Walking around the central square of Cortona, you cannot help being drawn by a menu placed on a bookstand among wooden wine cases. Here Debora and Arnaldo have opened, over three years ago, the Taverna Pane e Vino, not just a restaurant, but also wine bar and wine cellar.
The restaurant recreates the warm Tuscan atmosphere: tables and furniture in wood, table cloths in straw papers and walls in red brick culminating in enormous crossing voltas welcome customers in a pleasant conviviality. Taverna Pane e Vino offers traditional first courses: ribollita, fresh pasta and pici or pinci: traditional spaghetti, which are bigger than normal.
And to start a choice of inviting and tasty bruschette: from the traditional garlic and oil to the most elaborate ones with pecorino and truffle oil or the unusual ones with beans and smoked herring. The Taverna Pane e Vino, instead of the traditional meat second courses which are crowding the trattorie and restaurants of the area, offer a choice of cheeses and Tuscan cold cuts: pecorino cheese matured in earth or in barriques, lardo di Colonnata, Siena walls cold meats and, if you are not true gourmets Arnaldo and Debora, will be able to advise the best accompaniments of wines to exalt the flavours of each dish.
Wines are actually the strong point of the Taverna: over 500 labels, exclusively Italian, with a Tuscan predominance, which can be tasted choosing a bottle or matching the labels that every week, on rotation, are offered by glass.
Tasting evenings are also organised, naturally at closed numbers and upon booking, for cold cuts and cheeses with exceptional wine combinations. Taverna Pane e Vino has an availability of around 60 places and we recommend booking in advance to avoid long waits. During the summer period, in order to enjoy a dinner in the open, tables are moved to the outside , in the atrium of the tavern adjacent to the square. Average expense for a meal excluding the wines varies from 12 to 15 euro. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
Taverna Pane e Vino