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Castellina: Antico Ristorante Pestello

Strada per Poggibonsi , Phone: 0577 740215
www.pestello.it
Closing day: Wednesday

Reviewed by: Jane from CA, review #2141

When: 2006

We recommended this restaurant in 2001 and, having eaten here today, find that it is still very good. Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, good food.

Directions: Pestello is on the road from Castellina to Poggibonsi. It's on the right side of the road.

This is a warm and inviting restaurant. There is a veranda for outside dining in good weather but we like the ambience of the dining rooms. There is a large selection of antipasti, several pici dishes along with other primi offerings and a nice assortment of secondo piatti. I had artichokes in oil which were delicious for an antipasto. We both had pici dishes. Which were quite good except for the fact that we again decided that pici is not our favorite pasta at all. I had a duck sauce and Ken had a vegetable carbonara. The people next to us had lamb which looked and smelled wonderful so we will go back for that sometime. This is a restaurant which we will return to more than once during our year here.

But whatever you do, DO NOT order the house wine. We often do this for lunch and usually find it satisfactory but this was terrible!

Reviewed by: Jane from CA, review #83

When: 2001

Very good food, great service, reasonable.

Directions: 6.5 km west of Castellina in Chianti, on the road to Poggibonsi.

Family run ristorante outside of Castillina on the road to Poggibonsi. A favorite of the locals. Again, you probably would not stop there without a recommendation as it is just along the road. Worth finding.

Phone number: Web site says one number, card from restaurant says another. Both are listed above.

www.chianti.net/assopec/ristoranti/pestello/welcome.html

Reviewed by: Paul from MA, review #84

When: 2000

We make it a point to eat here every year we're in Chianti.

Directions: 6.5 km west of Castellina in Chianti, on the road to Poggibonsi.

The dining room is inside an old stone building along the side of the highway. You could easily drive past and never know it's there, but don't make that mistake. Once inside the front door, it looks like a dim, local bar. Don't despair - they'll take you right to the dining room, which is very comfortable and welcoming.

Everything we have eaten here has been superb! However, my favorite is the cinghiale in umido (wild boar stew) - their version is simply the best I've ever eaten anywhere. In season, you can get grilled fresh porcini mushrooms as an appetizer - they bring the basket to your table & you pick the mushrooms, sold by weight). The pasta courses were quite good, as were the secondi, including the grilled lamb.

The wine selection is very good, and they have many local wines which you don't often see on a list (including some from just down the road). They also have a nice selection of Grappa. When we've been there, we've always found a mix of locals & tourists - mostly Europeans. The service is friendly here, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. While their prices have risen over the past few years, it's still reasonable. The quality of the food has not dimished. Be sure to call for a reservation - it fills up every night. They have a web site where you can see a picture of the dining room.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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