Buca di San Francesco
Descend into a 14th-century vaulted cellar just steps from the Basilica di San Francesco and you'll find one of Arezzo's most beloved restaurants, unchanged in spirit since it opened in 1929. The menu is a love letter to Aretine cooking: handmade pappardelle with wild boar ragù, ribollita thick enough to stand a spoon in, and a bistecca di Chianina that arrives the size of a small saddle.
What to Order
Start with the antipasto misto della casa — a rotating parade of crostini, lardo di Colonnata on warm bread, and pickled vegetables that changes with the season. Follow with pappardelle al cinghiale: the pasta is rolled thick and eggy, the boar sauce slow-cooked with juniper and red wine until it clings like velvet.
The Chianina beef, raised in the Valdichiana just south of Arezzo, is served al sangue (rare) as tradition demands, seasoned with nothing but Tuscan olive oil and coarse salt. Order the house Chianti Colli Aretini to match — it's unpretentious and perfect.
Atmosphere and Booking
The dining room is a warren of stone arches, terracotta floors and walls hung with antique copper pots. In summer a handful of tables spill onto Via San Francesco, but the cellar is the real prize — cool, candlelit and genuinely medieval in feel.
Reservations are strongly recommended for Friday and Saturday evenings and for any weekend during the antiques fair. The lunch service is quieter and often easier to walk into.
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