If you are looking for a traditional, family style, farm-to-table Tuscan meal, I highly recommend Fattoria Poggio Alloro in San Gimignano. This is a family run restaurant/farm/agriturismo where all of the ingredients for their restaurant are sourced from their farm. Their fixed menu changes according to what is in season.
Dinner is served on a long, communal table so guests who visit from all over the world can eat together, family style. On Saturday nights, they serve their famous Florentine steak (also known as Bistecca alla Fiorentina). In the summer or when the weather is warm, tables are set up outside on the terrace so guests can enjoy the beautiful view of San Gimignano while enjoying their dinner, and even observe the beautiful sunset. In the winter months or when it is raining outside, long tables are set up inside in a cozy environment with a fireplace.
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View of the town centre from the restaurant |
We had made reservations to Fattoria Poggio Alloro about 2 weeks in advance for their famous Saturday night dinner and we were anxious to try to the Florentine steak, the star dish of the night. True Florentine steak is made from Chianina cattle, is cut very thick (typically four fingers high), and one steak can weigh more than 2 pounds. It is cooked rare because Chianina meat tastes best served this way, and not over cooked.
We were one of the first people to arrive so we picked a table near one side of the wall and sat down across from each other. A few minutes later, the room started to fill up and we got to know the people sitting next to us which we would eventually enjoy the evening dinner with. We took turns telling one another what brought us to Tuscany . Two of the ladies were from Montreal and were best friends since kindergarten so this was their girl’s trip away together. We also met 2 guys who were from Germany and they were here for the Mille Miglia Thousand Miles race car event in San Gimignano. This is a huge event and people from all over the world will come to watch this event. On the other side of us was a large extended family from Italy, who I assumed were related to the owners of the restaurant based on the way they interacted with one another.
It was a lively environment and you could feel the room buzzing with excitement. Wine was served almost immediately. They brought out several bottles of their own wine from their farm to start with. This would eventually be replenished over and over throughout the evening to the point where I lost count. It felt like a truly authentic dining experience knowing almost everything we had that evening including the wine, olive oil, and food was made directly from them and came from their farm. Even the cows for the Florentine steak were raised on the farm and the grains used for making the bread and pasta we were served was from their farm, so it truly was a farm to table feast!
We didn’t wait too long for the food, probably because there were so many dishes to serve throughout the evening. One dish was served at a time rather than everything being brought out at once, so when we finished one course, then another was served, and then another and it seemed endless. The food was sooooo good! Some of the dishes served included:
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Chicken liver parfait on homemade biscuits |
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Fresh tomato basil crostini |
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Charcuterie platter |
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My favorite - wild mushrooms on top of fried polenta |
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Tuscan sausage and cheese crostini |
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Cavatappi with a light cream and Parmesan cheese sauce |
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Our Florentine steak!!! |
Four hours and several glasses of wine and 9 dishes later, it hit me… I might be too full to eat dessert! But as soon as I saw the dessert come out, I had to at least try it.
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Tuscan apricot crostata |
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Vin santo wine with cantuccini cookies |
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Ending the evening with a glass of Limoncello and Grappa! |
Fattoria Poggio Alloro is so charming and there is so much history, that there is even a book written about it by Sarah Fioroni called 'A Family Farm in Tuscany.' Sarah is the manager of her family farm and she writes wonderful stories about it, what life is like on it, and breaks it down on a month to month basis where she describes what is in season each month. If you visit the restaurant, you can see if Sarah is working and purchase the book from her directly and speak to her in person. That is what we did and she is such a pleasure to talk to. We took home a wonderful souvenir from the evening along with several delicious recipes that are in the book!
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