Il Barrino - l'Ombelico del Mondo In San giovanni d'asso

Our hotel concierge recommended this place or we would have NEVER found it or thought to go here. On the main street in the tiny town of Montisi, it looks to be a small caffe or deli from the outside, but you must go left and up the stairs to the restaurant. There are maybe 8-10 tables in 2 small dining areas. They start you with a complimentary glass of white wine which is delightful. There are no written menus, rather the servers come and tell you what they have for each of the courses. You have to kind of "hope" the prices aren't anything outrageous. But be assured, dining here will not break your bank - all menu items are reasonable. And delicious! The walls are lined with bottles of (mostly) local wine and you can peruse if you wish but there is also no written wine list. They asked us what type of wine we wanted - we said RED, something local - and they recommended a lovely, very affordable bottle from Montalcino. We had a delicious meat and cheese platter to start, some pasta dishes (the tagliatelle with garlic sauce was YUM), then I had a roasted chicken entree and my husband had a "meat loaf". The chocolate Cantucci for dessert was unique and delicious! NOT TO MENTION, Geoffrey Rush (actor from Pirates of the Caribbean fame) was sitting at a table right next to us. !! Apparently he lives in the area.

We were exploring nearby towns on stumbled on Montisi which quaint but a little sleepy. We decided to look for this restaurant based on its ratings and had a wonderful experience. We were initially put off by the casual bar downstairs but once we found our way to the restaurant upstairs it was much nicer. Still some what plain in terms of ambiance but it is quickly made up for by the personality of the host Jean Luca. ( not sure if I have his name spelled correctly) He pulled up a chair up out table and chatted for a few minutes. Word to the wise.. there is no written menu…he verbally reviews all the courses and then takes your order…so you better pay attention! The food, wine and service were all great.