La Taverna di San Giuseppe

Michelin guide 9x! Need I say more? Food was exceptional and service is even more so.

1) Make a reservation at least 2 days ahead of time for dinner. They will fill up and you will regret it.
2) Order the lasagna. I had the truffle pasta (the server kindly gave me half of the tagliatelle and half of the gnocchi when I couldn’t decide), and while it was good it wasn’t as amazing as the bite I took of my boyfriend’s lasagna. Seriously, I would make a trip just for that lasagna.
3) Enjoy the US-​level service and attention.
4) Order the tiramisu. It’s a little bit more custard-​like (very little ladyfingers as far as I could tell), but still the best tiramisu I’ve had in Italy.
5) Walk out clutching your stomach — but not your wallet (a dinner for 2 was around $ 78 including a bottle of non-​house red)

Good food. Especially the wild boar pasta and the pork secondi dish.
Skip the truffle pasta, unless you’re desperate. You do get the amazing truffle smell but the taste was average, and pricey at 18 euros. Better to go the side of porcini mushrooms which were amazing and very Italian.
Note that bookings are essential, and that they charge 10% service charge instead of a fixed cover charge.

small town of siena… trek towards sant’agostino…reservations recommended, but tables available if going right at opening at 12pm… fills up quickly at this michelin rated establishment… wine cave ambience with rustic touches… t-​bone steak presentation with steak brought table side, fat trimmed, sliced and served rare looking fantastic… staff and service impeccable… starting with bread and a shot of amusing lard… spreading on the bread at first, but watching others eating it straight with the teaspoon… no idea what it was and didn’t ask… starting with a hearty steel pot of tripe (trippa) 8 €…wonderfully soft slow cooked tripe in the most tasteful tomato saucing… highly recommend the tripe… pasta in boar sauce next 11 €…pasta cooked to perfection. boar sauce thick and flavorful… great pasta dish… pork in mushroom sauce with strawberry purée on the side tasty 19 €…finding each dish balance well and no one flavor overwhelming the dish… also quite a bargain for such fine quality meal… water 2 € charge…10% service charge… wine 3,50 € per glass…55,55 € total for a fantastic meal for 2…

Just had a superb dinner there tonight. Lots of truffle dishes — so good. Asparagus flan was amazing. Beef with truffle and ricotta and spinach dumplings were fantastic. Had strudel and tiramisu for dessert. Great service. Best to reserve several days ahead.

Do it. Just do it. Phenomenal experience. I highly recommend this Siena gem. Ask to check out the wine/​cheese cellar. The staff is helpful and terrific.

Happened across this gem on a weekday early evening. I’m getting around to writing a review having visited this restaurant a couple months ago. Visited the lower section of the restaurant (built prior to Christ), quite interesting and not as cool as you might think (don’t touch the walls, they are a little slimy). Had a large party which all ordered different plates, and all commented on a great meal. I ordered the famous steak (MED rare of course), others ordered various dishes with truffles. On the spot flavors. Local wines were very good with our meal. Must be on your visit list while in Italy.

One of our best meals to date. Wifey picked this place while we were exploring Siena and we were very lucky to have a table for lunch without reservations. They told us we had 1.5 hours for lunch because they needed the table for a 2pm reservation so we said that would work.
We had the lasagna, fresh pasta with wild boar and prochini mushrooms. We also shared a main braised beef in wine sauce with a potato soufflé. It was one of the best meals we had so far.
Also be forewarned that there is a 10% service fee at this restaurant. The first time we saw a service fee in the past 10 days eating out in Italy.

One of the best restaurants by far in Siena! Great food, great service! Don’t pass it up if you’re visiting Siena! You won’t regret it!

The food– excellent, the service-​impeccable, the wine-​excellent, the dessert-​wonderful tiramisu. The best in Siena.

We loved this place; it came highly recommended by a friend.
Ambiance — charming, cozy and lively
Service — attentive and hospitable
Food — honest, home cooking. We loved the gnocchi with fresh truffle and the veal osso bucco.
Excellent dinner in a perfect setting!

We visited Siena so we could have dinner here. It did not disappoint.
We ordered from the special truffle menu. I got a half order of truffle gnocchi and a half order of truffle tagliatelle. Husband got truffle steak.
So. Much. Truffle.
When we first got our orders, the waiter hovered a whole truffle over our plate and made a grated truffle rain. Later, when he came back to check on us, he brought another truffle to make sure we were truffle-​plentiful.
The gnocchi was really quite something, the fluffiest «pillow» I’ve ever tasted. The noodle was springy and buttery just the way I liked it.
The steak was good, but the strong truffle taste was too dominating. I’m not sure if it was a good pairing.
The sides of peppers and scalloped potatoes were simple home-​cooking, although a bit over-​salted.
The tiramisu was heavenly. The desert wine was amazing also.
The staff were very friendly and cute.
We went down to the cellar after our meal.
It was a wonderful meal, although it was not our best meal in Italy. We were neither truffle addicts nor aficionados. So our truffling at La Taverna di San Guiseppe was more about experiencing than eating.
This is the most expensive meal during our Italy trip, and it is nowhere near as expensive as it should be.

