Maremma Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[RRainey]

Hello, There isn't as much info on the Maremma area of Tuscany.I plan a visit this Fall.My guess is within 5-10 years it will become the next Cinque Terre("I must go there place") Any restaurant recommendations? RR

[redstucco]

Hi,

I like your idea that the Maremma may become the next Cinque Terre, but it is a different place physically with a different history of habitation, so that may not come true. But let's watch and see!

I have two recommendations of places to eat in the Maremma:

1. Da Caino, in the town of Montemerano

Da Caino

Elegant, fantastic food. Interesting wine list. We've been there twice, once in 2001, again in 2002. I vividly remember the first thing I ever ate there: a savory pumpkin panna cotta, but all the food is delicious and artful. The dining room is small, so a reservation is a must. It is also an inn, so if you can plan far enough in advance, you may be able to get a room upstairs, which would make it even more of a treat. Plan to arrive a bit early for dinner so you can spend a few minutes in their wine/jam shop.

We haven't been lucky enough to get a room so we stayed elsewhere. We loved a place called Acqua Viva, about a ten minute drive away. Very warm and hospitable place. (You can read about it at Villa Acqua Viva, and Tuscany.net can show a lot of other accommodations). There are mineral springs nearby and a fancy hotel adjacent to that, plus numerous tiny b&bs (or agriturismos) nearby.

One warning: if you are going around November 1, as we did once, you must have lodging reserved in advance. This is a big time for Italians to travel to pay respects to their dead loved ones and all the inns in that area are booked then. When we discovered all the inns full, we stayed in Orbetello, which is 30 minutes away. The hotel there (Hotel I Presido) and the town as a whole are kind of elegant, so it turned out to be an unexpected treat.

2. Il Tufo Allegro, in the town of Pitigliano

Tiny, straightforward place with a small, seasonal menu and specials of the day. I had an incredible dark wild boar with fennel stew; my husband had the tenderest rabbit dish I've ever experienced. The waitress also recommended an excellent wine which was a perfect match with the boar. I dream of this meal.

(Il Tufo Allegro does not have its own website but is mentioned here and there on the web. Here is the url of a page at Slow Travel Italy with some reviews of this special restaurant:

Slow Travel Italy/Pitigliano/Il Tufo Allegro Reviews

Hope this is helpful or at least inspiring! Have a great trip.

Laura

[RRainey]

It look like Da Caino is a 2 star restaurant.How much was dinner without wine?

what was the dress code? RR

[redstucco]

Sorry, can't remember the price of dinner with or without wine -- though even if I remembered, my information might be out of date. My sense is that it was a fairly expensive and quite luxurious treat. If you need to know, it's probably better to write and ask the restaurant about their pricing.

I don't recall a specific dress code (though, absurdly, I recall exactly what I wore on both occasions!) -- people looked very nice but not overly formal as I remember. Same for me. Many languages were spoken in the dining room, as seems to be the case at starred restaurants. I think the place has that comfortable urban-European-visiting-the-country fashion feeling, if that helps any.

[gruyere]

RR,

I am editing my reply to provide a link to my original post. This procedure was my preferred method but being a somewhat incompetent amateur in these matters I am unaware of how to go about doing this. Where does one go to access info on the proper method of doing so?

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26074&hl=caino

Edited January 27, 2005 by gruyere (log)

[RRainey]

Here is my Maremma wish list as i have never been to the area these are based on research from many sources

Il Tufo Allegro- - Pitigliano

Dei Merli- - Sovana

Lo Posta - -Catabbio

Il Poderin- -Manciano

Da Paolino

Il Melangolo -Saturnia

Il due Cippida Michele

Antica Trattoria Aurora -Magliano in Toscana

La Cantina -Scansano

La buca -Talamone

La Flavia

Has anyone been to any of these?,someone already posted about the Tufo Allegro

RR

Edited January 27, 2005 by RRainey (log)

[fortedei]

This well recognized fish restaurant in the heart of the Maremma is situated right at the beach. Looking out the windows toward the water, you see in the distance, the islands of Elba, Capraia and Gorgona. The dining room is very comfortable and everything about the room says “simple Tuscan luxury.” A most pleasant owner who has put his stamp on the food and the service. The fish and shellfish are of the highest quality. The preparation of the dishes, very well thought out and without fad or fancy, allows the ingredients to shine. The service is friendly and polished, but with an easy casualness. The wine list is among the best in Italy and the owner clearly has a real passion for wine as well as food. He is welcoming, energetic and really quite pleased that you’ve come to his restaurant, in a small Tuscan seaside town, and that he can show you his craft. Any thoughts as to which restaurant?

