Lunch at our new local !
Locanda L’Amorosa is a well known high quality hotel in historic borgo (we’d call it a Hamlet in Britain) less than a kilometre away from us; we can see it clearly from the house (form the pool and from the Siena and Cortona rooms) and it was our favourite evening / sunset hang out during the restoration works at the house. We’d often go for a bottle of red and a cheese plate under the Cherry tree near the Osteria and muse over the day’s developments at our restoration building site and future interior design plans. That was almost 10 years ago now; and the once very visible house is now almost obscured by trees on the Amorosa side; we can see them much better than they can see us. Things have changed a lot here – but little there, in fact one of the most magical aspects of the medieval borgo is it’s authentic feel – it remains very original externally. It is a wonderful location to while away a couple of hours.
In the years since we restored Siena House we have dined many times in the hotel restaurant Le Coccole del Amorosa – we ate there with our wedding party on the eve of our marriage. The restaurant itself has always been a lovely place to be – outside or in – and the service; overseen by the wonderful Aziza was always second to none. It felt every time like a special occasion. Chefs have changed over the years and we felt it lost it’s way somewhat with the fluctuations…However we were delighted in late 2014 to put this restaurant ‘back on the menu’ for guests of the house when we went to eat and enjoyed the most fantastic food – traditional regional cuisine with highest quality ingredients. We’ve been here long enough to have a good sense of the local menu; and the Tuscan ‘black’ liver topped Crostini are not only among my absolute favourite local specialities but also a good kitchen check menu item. Believe me that the Black Crostini that we ate at our return were outstanding…
Recently things have changed somewhat but for the better again – the restaurant is now being privately run by local chef of note Davide Canella. We’ve yet to try but we know his kitchen from his last place. From the ‘old’ Amorosa restaurant much of the menu and front of house Aziza have moved into the Osteria. Osteria as a term should indicate a place serving a short menu of fresh, simple food – with particular focus on local specialities. This is exactly what we have experienced when lunching there yesterday with friends.
And so with the changes at Locanda Amorosa, our neighbour, we are very happy to indicate a fourth very local place to eat very close by. Sadly not walk – able from a road safety point of view (no footpath) but certainly very comfortable and convenient!