Best restaurants and what to eat
Italy
Tuscany is one of Italy’s most iconic food regions, where peasant traditions, high-quality olive oil, legumes, grains, and prized meats shape a cuisine of elegant simplicity. Its table is defined by rustic breads, robust soups, pecorino cheeses, cured pork specialties, and celebrated wines that pair naturally with hearty countryside dishes.
A supple sheep's milk cheese with a mellow, slightly grassy flavor when young and a deeper, nutty complexity when aged. It is a cornerstone of Tuscan farm cooking, excellent with pears, honey, beans, or a glass of local red wine.
An artisanal Tuscan sheep's milk cheese set with vegetable rennet, giving it a fragrant, savory profile and a distinctive artisanal character. Its firm texture and alpine-meadow aroma make it memorable on a cheese board or grated over warm dishes.
Though shared with neighboring areas, this fresh whey cheese is made in Tuscan pastoral tradition with a delicate, milky sweetness and cloudlike texture. It is used both fresh and in savory fillings or desserts.
The emblematic Tuscan salami scented with fennel seeds, offering a soft, aromatic bite and a pleasantly porky richness. It is traditionally sliced thick and served with unsalted bread and a bold red wine.
Silky cured pork fat aged in marble basins with salt, garlic, rosemary, and spices, becoming fragrant, translucent, and almost custard-like when sliced thin. It melts beautifully over toasted bread or warm vegetables.
A coarse Tuscan salami with a firm slice, peppery aroma, and concentrated pork flavor, often made in small rural batches. It pairs especially well with bread, olives, and aged cheese.
Tuscany’s most famous red wine, typically based on Sangiovese, with bright cherry fruit, firm acidity, and savory herbal notes. It is traditionally served with rustic Tuscan dishes, especially grilled meats, beans, and pecorino.
The historic core of Chianti, usually fuller and more structured, offering red berries, violets, earth, and spice. It is a serious table wine that pairs beautifully with roast meats and aged cheeses.
A refined Tuscan red with polished tannins, dark cherry flavors, and a noble, lingering finish. It has long been associated with Montepulciano’s aristocratic wine tradition and is served with rich meat dishes.
One of Italy’s most prized reds, powerful and long-lived, with intense plum, leather, dried herb, and mineral notes. It is typically decanted and served with slow-cooked Tuscan game or beef.
A more approachable expression of Montalcino’s Sangiovese, with fresh cherry fruit, lively acidity, and a polished finish. It is often enjoyed with everyday Tuscan cooking.
A warm, fruit-forward red from southern Tuscany with ripe berry flavors and a soft, convivial style. It is a natural match for grilled meats and pork-based dishes.
The iconic Florentine steak, a thick-cut Chianina beef chop grilled over high heat and served rare with little more than salt, pepper, and olive oil. Its appeal lies in the purity of the meat and the ritual of sharing it at the table.
Toasted bread topped with a savory chicken liver pâté, capers, anchovies, and herbs, delivering a rich, briny, and deeply Tuscan flavor. It is a classic antipasto for festive meals.
A rustic tomato and bread stew that becomes silky and fragrant with olive oil and basil. It is one of the most beloved symbols of Tuscan peasant cooking.
A slow-cooked bread-and-vegetable soup with cannellini beans, cavolo nero, and other seasonal greens, traditionally reheated to deepen its flavor. Thick, nourishing, and olive-oil rich, it embodies Tuscan country cooking.
A refreshing bread salad of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, basil, vinegar, and olive oil, where stale bread soaks up the juices without losing texture. It is especially prized in summer.
A robust Livorno seafood stew built from mixed fish and shellfish simmered in a rich tomato-garlic broth. Deep, maritime, and slightly rustic, it is traditionally served with toasted bread rubbed with garlic.