A review will be forthcoming in the next few days.

[robert brown]

Thanka for your reports, 40D. Keep 'em coming. Can you pinpoint Maremma? The name rings a bell.

[fortedei]

Thanka for your reports, 40D. Keep 'em coming. Can you pinpoint Maremma? The name rings a bell.

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The Maremma is that part of the Tuscan coast (and inland for roughly 30 miles) that extends from roughly Cecina' in the north to Grosseto in the south. Away from the coast it is spectacular countryside... just beautiful.

[robert brown]

I knew it sounded familiar. I was only there this summer (San Vincenzo, Saturnia,etc.) !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fortedei]

I knew it sounded familiar. I was only there this summer (San Vincenzo, Saturnia,etc.) !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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No takers in the guessing department. I'm surprised.

Marina di Bibbona is a strange town. South of Livorno and Cecina, near Bolgheri, it is overrun in the summer and empty in the winter. Bolgheri is a wonderful little town (hamlet is more like it) which is wonderful in winter. All the wine stores are open and there is a vast selection at reasonable prices, not only of the “Super Tuscans” (which have high prices even here, a stone’s throw from their place of origin), but of all Tuscan wines. The area around Bolgheri is filled with gorgeous hills and vineyards planted with vines and olive trees. Cypresses line the lanes, particularly the long road which passes by Sassicaia and leads to the town.

But getting back to Marina di Bibbona. Closed up tight in early January which is when we were there in 05 and 06 and overrun (with campers, the kind you travel in, and campers, the kind that go to campgrounds) in early June of 04 when we went to the restaurant La Pineta for the first time. Don’t let that discourage you from going. The restaurant is a gem. It’s a bit difficult to find, but eventually if you head toward the spiaggia libera, you’ll see a sign. You go on a dirt road between a clearing in the pineta, and after about 600 yards you’re at a beach. You look around and the only structure you see is what looks like a large shack with a corrugated roof. Can this be it? Well, there are certainly a number of cars wedged into the spaces in front. You enter and you’re in an oasis. Simple Tuscan style, with a wood floor and windows which have an incredible view of the sea. If you walk on the beach after lunch (it is a narrow and rocky beach, with very little fine sand; why would anyone want to go to that beach is hard to understand) and look back at the restaurant you’ll see that it is right up against the dunes and the building is divided in half, with a bagno and snack bar on one side (and boarded up in January) and the restaurant on the other. Our take on that is two brothers owned the building, had a fight, and split it up (it sounds good).

Luciano Zazzeri is passionate about food and wine. For a number of years he has gotten very good write-ups in Gambero Rosso and L’Espresso and this year, 2006, got his first Michelin star. If any of you have ever been to the wonderful fish restaurant Muraglia Conchiglia D’Oro in Varigotti on the Ligurian coast, La Pineta will remind you of that. An open kitchen, twelve well set tables comfortably set apart (but not too far apart) and a few pieces of art on the walls.

The food is not fussy and with Sig. Zazzeri you have the feeling that although he’s seen what others have done in Italy and France (so he is not wearing blinders), he decided, some years ago, to emphasize sound combinations on the plate… combinations that are Tuscan and that will let the ingredients shine. You will not find the slightest whiff of fusion dishes, nor of any exotic spices.

What you will find are the types of dishes we had today and on our two previous meals.

The ameuse was marinated anchovies with slivers of red onion strewn on top and an extra dose of deep green olive oil over it. The bread is delicious as is what we here in Forte call secchine, a very thin Tuscan flat bread that is highy addictive.

For the antipasto my wife and I shared a dish of tonno alla griglia con sale grosso e rosmarino. Simple preparation using great tuna. Five slices, about a half inch thick, of tuna, quickly seared on both sides, but with 90 percent of the slice just barely cooked. Dribble on a bit more of the olive oil, mop it up with the crusty bread and you really don’t need much more to make you happy. There was more.

