Fuoriluogo In San gimignano

24/03/2025: We first discovered La Solita Zuppa in June 2019, during a stay at the nearby Poggio Piglia. Our initial visit was for lunch — and it was so wonderful that we ended up returning for dinner every evening of that stay except for one. Andrea, the owner, was warm and knowledgeable, entertaining us with stories about the evolution of Tuscan cuisine and offering thoughtful recommendations from the menu and anecdotes about the ingredients. The restaurant itself is charmingly decorated, with a beautiful vaulted brick ceiling and little green gingham details. Andrea's wife is the chef, and every dish — from the simple yet perfectly executed tomato and garlic pici, to the elegant gnudi with sage and the richly flavoured ginger ravioli — was cooked to absolute perfection. We discovered the influence of Italy's ancient connection with the Silk Road still alive today in many of the dishes. All through the pandemic and unable to travel, we promised ourselves we’d return one day. And in August 2024, we finally repeated the same trip, again staying at Poggio Piglia and once again dining at La Solita Zuppa each night. While there had been some small changes since covid, including the addition of a cute little terrace, we were delighted to find Andrea and his wife still running the restaurant, and many of the dishes we had dreamt about (and even tried to recreate at home) still on the menu. The entire experience was just as amazing as we had remembered, if not even better. The restaurant was definitely busier than it had been during our last trip, which was wonderful to see, and our only single disappointment was that Andrea was far too busy with all of our fellow diners to spend very much time at our table. On our last evening he recommended us the wine 'Vigna Flavia' from a small vineyard in Chiusi, which was so wonderful that we now regularly order cases of it to enjoy at home in Switzerland. Our favourites on the menu (I think we managed to try everything!) were the gnudi with sage (sometimes served with truffle), the ginger ravioli with poppy seeds, the garlic pici, the maiale with rosemary and honey, and the sformato which we also had once served with black truffle. We are real foodies and have eaten in all kinds of restaurants all over the world, from three star Michelin establishments to street food stands, always searching for places that blow us away. There is something very special about La Solita Zuppa and the honesty of the place, the inventiveness of the menu and yet its embrace of tradition. Italian food at its BEST. We hope to return again!

03/03/2025: Cuisine that you can fall in love with only 5 stars. A place you will always return to forever. Top quality flavors and courtesy