Taverna di Merlino — Restaurant in Unione dei Comuni Valdichiana Senese

A unique experience among the many traditional Italian restaurants, all with good food.

They have the best [not traditional Tuscan] bread and they serve it with the best balsamic vinegar we've had in any restaurant ANYWHERE.

We've never had a dish we didn't like.

Visit with no risk of disappointment.

Update one year later: we still come often, but I admit that we often order our same favorite items. Last night changed our future behavior. We were in a mood for something different. We still ordered our standard pasta dish: Pici with Tuscan beef ragu, but then we branched out into the unknown.

We started with a baked eggplant with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was life changing. This 5 euro appetizer was the best vegetable dish either of us have ever tasted. I Will try my best to recreate it, and our host was open about some of the critical secrets.

We followed with slow roasted pork neck in a wonderful sauce with mashed potatoes and fennel. Every bit as good as the eggplant, but...

Came here on a Wednesday night, made reservations by doing a simple WhatsApp message. When we arrived we got seated quickly, ordered the crostini sampler to share, the Merlin Soup, a pappardelle dish, the whole cockerel, pork tenderloin, and a tiramisu to share, along with white and red wine. When I say it was love at first bite it really was. My fiancé and I were blown away at the flavors and textures, each dish did not disappoint at all! After the crostini we were eager to see our next dishes come out, dish after dish we were in love! We overheard Natalie, the owner, speaking to another table in English (she’s fluent), and explaining their story. It amazes me how they plant their own veggies and create these amazing dishes, the menu changes according to what they have to offer! Absolutely cannot wait to come back, we are already thinking about booking a...

We had dined almost everywhere in this community, except Merlino’s. Our first experience was last Sunday evening. Superb. We will definitely be back. We each had appetizers, a secondi piatti, desserts, and a nice bottle of Le Buche red wine. Every course was excellent — simply prepared but very tasty. Our wait person served each course timely, which was amazing given that she was both hostess and server for all the tables. Be sure to get a reservation for dining on...