Hidden gems of Tuscany: lunching at Trattoria di Sor Paolo

When a good meal made me reflect on what I consider a good dining experience in a Tuscan trattoria

Jun 10, 2024

∙ Paid

After a slow turn along the old road that goes from Siena to Florence, just a few minutes past San Casciano, among the Chianti vineyards, you can spot the rusty sign of Trattoria di Sor Paolo crowning the view of an ochre building with a wisteria-covered pergola standing out against a backdrop of woods.

That’s exactly where the story of a good meal begins.

On a Monday that felt like a holiday, we drove to Trattoria di Sor Paolo in San Casciano to celebrate my father-in-law’s 70th birthday. We got fried vegetables—sage leaves, zucchini and zucchini blossoms, onion rings, cauliflower florets, artichoke wedges, peppers—as an appetizer, penne with a hearty rabbit ragù, fresh gnocchi with roasted squab sauce, and a refreshing chicken salad with potatoes and their homemade giardiniera, lemon sorbet, and local strawberries to end the meal. In the past, we have also tried their selection of fried meat—chicken, rabbit, veal, but also brain and sweetbread on request—, and a tangy sheep yogurt with fresh blueberries for dessert.

Not far from Florence, this is the perfect spot to enjoy some honest Tuscan food in a relaxed rustic atmosphere among locals and adventurous travelers. If the weather permits, sit under their wisteria pergola to enjoy their seasonal menu. If you like to wander the countryside and stop at a local trattoria for lunch, write down this address for your next trip to Tuscany.

Trattoria di Sor Paolo

Via Cassia per Firenze, 40, San Casciano in Val di Pesa (FI) Tel: +39 055 828402

The excellent meals we’ve been having at Trattoria di Sor Paolo in San Casciano made me reflect on what I consider a good dining experience.

I am not a regular in elegant or more innovative restaurants, and even though I adore trying new cuisines, here where I live I don’t find enough options to have an informed opinion on international restaurants. But I know pretty well Tuscan cuisine, so when I go to a local trattoria I know what makes a great dining experience.

I love it when a trattoria is out in the countryside, it forces me to explore the back roads, and it leads me out of the same route you travel along day after day, almost mindlessly. It makes you look at the world from a different perspective. Remote trattorias are often the place of choice for local workers or adventurous travelers.

Their menu should be a testament to their relationship with the nearby farmers and producers.

Take the long, vintage-looking menu the waiters at Trattoria di Sor Paolo hand you as soon as you sit down at their marble tables upcycled from old Singer sewing machines. Among the appetizers, they include a board with three pecorino cheeses from Corzano e Paterno, a cheese farm located just 15 kilometers from the restaurant. They serve the cheese with their homemade jams, to everyone’s delight. The charcuterie boards name the producer, Macelleria Chini in Gaiole in Chianti, while the vegetables and the fruit come from neighboring farms.

Pasta fresca is homemade as you would expect from a trattoria, but when they opt for dry pasta with their most traditional sauces, like the robust rabbit ragu, they use pasta from Pastificio Fabbri in Strada in Chianti, located within a stone’s throw from the trattoria.

What I appreciate about a similar menu is the impression of a real connection with the producers and farmers mentioned. It is not a name-dropping expedient to brag about weak connections with mere suppliers.

I expect a traditional menu cooked with care and respect for seasonality and ingredients. I want to find those dishes I wouldn’t cook at home regularly because they require long, slow cooking or big quantities to be made by the book. I also order recipes I know very well, as if I have a good feeling about a trattoria I want to taste the way they cook something that already belongs to my cooking repertoire to improve my recipe, steal a secret—maybe a herb, or a pairing I didn’t consider—or simply relish the fact that I make it better.

Traditional cuisine doesn’t have to be boring.

I often lament over the lack of variety in the offer of local trattorias, and I’ve repeatedly heard the same complaint from my students: how is it possible that most of the trattorias they visit offer the same menu day in and day out—the same roast meat, the same Florentine t-bone steak, the same sautéed spinach, the same pasta with the same sauce, the same chicken liver mousse with a slab of pan brioche (this is my pet-peeve, it might have been fun and different years ago, now I’d rather find a perfectly executed chicken liver spread, rustic and vibrant with capers and anchovies, than the same predictable pairing).

So I hold dear a trattoria that offers a handful of traditional dishes executed to perfection along with their unique signature recipes and some excellent artisanal ingredients, and that includes seasonal vegetables, and not only the same boring side dish options. If I leave the trattoria feeling like I want to go back soon to try more items from their menu, that has been a good dining experience for me.

Letters from Tuscany