We already wrote about Il Tinello when we visited the Grotta del Vento but we came back there on Sunday, and it definitely deserves a whole entry.

First, the place was packed! You really need to book in advance for Sunday at lunch time.

The atmosphere was very friendly and informal: the place was quite noisy as there were a few big tables: we were celebrating the birthday of our friend Aristide, so there were 12 of us, and there was a huge family reunion next to us, for a 59th Wedding Anniversary. Kids would leave the table and go play outside, often under the surveillance of adults taking a smoke break (you cannot smoke in restaurants in Italy). The service was rather slow, appropriately for a big Sunday lunch and very friendly. The waitress was always smiling, did not complain about the kids getting in her way, and really made us feel welcome.

The food was very good and plentiful, but not for the faint of heart though. Crostini, fried polenta, farro salad and prosciuto ham for antipasti. The crostini were really excellent: fish (my favourite), liver, mussels and mushroom. Primi included meat tortellini and spaghetti with mussels, plus of course mushroom risotto (it is the mushroom season after all). For secondi we got a huge platter of prime ribs, fried calamari, fried mushroom and fried zucchini (do you sense a theme here?). The meat was great, not too cooked, tender, great taste. The calamari and zucchini were just as good as I remembered them from our previous visit. I am not a huge fan of fried mushroom, I like them just pan-seared, with garlic, parsley and maybe a little vinegar, but those were quite good (Aristide assured me that they are usually better).

We finished with birthday cakes that we had brought with us, limoncello and grappa for digestive, coffee of course, and we were ready for a good walk in the woods to recover from this huge meal (more on this in my next post).

Oh, and the bill: 14.50 Euros per adult! Waouh! We will be back!

Practical Information:

Il Tinello
Loc. Tinello, 1 - 55020 Fornovolasco Vergemoli (Lucca) Directions: see Grotta del Vento
Closed on Tuesdays
Tel: 0583-722027
Web: http://web.tiscali.it/iltinello/ (in Italian only)

posted by michel, 2005-10-03