For the premi I had gnochetti al nero di seppie, con seppioline e carciofi fritti. The gnochetti melted in your mouth, the seppioline were tender and flavorful, there we a few pieces of fried artichoke strewn on top and the sauce was wonderful. My wife had ravioli di baccala con salsa di cipolle di Tropea e bottarga; intense flavors and soft pasta. For the secondi, cacciucco- what more be said about a perfect rendition (and gorgeously plated) of a dish that is all too often thrown together in a haphazard manner. I had pesce all’Isolana… roasted sarago (a little bit thicker than orata, and from the same bream family) with roasted carrots, potatoes, zucchini and onions. For dessert, which La Pineta does very well, a flan di ciocolato, with the inner chocolate just slightly oozing out, and a tortino di ciocolato bianco con salsa di arance, light and airy. A bottle of 2000 Cepparello from the extensive list of reds.

The total check was 172 Euros.

This is basically the same experience we’ve had the other two times we’ve gone. Whether it was the pappa al pomodoro con le cozze in June or the spaghetti al tonno fresco ed erbe last January, all the dishes were well thought out, well executed and delicious. All three times we’ve gone, the restaurant was full (all Italians except for us) even for weekday lunches in January. He must be doing something right.

One final note. Walking on the desserted beach, you look back at “the large shack” and you ask yourself… could that be the place I just had that wonderful meal? The answer is yes and La Pineta just keeps getting better and better.

Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo. This was originally written to a friend when my wife and I went to Gambero Rosso in early June, three years ago. Contrast Gambero Rosso, (which is one of the best restaurants in Italy according to the Gambero Rosso and L’Espresso and has two Michelin stars) to La Pineta, both restaurants in the Maremma just 20 kilometers from one another.

“What can one reasonable expect from a two star Michelin where we had a lunch bill of 275 Euros? Should one expect a nice, perhaps even warm, greeting…perhaps a buon giono or a buona sera? In this case we had a 300 pound maitre d’ in a tux who merely asked our name and escorted us to our table. No greeting… no nothing!

Perhaps one could expect that La Signora might be a presence in the dining room, perhaps even make one feel as if it were good to have them come to the restaurant that day. La Signora entered the restaurant at precisely one o’clock, dressed in Bermuda shorts, a fancy tee short, and a sweater thrown over her shoulders, almost as if she were going to the beach on that early June day. She was. There were 15 people at seven different tables (three others came in and sat at another table much later). La Signora took the orders from each table, and exited the dining room at 1:15. Seven tables, fifteen minutes! We saw her go to the beach after she left the restaurant. This left the maitre d’ in charge, a maitre d’ who didn’t care whether he poured our wine into the glass or on the table, and who left the dining room at two o’clock, never to be seen again. At 2 PM you had a situation in the dining room with no Signora, no maitre d’, no chef… no presence in the dining room except for two inept junior waiters.

Perhaps one might expect Fulvio Pierangelini to be a bit gracious. Not a chance. When we got up to leave, the last people in the restaurant, my wife nicely asked Pierangelini if we could have a menu (the computer insert which he had in profusion by the register). He refused to give it to her and was unbelievably rude. That was a first for us in a very long history of dining in Italy over the last 35 years. Pierangelini and we have a number of restaurant owner friends in common... he didn’t care. We were better dressed than anyone in the restaurant. We weren’t loud. My wife speaks perfect Italian. In the many times we’ve asked for a menu (and this was not even the menu, merely an insert), never once have we been refused. But then again, perhaps he doesn’t want or need repeat customers who are willing to spend 275 Euros for lunch.

Now the food. One dish was extraordinary, two were good, one should never have been served.

The ameuse was a very intense terrina di pesce with a basil sauce. It was delicious but looked atrocious; far too much sauce on a plate much too small. Plating in general was very poor and all the plates had flowers on them.

For an antipasto, I had the passatina di ceci con crostacei. This should never have been served. I don’t want to say that the gamberi at some point were frozen, but they had no taste and the texture was bordering on soft cardboard. The plate was overwhelmed by the passato of chick peas. My wife had a misto piccolo verdure, which consisted of several marinated vegetables. It had little taste and was served in a bowl.