We walked in during lunch hour to make reservation for an early dinner that evening. The dinner meal definitely lived up to the high ratings & reviews. Impeccable service, beautiful presentation and delicious food. The appetizer (mushrooms on toast, I forget what it was called) and the pastas were fantastic. For the dessert, do not miss the tiramisu — it was the best I’ve ever had anywhere.

The Siena-​native who worked at our hotel told us that this was the best restaurant in Siena. I was skeptical, but he’s probably right! Dinner here was one of the food highlights of our three-​week trip across Italy. The restaurant is very romantic, the staff and service were excellent, and the food was heavenly! The truffle gnocchi was unforgettable. The osso bucco as well.
For what this restaurant is, the price was very reasonable. I just wish we had this sort of a place in San Francisco!; - (

A must visit place when you’re within the city walls of Siena. We made reservations since we knew this was a very popular place. This place did not disappoint. We ordered buratta with tomatoes, tagliatelle with cheese, florentine steak, and a mix salad with strawberries. Service was great and the atmosphere had a very rustic yet classy feel. We will certainly be back!

This has to be one of the special places on my list of food tourism. A quaint charming town of Siena and a mind blowing combo of food. Try the Tuscan wine, beef stew, gnocchi and pork sausage pasta.

Not much I can say that hasn’t been said already !! Just Go !!
I will be dreaming of that Gnocchi with white truffle for a long time… and the steak wasn’t to shabby either !!
We got a nice sing along for our anniversary when dessert arrived too.
Thanks for a wonderful meal !

Have to give this restaurant 5 starts, they sat us even when we didn’t have a reservation and could not have been nicer! Food was also amazing, best picci pasta I’ve ever had and very good wine! I will definitely come back here!

A plate of fresh pasta gloriously covered in shavings of black truffles arrives in front of me. I pause reverently. Before I know it, the waiter returns immediately to grate yet *more* decadent truffles (this time, white) on top. I twirl some of this around my fork and place it in my mouth. Angels sing. Tears fill my eyes.
And I can die now.
Not sure I will do it justice, but I’ll try. La Taverna di San Guiseppe is an absolutely exquisite experience, from food to service to the rustic cellar chic ambiance that can and should only exist in Medieval Italian cities like Siena. I feel so privileged to have been able to have lunch here yesterday.
We started with the bruschetta, vegetables and spreads glistening with divine floral olive oil. One slice was a simple pomodoro/​basil, one had grilled zucchini over melted Pecorino (I skipped, since I’m vegan) and one had something akin to ribollita (bean and bread soup). I probably don’t need to say this, but easily the best simple bruschetta I have ever had (and I’ve been eating it daily since my arrival in Italy 10 days ago).
I thought I wasn’t going to be able to enjoy truffle-​anything here because despite the menu being full of dishes featuring these savory delicacies, most involved cream or meat. Our waiter informed us that the special truffle pasta dish simply came tossed in olive oil rather than cream. Just to make sure, I inquired about cheese since let’s face it, it’s pretty ubiquitous in Italy. «No cheese. Never cheese mixed with truffles,» he kinda assured me.
There’s also a homemade gnocchi with cream and truffles that my friend ended up having a half portion of, in addition to a half portion of the aforementioned truffle/​olive oil pasta. They let you split these two pastas on one plate, and I suggest you do so because my friend informed me that the plain dish was even better than the creamy dish.
Food is celebrated here, judging by the large tables of Italian friends/​family enjoying an endless lunch. At one point they wheeled out an enormous steak that normally would have me cringing, but they serve it with much aplomb, slicing off the fatty edges to reveal a carnivorous showpiece. I have no doubt if you eat meat, you will do well here.
Service is superb. After arriving, our waiter discreetly put my large shoulder bag on a tiny thatched chair next to my seat. I love little gestures like this! He also was incredibly kind about our questions and answered them perfectly.
The wine list is incredible and an affordable array of good bottles are easy to find.
I’m so taken with the entire experience, I’m almost plotting a return to Siena, despite this being a 90 minute bus ride away from Florence, where I’m staying for two weeks. In America,“truffle” items are typically served with chemically infused oils and are expensive even at that. I’m sort of pinching myself that I was able to eat a plate of pasta practically smothered in them for 18 Euro. One of the most memorable days of my life thus far.

Make a reservation before you get to Siena! We walked in when they were full and they were kind enough to make one for us elsewhere and luckily they squeezed us in for the next night.
Atmosphere:
The definition of rustic, visible wine cellar, cured meats drying over your head as you dine. Love it.
Service:
I cannot believe how 3 people can manage nearly flawless service for the whole restaurant — seriously American restaurants — THIS is how its done. And ladies, I got 2 words for you: purse stool (so cute).
Food:
— Fois gras, Quail Egg and polenta — Good
— Green salad — Solid
— Gnocchi — Excellent, fluffy
— Pork shank — Dry, definitely don’t order
— Tiramisu — I HATE tiramisu, but they converted me, this was creamy, fluffy, light and none of that liquor-​iness that makes me run for the hills
And yes, truffles are a seasoning, it goes on everything in huge heaping piles. Gawd I love Italy.