La Vecchia Lira — Restaurant in Volterra

Great welcome, vibrant atmosphere and exquisite food.

I would recommend booking this restaurant beacuse it rightly has a wonderful reputation for the quality of its food. My wife and I visited on a Saturday evening in June but unfortunately the venue was full. The owner was very amenable though and explained if we could comeback in 45 mins then he would ensure there was a table available. We duly obliged and were made very welcome upon our return and shown to our table.

The atmosphere was electric and like one big happy family. We sang happy birthday, were given a celebratory drink from another dining party and shook many guests hands. This was what I envisaged would be a typical Italian welcome and dining experience - something right out of the film 'Under the Tuscan Sun' lol.

If things couldn't get better we were then served our drinks and food. The wine we chose was locally sourced and of great quality. The starters were sublime and my main course 'Sweet and Sour Wild Boar' was delectable. Couldn't fault the service, the food, the hospitality and the prices were also very reasonable €16 for the boat dish.

Would highly recommend and will...

Easily our worst experience in Italy. Started with our waitress who provided the worst service we have had maybe anywhere. We were interested in a pork dish, but did not understand one word in the description. Normally I’d google it but we had no reception. Waitress spoke perfect English so thought we would ask her in English to describe the dish. Her response: “it’s pork.” We prompted her for more she said it was a warm dish. Eventually she said it was from the neck and soft. We decided to try it and it ended up being tough, 75% gristle and very salty. We also had a shrimp dish and the shrimp were not de-veined and very gritty. The sauce was very salty as well. They had uni spaghetti on the menu. We love uni but this had no distinguishable uni or uni flavor, just very salty. We also ordered chickpea patties, which were flavorless and just mushy. To be fair, when we did not eat the pork another server came over and was very attentive, as was the proprietor who offered a E5 discount. The house wine was very good as well. This restaurant has a very high price point which justifies much better service...

I came here on a Saturday evening (11/9/2024) as a solo diner, and La Vecchia Lira made my dinner such a special experience. With a reservation, I was seated immediately, and the food was prompt, fresh, and tasty. I had the duck pasta (fettuccine di pasta fresca agli spinaci con ragù bianco di anatra), steak with bacon and caramelized onions (tagliata di Chianina I.G.P., pancetta locale Tarese del Valdarno e cipolle caramellate), and the chocolate cake with limoncello cream (torta al cioccolato con panna di limoncello)--all great dishes. The ambiance of the restaurant was elegant and cozy; it was very nice to be surrounded by locals.

What truly elevated my dinner from satisfactory to wonderful were the owner and staff at La Vecchia Lira. Not only were they patient with my limited Italian and helpful in making selections for a delicious meal, they made me feel extremely warm and welcomed. La Vecchia Lira is an experience worth having if you visit Volterra!

Grazie a tutto lo staff e soprattutto al titolare per un bellissimo ricordo! Penserò a voi quando mi metto...