For the primi: Lassagnetta alla marinara. Very thin eggless pasta (really excellent) wrapped around a mixture of seafood (good). The truly outstanding dish was the tortelli di cozze . The intensity of the mussels was not to be believed and the pasta was wonderful.

Secondi: My wife had the spigola con prosciutto, which although sounding strange, was okay. I had the maiolino “Cinta Senese.” This was, of course, a takeoff on the French serving all the parts of a duck. Here it was everything from salami to prosciutto to the liver. Ten different parts, served ten different ways. Very creative and served nicely (a platter held four small dishes which could be lifted out and replaced as the course progressed). Very creative, but with very little taste.

For dessert: Fresh figs with fig ice cream. So, so. The candied orange peel detracted from the figs. Also, a raviolo arance which was okay. Coffee that could have been from Starbucks.

Wine: The best wine list I’ve ever seen in Italy, with the exception, of course, of Pinchiorri (but why would anyone want to eat there?!). I think that is why so many people like the restaurant. They can do vertical tastings of Sassicaia, Solaia, Ornellaia and the “great” Barolos and Barbarescos (which are not so great) and then brag to their friends about what they had. However, even here, Pierangelini has a very bad affectation. For some of the wine, he has no price, only his initials FP. This is supposed to mean that it is wine in his cellar and not for sale. As one of the guides said... what a conceit. If you don’t want to sell it, don’t put it on the list.

Other strange things: The inept staff brings out bottled water and then in full view of everyone, pours it into a silver pitcher. Does the water get better when it is transferred, in the dining room, from a plastic bottle to a silver pitcher. Tacky. For 275 Euros, could they give us more than one breadstick apiece?

We’ll never go back. Way, way overrated, but he’s laughing all the way to the bank.

[robert brown]

Fortedei, La Pineta must be a real gem. It's a spot I'll put in my restaurant desiderata. Your report on Gambero Rosso is even more dire-sounding than mine from last summer. Both visits we found Mr. amd Mrs. to be friendly and appreciative. Maybe he was having a bad day in the market. You can bet, though, that La Pineta just went into the computers of a dozen food/travel writers.

[athinaeos]

thank you for the excelent report

you have helped me put on my italian map "la pineta" and saved a minimum of EURO 275 by avoiding a visit to Mr and Mrs!

in general, your review reminded me that at the end of the day, we go to a restaurant to eat good food paired with good wine and do not need all the other nonsense

and when an owner, chef, or whatever forgets that, then, they are serving a different type of client

[fortedei]

For those of you who prefer Fulvio Pierangelini’s (the exalted, and two star Michelin chef, and according to the Gambero Rosso, both the best chef and owner of the best restaurant in all of Italy...Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo!) conception of food (fried eggs with lard; crusted eggs with lard ice-cream and stripes of candied lard; lard and ricotta ravioli with lard zabaglione and balsamic vinegar; rosemary and thyme cream with lard , gold, cocoa, cinnamon and Sichuan pepper chocolate roulades), go to his restaurant Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo, enjoy it, and read this post no further. You simply will not like this restaurant. You will not enjoy it, so don’t bother getting agitated by reading this note.

Today, at lunch, we went back to La Pineta in Marina di Bibbona (see post for January 6th). Here is what we ate: for an amuse, a little marinated fresh anchovy topped with mildest of slivered onions and a little olive oil (mopped up with very good crusty bread). Then for an antipasto, pappa al pomodoro con le cozze - what an excellent idea on an old Tuscan staple, especially when you have great bread, great olive oil, wonderful tomatoes, good fish broth and spectacular (yes, spectacular) cozze. For the primi, spaghetti with bianchetti (little just-born versions of local fish - tiny white babies (uh oh, the bianchetti police will be after us), mild fresh garlic and sage - very delicate and outstanding; also gnocchetti al nero di seppie with seppioline and carciofi fritti - strong flavors, but the gnochetti as black, and as light as could be, and also outstanding. A fritto, very light and crisp and not oily; also spezzatino di tonno with cherry tomatoes, fagiolini and mild spring onions. The tuna was not quickly grilled, but was still rare on the inside (how does Luciano Zazzeri do it?). A brilliant dish. Rather than our usual sangiovese, we drank a Paleo 2001, from Bolgheri, which is 100% cabernet franc. Dessert was a flan di cioccolato. Outstanding meal but we really missed having that lard ice cream that we might have gotten 20 km. from Pineta at Gambero Rosso. The restaurant was almost full, and people were really enjoying themselves. The beach was still deserted, and the adjoining bagno closed; you sit there with the windows open and only the sand and sea in front of you. The place has a wonderful feeling - the diners are happy, and so is the staff. The area in the hills is gorgeous. On the way back, stopped at the farm stands on the road leading to the Autostrada, and got lots of asparagus and gorgeous strawberries (and local pecorino and olive oil from a store in Bolgheri).

