Taverna di Cecco

I had the most incredible experience here. The owner made it his mission to make sure that my friend and I, along with everyone else in the place, had the best time. The food was amazing but the service was the best I’ve ever had. I don’t usually rave about place but you need to go here!

Google became my reliable best bud while in Italy earlier in the month. Whenever I needed a snappy translation, Google was on it for me.
Except at Taverna di Cecco.
As I tried to decide on a meal, I searched for and translated several menu items with success. Nothing was catching my interest. Then I reached «Pici alla Nando.» I had already learned via the Internet that pici is a fat spaghetti with origins in the area. But alla Nando? I had to ask.
My server described it as a pasta dish with basil tomato sauce, peppers and buffalo mozzarella cheese. Aside from the peppers, I was game. It sounded like a delightfully light and easy to consume dish.
…Mostly because it was 11:30 PM at the time. It was our third attempt to eat dinner here. The smell (and reviews) lured us in, and we were determined to get a table.
So the pici was NOT light, in actuality, but it was the one dish my tablemates slaved over to ensure did not go to waste at all. Not even the sauce!
I’ve never had such a delicious pasta, and I fear I never will again unless I return to Siena and request this meal once more.
And I’m totally fine doing that. Who’s in?

we ordered risotto alla verdure, tagliatelle with arugula and funghi and spaghetti al pesto. everything was very good, and the staff is nice. it’s a family restaurant, comfortable and intimate.

Pappardelle pomodoro was excellent, then had pears, pecorino and honey yummo, I never had ossa bucca and decided to try it omg my favorite thing so far in Italy. It was fantastic. We ordered expression and tiramisu for dessert when we were finished the owner came by and say down 4 bottles of liquors on the house for a choice of after dinner drink. This was by far the best meal I have had. By the way my hubby had the pasta with wild boar ragu and said it was great.

Well, we were surprised to find a humorless waiter, no extra salad «on the house» as others discussed and paltry plated food. I guess if you wanted wild boar and goat, this is your place. Waiters, even in Italy, have to respect those who cannot or do not drink wine. When we told them we were not ordering wine, there was a disgust on the face of the waiter. For shame! He needs to consider others’ health needs! We left as quickly as we could. We went with the recommendation of our wonderful bed and breakfast owner and were disappointed and hungry when we left. Prices were higher than most other restaurants in that area of Siena. TO their credit, the chicken cacciatore did have excellent flavor, but 2 little drumsticks and nothing else did not constitute dinner!

Finding good food in major Italian cities is tough. There are too many touristy places that turn out mediocre food. This place is not that. Taverna DI Cecco is off the beaten path, but still convenient enough to get to if you are staying in the historic center of siena. We did not have a reservation, but we were able to get the last table inside. Wouldn’t hurt to make a reservation but they were very accommodating. Menu written in only italian, and full of rustic traditional tuscan dishes. Their house Red wine was very good, and what made it better was it was 3 euros a glass. Waiter brought us out a complementary panzanella salad which was quite nice. For first course we had the Pici al ragu di cinghiale and pici cacio e pepe. The ragu was incredibly rich and flavorful, and pici cooked to perfection. The cacio e pepe was heavy, but delicious. Nice big pieces of cacio mixed in which is a nice touch. For secondo, we split the trippa alla fiorentina (tripe). The red sauce that the tripe was cooked in was second to none. You can tell it had been braising for hours as the depth of flavor in the dish was amazing. The tripe itself was tender and melt in your mouth. If you are looking for an authentic dish of tripe, this is your spot. We were too full to order desert, but I’m sure it would have been just as good. Overall dinner was very relaxing, as we did not feel rushed one bit. The service was good, and food was outstanding. If you want real rustic home cooked tuscan dishes, this is the place. It will not disappoint.

Great chef’s appetizer everybody gets. Packed house with both tourists as well as locals. Tucked away in a street off the tourist route.

This is the best food we’ve had in Italy! The tastes of the dishes were great and it is reasonably priced. Can’t recommend it enough! I had the spaghetti carbonara and it was terrific! The chicken in white wine was also tremendous. Go here and get the bruschetta!

It’s been over 6 months and my wife and I still talk about this place. We had a fantastic lunch there in October 2014. The bread salad (which is complimentary) and the pici cacio e pepe are great. They picked a great bottle of red for us and overall it was relaxing atmosphere, great service and absolutely top notch food.

Very good food! The service was not the friendliest, but they brought us complimentary bread salad which is something I would have never ordered on my own and it was delicious. They had some of the best bruschetta we had in Italy.

Highest Recommendation. A sweet hole in the wall gem. Great service, our waiter spoke good English and was flexible splitting courses & doing special cooked vegetable dishes for us. Wine list was diverse and wine was excellent as well as the meal, perfectly paired. Can not go wrong with Taverna di Cecco. Reservation would be a wise idea. Enjoy!

Ein tolles Restaurant, sehr empfehlenswert, tolle Küche, nettes Personal!!!
Das Essen ist ausgezeichnet, wir sind nun schon drei mal hintereinander hier!!!

Excellent! Our best value meal in Tuscany in 10 day visit. Starters were great but the pasta dishes were star here. Great house wine (and cheap 5 € for ½ liter) so no need to go for a bottle here. As mentioned on another review the Pici with Cinghiale (boar) sauce was outstanding. I am a gnocchi fan and asked to do it with the same sauce as the Puci, no problem, it too was great. Finished with a tiramisu that was delightful. Great food, solid value, superb service = delightful evening.

This is not your high end restaurant. But it worth all its money, has great service and a chef superstar. The grandma!
We were treated a pantsarela (?) which I guess it is the poor people’s salad. Yesterday’s bread in high quality oil with tomatoes and onion. Delicious!
Pici with wild boar is a traditional Tuscan place. Here is excellent!
The Fiorentina steak could stand against any steak from the best NY steakhouses!
Simple things that create no expectations are the best. Especially when you have a grandma in the kitchen!

We tried this place after the positive review. We loved it. Small and casual, but the meal was fabulous. We had osso buco and tiramisu. Everything was delicious. The waiter even brought us grappa at the end complimentary. A nice find!

We found this restaurant by accident while looking for another one. A local shop owner suggested that we go to this one. We were very pleased as all the dishes were «grandma’s recipes» who could still be seen in the back of the restaurant working in the kitchen. We were given a free surprise appetizer of crostinis to start our meal. We ordered Veal Marsala, Tortellini with cream sauce, Barley soup and Osso Bucco. Wow! What a meal! …and this was lunch!