Ristorante Nello La Taverna in Siena, Italy

Ristorante Nello La Taverna in Siena, Italy

Entrance to La Taverna Nello in Siena, Italy

Looking for a Tuscan cafe that serves vegetarian food in Siena, Italy?  I’ve got a great suggestion for you.

Nello La Taverna

Nello La Taverna is sometimes referred to as La Taverna di Nello.  This is a Tuscan restaurant that serves a good number of vegetarian dishes.  It’s on the Via del Porrione 28 and the phone number is 0577-289043 (reservations recommended).  If you’re trying to find this lovely Siena restaurant, it’s on a narrow, stone-covered street very close to the Piazza del Campo (the big piazza).  We discovered that the easiest way to find La Taverna di Nello is to approach it from the Piazza del Campo. To orient yourself,  stand facing the tall clock tower and then look for the little street just to your left that leads off the Piazza del Campo. The restaurant is just a few doors down the street.

We visited La Taverna di Nello on a warm evening in October. It’s got an  inviting atmosphere with brick walls, racks of wine bottles and interesting orginal artwork.  The decor and menu has a bit more of an “upscale” feeling than your typical Tuscan family-run restaurant.

Specialties include great salads made with the common Tuscan ingredient, radicchio, and other vegetarian delights. How does ravioli in a velvet creamy artichoke sauce sound (14 Euros)? Or crepes stuffed with ricotta cheese and fresh truffles (20 Euros).

The food was lovely and the service from our English-speaking waiter was kind and attentive.

There are rave reviews from other customers on the Nello La Taverna website (note: the restaurant’s website seems to be down), such as this one:
La Taverna Nello in Siena, Italy

When I visit Siena, I always make sure I include a meal at Nello La Taverna in the Via Del Porrione, a small side street off the campo. They make the most wonderful Porcini Tagliolini which arrives as fresh egg noodles folded with the fresh porcini mushrooms. The pungent, gutsy flavours of these mushrooms require only a dash of the best olive oil and perhaps a clove or two of crushed garlic to bring out the best they have to offer and at this time of year, you will find them folded through risotto, a multitude of pasta and even char-grilled whole and dressed with a little balsamic. We also enjoyed the local pasta called ‘pici’ which is a kind of roughly extruded, thick spaghetti, served simply with diced, briefly stewed tomatoes and basil.

Another customer wrote:

Ristorante Nello La Taverna, just off Il Campo, is one of the best Tuscany cafes. We had gnocchi with bolognese sauce and the gnocchi was to die for! They melt in your mouth! Also had great wine and deserts (puff pastry stuffed with ice cream and hot chocolate sauce). He is very friendly and the atmosphere is charming.

Summary

Highly recommended restaurant in Siena, Italy. Ristorante Nello La Taverna, Via dei Porrioni 28, tel. 0577 289043  Closed on Sundays.  Map

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