[fortedei]

Another great lunch, ala spiaggia, at La Pineta in Marina di Bibbona. Again, those who want "modern Italian haute cuisine", stay away. you won't like this type of cooking.

Big headline today in the local paper in Bibbona... "Russian buys 25% of Ornellia."

Ludovico Antinori must be having a fit... first Fescobaldi gets control of it (via Mondavi; see film Mondovino) and now they get (I bet) a good part of their investment back and still control it.

[athinaeos]

Another great lunch, ala spiaggia, at La Pineta in Marina di Bibbona.

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Salivating minds and enquiring mouths kindly ask that you provide more detail.

[fortedei]

Another great lunch, ala spiaggia, at La Pineta in Marina di Bibbona.

←

Salivating minds and enquiring mouths kindly ask that you provide more detail.

←

Antipasto:fagottini of radicchio rosso with ricotta and anchovy. Primi: spaghetti with polpo novello, capperi and cherry tomatoes; tagliolini with crostacei and radicchio. Secondi:arrosto misto: seppie, gamberone royal, scampi, razza, coda di rospo; and tonno con rosmarino. Dessert: semifreddo al pistachio

[RRainey]

The poster above is incorrect. The maremma extends much further south than grosetto it goes south to the Costa D' Argento.On my last trip in fact to the maremma we never went as far north as grosetto. Here is the tourism website.

http://www.lamaremma.info/ITALIANO/index.asp

One of my favorite casual meals of my life was in alberese just outside the maremma national park. Here is my link to my slowtrav review

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/restaurants/...orco&s=alberese RR

[fortedei]

The poster above is incorrect. The maremma extends much further south than grosetto it goes south to the Costa D' Argento.On my last trip in fact to the maremma we never went as far north as grosetto. Here is the tourism website.

http://www.lamaremma.info/ITALIANO/index.asp

One of my favorite casual meals of my life was in alberese just outside the maremma national park. Here is my link to my slowtrav review

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/restaurants/...orco&s=alberese    RR

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You are correct. I used the word "roughly" to describe the Maremma. I thought roughly would accurately describe the territory. It clearly doesn't. As you said correctly, the Maremma does extend south of Grosseto to the D'Argento. I'm sure you "never went as far north as grosetto", because there is no city of grosetto.

I'm curious what time of year you had this great casual meal? Not much going on in southern Tuscany much of the year and it's unusual for Americans to get down there.

[fortedei]

Oh, well. It was good while it lasted. Now the only time to go will be out of season... very out of season.

It’s in the New York Times Travel magazine this weekend , with a picture of Luciano Zazzeri on the beach by the side of "the shack." When you see the photo, you'll see I wasn't exaggerating about "the shack."

Even though the author of the article knows very little about food (gambas?; tartufo?), and it is very difficult to find, every American (well, not every American; there will still be those who prefer the lard ice cream at Gambero Rosso) going to southern Tuscany this summer will try to go to La Pineta. The foodies from New York will be all over it now that the New York Times reported that Alain Ducasse, who co-owns (among, of course, many other things) L'Andana, a hotel farther south near Castiglione della Pescaia, stopped by recently and had a meal (and the clear implication was that he loved it).

Just came back from our favorite seafood place in Liguria. Have had perhaps a dozen meals there over the last seven years. Each one outstanding. Thank you MZ and JZ for telling us about it. A true maestro who doesn't bat an eye that the Gambero Rosso dropped him for whatever reason (hasn't stopped the other two guides from continuing to extol him).

