La Bottega - San Gimignano — Restaurant in San Gimignano

We happened upon this delightful, small osteria while wandering a bit off the usual “touristy” beaten path inside the walls of this beautiful city. What drew us in was the fact that they are an official location for pilgrims on the Via Francigena to get a “timbro” (stamp) for their credentials. What kept us coming back was the great vibe (stay for the background soundtrack - trust us on this one), the super friendly owners and staff, and the delicious food and drinks at very reasonable prices.

We first ordered a couple aperitivo (5€/drink) after getting our credentials stamped: one Aperol Spritz and one Limoncello Spritz. Both drinks were delicious, but what made the visit special was the interaction with the outgoing owner.

Even though he spoke little to no English, and we speak little to no Italian, we hit it off and managed to have a few laughs. He then truly endeared himself to us when he brought out a bottle of delicious, local white wine and proceeded to pour about three ounces for each us us - including himself. We shared wine and a Saluti!, and we both vowed to come back the next day.

Our lunch included delicious fried chicken wings (the chicken in Italy is amazing!) with fried artichokes, and a killer olive oil drizzled foccacia sandwich with mortadella, stratchiatella and pistachio butter (absolutely to die for), and a scrumptious mango-walnut salad (a real treat as this style of salad is rare here). We each enjoyed delicious glass of white wine with lunch - with the obligatory post-meal coffee - all for only 29€. Not surprisingly, we were also treated to more free wine by the owner - hard not to love that guy!

After lunch the staff treated us to a new taste sensation: biscotti dipped in Vino Santo - a locally produced sweet dessert wine. This was heaven on the tongue - absolutely superb.

Dinner that same evening was a relatively light affair (we had a long hike the next day and needed to get to sleep early). One of us ordered a luscious sausage and leek ravioli, while the other enjoyed a plate of Nona’s meatballs, which came bathed in a delicious, olive oil rich tomato sauce - perfect for mopping with the ever-present bread at the table.

And of course for dessert we each enjoyed a full order of five biscotti with Vino Santo. We could have eaten this incredible dessert all night long.

We highly recommend La Bottega. Come for the great food and reasonable proces; stay for the vibe and the new friends that...

Came for a late lunch on our first day in San Gimignano and ended up coming again three days later!

La Bottega - Tuscany Food & Wine was just that…WONDERFUL FOOD & WINE!

Best reason for our return was the friendly staff and their SMILES! Our server Rudi is so amazing as is the other ladies and the cooks/staff. The owner even visits with you! Hard to find these days, especially in touristy areas.

My husband and I are full time travelers for 6 years now, retired and from California USA. Vegetarians but we will eat cheese and some egg. A must if traveling Europe. We’ve been traveling through Sardegna and now Italy for a couple months. We try to avoid the crazy over popular towns, but who could pass up Sam Gimignano! (Hiking and mountain biking are both a must do! Then you can eat more Tuscan foods here at La Bottega!)

La Bottega was a short walk from our stay just out side the town gate and we liked it’s quiet location. And we loved being seated out on the walkway to watch the world go by.

Starting with a lovely Chianti wine (of course, look where we are!). Our first meal starter was the tomato & mozzarella bruschetta. Nice bread and loaded with the goods! My hubby had the truffle risotto - coveredwith shaved truffles, I had the tagliatelle w/funghi. Both cooked to perfection. And we shared a simple mixed iceberg arugula salad.

Wonderful food. Nice portions. Great prices! Not expecting a ‘Michelin’ Starred restaurant so our expectations were more than met! La Bottega is a little restaurant on a side street with Tuscan Homestyle cooking and atmosphere! Not a stuffy white linen over priced tourist trap! Everything here was great.

Second visit we had our first ever Lemoncello Spritz. Yummy! Then went after the same bruschetta we had before, equally good. The tomatoes were so fresh and flavorful!

My husband chose the Ravioli Noci & Pecorino cheese. He loved the dish. I chose the Pici Cacio e Pepe. The pici was perfect al dente! We shared the salad - Mix La Bottega. So good with the pears and walnuts!

Once again amazing FRIENDLY staff! When my husband went inside to pay, he ordered two shots of Lemoncello. The owner (a man) thought they were for my husband and I. Nope, husband handed one to the gentleman, one to himself and…SALUTI!

Thanks all for the great...

appalling scam. i would give this a zero but unfortunately must award one star. this microwaved food is flavorless, low quality, overpriced, disgusting junk that i regret consuming. i would pay them to close the restaurant. not to mention that the electricity went out while we were dining. do not mistake this for a cute mom and pop hole in the wall. the owner dropped plastic individual packets of “cheese” on the table prior to serving the dishes. we ordered 3 risotto dishes that were prepared in about 5 minutes. impossible. we also ordered two other pasta dishes that were ready in 3 minutes. we could hear the microwave beep and the door open and close. how shameless can you be?! it is an embarrassment to italy and i question the morality of the owners for running this so-called business. i would have been happier eating mcdonald’s off the floor - at least there is no...