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Montepulciano: Trattoria Diva e Maceo

Via di Gracciano nel Corso, 90/92 , Phone: 0578.716.951

Closing day: Tuesday

Reviewed by: Kevin Clark from Italy, review #2395

When: 2007

An update on my 2006 review - probably our favorite restaurant in Montepulciano and one of the best of the trip. Great food & very friendly service.

I don't generally submit repeat reviews, but now that we've tried several of the other restaurants in Montepulciano, Diva e Maceo is firmly established as one of our favorites. We had two meals here on our recent trip to Tuscany with Kim's parents and both were excellent. Both visits were for lunch.

On our first visit, Mom & Dad both started with pappardelle con lepre, I had pici con ragu, and Kim had a vegetable lasagne. This was the first iteration of our "best ragu" contest, and theirs remained close to the top of the list for the entire trip! The lepre sauce was very flavorful. After this, Mom could only manage an insalata mista. Dad had the cinghiale cacciatore which was excellent. Kim had agnello scottaditti which were meaty and very good, and I had tagliata con rosmarino which was tender, perfectly cooked, and delicious. With house wine, water, and coffee lunch cost around 100 Euros for the four of us.

On our second visit a week later, we were remembered and warmly welcomed. We began by sharing the pecorino alla griglia - listed on the menu under secondi - as a starter. It was a medium strength pecorino and was extremely good. We then moved on to pasta, with two kinds of pici - one with more of the excellent ragu and another with a very rich funghi porcini sauce - plus tortelloni con fonduta di pecorino and ravioli (can't remember what kind). All were very good, but my vote still goes to the ragu! Then Dad had osso buco, I had the excellent cinghiale we remembered from the first visit, and Kim had duck filled with a pork and vegetable stuffing. Again, everything was delicious. The cost was again around 100 euros with drinks which this time included a bottle of Vino Nobile.

The restaurant is on the main street of Montepulciano, near the bottom of the hill, so naturally many of the customers are tourists, though some were Italian and a few did seem to be regulars. Service was very friendly throughout. We will definitely return!

Reviewed by: Kevin Clark from Italy, review #2125

When: 2006

A very nice lunch - worth the hike down from the top of Montepulciano and back again!

Directions: Just inside the Porta al Prato near the bottom of the town

This is a nice little place just inside the centro storico of Montepulciano. We checked the menu as we came into town and immediately made a reservation for lunch. When the time came, we were still up in the top of the town and weren't finished exploring and shopping there, so we half regretted long walk down and back to make our reservation. By the end of lunch, we had no regrets.

Kim started with pecorino alla griglia, which was on the menu as a main course, but which they were happy to serve as a starter. I had Chianina affumicato (thinly sliced, smoked beef) with pecorino and a salad. Kim then had maltagliati with a ragu of Vino Nobile, a pork ragu that was probably the best ragu we'd ever tasted. I had fagottino (similar to a crepe) with zucchini and melted pecorino. Yes, we were sort of on a melted pecorino kick here, but what better place to do it?

With lunch we shared a 2003 Torcalvano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano which was very nice. For dessert, I had the homemade tiramisu and Kim had a souffle di cioccolato. With water and coffee, lunch was €70. And we were still able to make the climb back up the hill afterwards!

Reviewed by: kaydee from TN, review #1645

When: 2005

Tuscan specialities in pleasant surroundings on the lower part of the main street of Montepulciano.

Directions: Just inside the northern gate.

Trattoria Diva e Maceo in Montepulciano, photo by

We had lunch at this restaurant on a Saturday afternoon in early June during our month-long stay in Tuscany. We decided to eat here because it was on Tuscan House's restaurant list, and we had a lot of confidence in Zak and Gary's recommendations. In fact, we were NEVER disappointed in any place they recommended. You can check out their list at: Tuscanhouse Restaurants

Although we arrived rather late for lunch, the restaurant was still quite full. One large table was occupied by a big group of Americans, several pairs of parents and teenage children. They were loudly waving around their Tuscan House list. We tried to pretend we were French and I kept my list deep in my purse.

Because the prices were reasonable, we decided to splurge and have meat. (Most of the time in Italian restaurants, we ended up skipping the meat course because of the cost.) I had a primi of big homemade raviolis (wonderful). Then I had a pork tenderloin in crust, Charley had wild boar, and Kelly had a steak. Kelly tried to order a mezzo portion of steak, which wasn't possible, and got a huge piece of good beef. Charley and I shared a side order of the white Tuscan beans. We paid 56 euro for our meal, including wine.

I liked this place and our meal, and I would recommend it, although we didn't like it enough to go back during the last couple weeks of our stay. I know I was turned off by the loud American group. Not fair, I know, but true.

Reviewed by: Monica Pileggi from MD, review #884

When: 2004

One of our best meals was at Diva e Maceo.

Directions: On the north end of town.

The place was filled with both tourists and locals. I made dinner reservations just one night ahead.

The Pappardelle with wild boar sauce was excellent and very rich. But the grilled lamb was fabulous! Served with the lamb were white beans in a tomato/sage sauce. Reenie also had the lamb and a side dish of endive with mushrooms. We had house white wine. Equivalent of US$53. I wish we dined here more than this one time. It was one of my favorite places. Good tuscan food!

Reviewed by: Jean from MI, review #799

When: 2004

Only restaurant we went to twice because we enjoyed it so much!

Great food and good prices. This is a wonderful restaurant on the main street in Montepulciano. We especially liked some of the side dishes: baby onions, spinach, and beans. Great pasta too. Service was friendly. Be sure to make a reservation.

Reviewed by: Paul B. from Boston, review #194

When: 2001

It's a very non-descript place, inside and out, but don't let that deter you! The food was excellent.

Directions: On the main street in Montepulciano, quite near to the gate at the "low end" of town.

This past trip (2001), we finally ate at Diva e Maceo. They have been receiving consistently good ratings in the Gambero Rosso over the past several years. They were closed the last time we were in Montepulciano.

I had Pici all Ragu for the first course: a wonderful combination of Tuscan pici (thick, chewy, spaghetti-like pasta) with a Ragu Bolognese - heaven! My second was the cinghiale in umido (wild boar stew), also good. The house wine was a winner (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, of course), and is avaiable in full or half bottles. The bill, with cover, 1/2 bottle wine, acqua minerale, 2 primi, 1 secondo, 1 cafe --> ITL 52,000 ($25) !!

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

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