What to Eat in Arezzo: Food Guide to the Tuscan Aretine Kitchen

Arezzo sits at the junction of four Tuscan valleys — Casentino, Valtiberina, Valdarno, and Valdichiana — and its food reflects all of them. This is proper working Tuscan cuisine, not the curated restaurant experience of Florence.

What to Eat

Bistecca alla Fiorentina — the T-bone steak from Chianina cattle, raised in the Valdichiana. Arezzo arguably has better access to the genuine article than Florence. Sold by weight (per etto), served rare.

Acquacotta — a peasant soup made with stale bread, seasonal vegetables, and olive oil. The Maremma and Sienese hills around Arezzo are its heartland. Topped with a poached egg in many versions.

Pappardelle al cinghiale — wide ribbons of egg pasta with wild boar ragù. Boar is hunted extensively in the surrounding forests; the sauce is rich, dark, and slow-cooked.

Ribollita — the Tuscan bread and bean soup, twice-cooked (ribollita = reboiled). Better in agriturismi and family trattorias than in tourist-facing restaurants.

Scottiglia — a mixed meat stew (pork, rabbit, chicken, lamb) braised in tomato and wine. Aretine in origin, rarely found elsewhere.

Bringoli — thick, hand-rolled pasta from the Valtiberina, similar to pici but chunkier. Often served with garlic, olive oil, and pecorino.

Tartufo nero — the black truffles from the Valtiberina and Casentino forests are significant. Autumn menus often feature truffle on fresh pasta or bruschetta.

Where to Eat

The best eating is in the upper town, away from the train station. Look for trattorias on the side streets between the Piazza Grande and the Duomo — the main squares have the worst tourist-ratio pricing.

The surrounding countryside is the best source of authentic cooking. Agriturismi in the Casentino and Chianti colli aretini serve meals cooked from their own produce — usually better and cheaper than the town.

Drinks

The Colli Aretini DOC produces Sangiovese-based reds that don’t have the profile of Chianti Classico but drink well. Local wine lists in the better trattorias include producers from Cortona (Syrah and Merlot), which is 30 kilometres south.

Arezzo has good coffee. Bars in the historic centre serve it correctly — standing at the counter, short, without milk after 11am.