Again, one recognizes everything on the plate... pasta that is pasta, seafood that is seafood... all exquisitely, exquisitely prepared and of the most pristine ingredients. True Ligurian flavors. No fusion anything. Spaghetti with anchovies (tossed with the pasta as a sauce and extra grilled anchovies around the plate); rigatoni with tonno e piselli. Incredible flavor in both cases. Then orata alla ligure (olives, capers, pinoli, marjoram and thyme) and San Pietro with Tropea onions. For dessert an apple baked with candied orange and lemon peel, a chocolate cake with chocolate sauce, and a pound cake with citrus. Right on the lungomare in a non descript town, in a restaurant setting that could be out of California. Beautiful simplicity. This is a guy who thinks Adria is a misspelling of a sea bordering on the Italian coast

Not a shred of "modern Italian haute cuisine."

I think this one goes only to athinaeos who seems to really appreciate restaurants of this type.

From the New York Times:

"Dinner is at La Pineta. This is an event.

When you say you are going to Maremma, everyone …says the same thing: … eat at La Pineta. …they say it rather sheepishly, … inevitably they always add: you'll never find it. In my bag are three hand-drawn maps by three people. All …different.

It's true. It is impossible to find La Pineta. But persist because… eventually you get there. You drive for miles on sandy beach roads, … then suddenly out of nowhere, you see a kind of shack on the edge of the water. This can't be it, you think, but you open the door, and the shack becomes a room full of light and lovely wood furniture and wonderful smells. And Luciano Zazzeri, a local fisherman whose father and uncle opened the place in 1964, grasps your hand and seats you at a table overlooking the darkened surf.

[RRainey]

I am sorry what is this town.it looks like grosseto to me. See link to map below

71,000 people live there. Ok I left out one "s".

http://www9.mappy.com/sidFsb1O6sgtBPMn21w/...ccm1=380&brand=

I went in October for a little less than one week. RR

Edited May 22, 2006 by RRainey (log)

[fortedei]

Another great lunch. The New York Times article hasn't gone to Luciano's head. In fact, we brought him the hard copy (thanks to a great friend who, with his wife... a great cook, joined us) which he hadn't seen (and later was going to show to the Antinoris). He did mention that some people had called from Chicago to book a table, and he laughed.

Seppie nere that melted in your mouth. Polpo as tender as can be. Pappa the way pappa should taste. Triglie that were exquisite. An arrosto that had, among other things, a piece of monkfish that my friend said was by far the best that he has ever had. And on and on. And to drink...a 2001 Montevertine for 100 euros... too pricey? What if it were a magnum! 300 euros all in.

Again, no modern Italian haute cuisine (for that one has to go to Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo, not that far away). Stay away from this place if you want Adria or La Madonnina del Pescatore in Senigallia (with green bread).

This place... well, just a little shack on the beach.

[athinaeos]

As I will not be able to visit Gamero Rosso (they are fully booked), I am trying to find a second eating place in the area to visit the same time I visit Pineta. I have been browsing the Guide Rouge and found in the area another restaurant named "Sciacciapensieri", in Cecina. Is it worth a visit? If not, which one would you recommend? Thank you for your help.

[fortedei]

As I will not be able to visit Gamero Rosso (they are fully booked), I am trying to find a second eating place in the area to visit the same time I visit Pineta. I have been browsing the Guide Rouge and found in the area another restaurant named "Sciacciapensieri", in Cecina. Is it worth a visit? If not, which one would you recommend? Thank you for your help.

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I've always felt that at Scacciapensiaerri they were just going through the motions. It is a very tired place. Would probably spend the hour travelling to Viareggio and eat at Romano or better yet have a second meal at La Pineta (which I'm quite sure you'll want to do because there is so much to try on the menu).

[athinaeos]

...or better yet have a second meal at La Pineta (which I'm quite sure you'll want to do because there is so much to try on the menu).

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Thank you, this is a bright idea. As I hate reservations, I usually show up at a place, wave my hands, declare my faith to the eternal values of human kind: olives, wine, and bread, and ask for something to eat. Will this work in "La Pineta" or do I need to reserve? Thanks again.