Ristorante Caino — Restaurant in Unione di Comuni Montani Colline del Fiora

We actually felt a bit silly at first because we left Roma in the morning with a plan to get to Paris eventually and I pulled out my note book to see if I had any idea where we were going to spend the evening. ||||I had scribbled something down - Caino. I called and talked with a very pleasant man who spoke limited english and we confirmed an evening booking as well as dinner in the restaurant. I had also scribbled down that the resto was supposed to be good. ||||Anyway the drive was amazing and we found some tight little roads through the rolling hills of this wonderful region. Upon arrival to this little village perched atop a hillside, we had little problems finding Caino. It was sheer intuition. ||||The first thing I feel, climbing out of the car is my olfactory senses stimulate to a wonderful aroma of someone cooking. I peer around and look into a building to see several chefs working on dinner. Okay, this restaurant is serious. ||||We check in with the nice man, he is the co-owner. Super friendly and efficient, he checks us into a wonderful little room with a small window overlooking the countryside. The room is tidy and very clean. Air quality is very pleasant, but I open the window. ||||The town of Montemerano is ideal. Its residents are approachable and interesting. Most are getting on in their years. The youth of the town seem to work in the restaurant. What a pleasant group it was. The chefs were young and eager, the service staff was relaxed yet professional, the wines were tremendous and the dinner was something very very special. ||||We ended up staying a second evening, explored the coast line and enjoyed a second stint at the restaurant. ||||Upon checking out I finally put it all together. The Chef was Valerie, the restaurant was the critically acclaimed two Michelin starred DaCaino and the experience was fantastic. ||||Check in, find yourself a little courtyard in the town, sit and wait for Valerie to start up her cooking. Then just wait until she rings the dinner bell. It does not...

We actually felt a bit silly at first because we left Roma in the morning with a plan to get to Paris eventually and I pulled out my note book to see if I had any idea where we were going to spend the evening. ||||I had scribbled something down - Caino. I called and talked with a very pleasant man who spoke limited english and we confirmed an evening booking as well as dinner in the restaurant. I had also scribbled down that the resto was supposed to be good. ||||Anyway the drive was amazing and we found some tight little roads through the rolling hills of this wonderful region. Upon arrival to this little village perched atop a hillside, we had little problems finding Caino. It was sheer intuition. ||||The first thing I feel, climbing out of the car is my olfactory senses stimulate to a wonderful aroma of someone cooking. I peer around and look into a building to see several chefs working on dinner. Okay, this restaurant is serious. ||||We check in with the nice man, he is the co-owner. Super friendly and efficient, he checks us into a wonderful little room with a small window overlooking the countryside. The room is tidy and very clean. Air quality is very pleasant, but I open the window. ||||The town of Montemerano is ideal. Its residents are approachable and interesting. Most are getting on in their years. The youth of the town seem to work in the restaurant. What a pleasant group it was. The chefs were young and eager, the service staff was relaxed yet professional, the wines were tremendous and the dinner was something very very special. ||||We ended up staying a second evening, explored the coast line and enjoyed a second stint at the restaurant. ||||Upon checking out I finally put it all together. The Chef was Valerie, the restaurant was the critically acclaimed two Michelin starred DaCaino and the experience was fantastic. ||||Check in, find yourself a little courtyard in the town, sit and wait for Valerie to start up her cooking. Then just wait until she rings the dinner bell. It does not...

The place was beautiful right from the outside to the simplicity and romantic ambience inside. Perfect for our anniv. We ordered the boar on grill with vegies and it was crispy skinned and the meat cooked well. Came in a round cute mini grill. I'm giving 3 stars as for a 2 michelin resto it was just a fine dining meal. There was nothing creative with the flavors. In fact it was just straight meat and veg. My langoustine eggplant pasta was nice but all I could taste was salt and mint in the end. Not very seafood or prawny in flavour. The good thing is they gave a free mini dessert set and an appetiser which were delicious. But after going to 4 x top 50 restaurants in the world this trip, I think the bar is set pretty...