, though all were well received. The quality of the mussels was excellent- very fresh, plump and juicy. -Entrees ordered were the pear ravioli, steak and the seafood in parchment. Steak was the clear favorite by our table. Excellent cut of meat, cooked perfectly. Seafood in parchment was also very good. Again- quality of seafood (esp. the clams and shrimp) was high. Pear ravioli was nice but did not impress me too much. A bit on the bland side for being so rich. I was expecting more veg on the sides of the two secondi. The steak came with a few fried potato cubes (I was hoping to sample the mashed so many have raved about) and about 2 pieces of some sauteed green. The seafood had no accompaniment. Last, we shared 2 desserts- the chestnut panna cotta and tiramisu. The panna cotta was divine! Tiramisu just OK- since when does Tiramisu have whipped cream on it? Ours was covered in it. Those who ordered coffee said it was good and loved the silver tray it came on. OK, and now the bad: -Service was indeed oversolicitous. At one point my husband was chewing on his steak bone (it was that good) and the busboy tried to take his plate. He had to hold up a hand and say ‘Uh, no, I’m still eating!’ -Our waiter recommended a bottle of wine but failed to indicate which one it was one the menu. We later found out it was $63. It was tasty, but given the number of decent choices under $50 we would not have ordered it otherwise. Our bad, I guess, but it did bother me a little. -2 of us ordered espresso at the end of the meal. One a single, the other a double. On the bill, we were charged for 3 espressos, presumably two of them for the double. My beef with this is that the double espresso came out at $6! I didn’t say anything to the waiter but this sort of thing really disturbs me. -Last, but not least. My 2 companions (both born and bred in Scotland) asked the server what kind of whisky they offered. He said something vague, like, “Oh, lots of things: Laphroiag, whatever.” My husband persists and says, “yes, but what kinds specifically?” I interject to let the waiter know these guys are serious about their single malts! He runs off to double check and returns to say, "I’m sorry but we have no scotch. May I suggest Maker’s Mark instead?” I was pretty surprised they had NO single malts. We double checked the bar on the way out and it was true. A restaurant of this caliber should have a couple basics, no? Total bill was just over $200 sans tip for 3 cocktails, 3 apps, 3 entrees, one bottle of wine, 2 desserts and 2 coffees. We will definitely return, but will watch the bill a bit more closely next time.
