Quercia Rossa

Eating

There is no restaurant or bar, not in the conventional sense, but breakfast, lunch (by request) and dinner are served buffet-style in a long, light dining room with French windows which open onto the garden. Summoned to dinner at 8.30pm by Maria, the hotel’s matriarchal cook-cum-housekeeper, guests are invited to eat together, helping themselves to home-cooked Tuscan dishes - antipasti (cold meats, grilled aubergine), a pasta (the regional speciality is thick tortelli), a meat dish with rice, salads, dessert and cheeses. Carafes of local red wine (Morellino di Scansano) are included in the price (see Cost and Booking).

Breakfast (8.30 – 10.30am) is continental and includes cereals, cold meats, cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, breads and pastries, local honey and little glass pots home-made natural yoghurt.

The emphasis is on fresh, local produce and the simple 'peasant' food of this once poor, agrarian region - rabbit, pigeon or wild boar, for example. Quercia Rossa produces its own organic olive oil, and vegetables and herbs are grown in their kitchen garden.

For those who would prefer to brave the dirt road and eat out, try Caino in Montemerano (Michelin 2-star) or La Filanda in Manciano (both a 20-minute drive away).