Local - not touristy - Restaurants in Assisi and Siena, Italy

I am Siena now. Nowhere in Siena is off the beaten path,but some paths are more worn than others. Almost anywhere with the exception of the restaurants around the piazzo del campo and the areas around the Duomo offer good meals. This is almost within sight of my b and in via termini ..wonderful

Pretto

We spent five nights in Siena last October and the only time we saw touristy restaurants were in the Piazza del Campo. We stayed at the Hotel Athena, which was an 8 minute walk from the piazza and we ate all but once at restaurants away from the del Campo. In each case we were the only non-Italian patrons in the place. Traveling in August would probably be different, however.

There are restaurants tucked away in nooks and crannies all around the city. As you walk around they become more apparent.

Buon viaggio,

There is a good restaurant on the street right behind Hotel Albergo Bernini in Siena. I forget the name of it. We ate there twice, as it was a short walk around the corner from the hotel, and enjoyed the food very much.

I follow one simple piece of advice when eating. If there is any English I don't go in. If you see english on the menu walk away and find someplace else, or if you poke your head inside just listen and see if you hear people sitting speaking English or Italian. If I hear more English then Italian i go find a new place to eat. It takes a little bit of walking away from the center (or in Rome taking the train to the suburbs) but you will find some gems with locals only and no tourists.

Even if you don't speak italian don't worry if the menu is only in Italian. Google Translate now just point your phone camera over the menu and it translates the whole thing on the screen. (You don't need to take a pic). Just hold your phone over the italian menu and it shows in english on your screen.) It also works offline if you have the italian downloaded in google translate app.

I have to disagree with Robert's rule for avoiding restaurants with English on the menu. If I had followed that, I would have missed some of the best meals I've had in Italy over my five visits. An excellent example is Trattoria Pallotta Assisi. They have menus in Italian and English. And the food is absolutely delicious. However, if you don't want to factor in the quality of the food, and want instead to be surrounded by Italians, then Robert's suggestion is a good one.

As for an OTBP rec in Assisi, I stayed there for two weeks in May 2015, and would say that you would need to go to the lower town of Santa Maria Degli Angeli if you want to avoid other tourists and any English on the menus. If, however, you want good food and a good dining experience, here are my recs, all in the upper town:
Trattoria Pallotta (mentioned above.) I ran into Mr. Steves himself here, and we had a nice little chat.
Osteria dei Priori (run by a charming Neapolitan family who speak very limited English)
Ristorante Pizzeria il Ministrello (underground)
Osteria da Santu Mangione (family run, very tiny, charm for days, limited English)
Bar Ristorante Metastasio (decent food, but you go for the stunning views out over the valley. Sunsets are amazing.)

If you're really up for an adventure, then I would recommend Ristorante La Fontanella. It's all just one woman - Franca. You will likely sit in her garden with her friendly dog Argo and a view of the valley. The food ranges from superb to meh. (Her fennel souffle was life-changing.) If she's not busy with other customers, she might come chat with your table for a good little while. Argo will repeatedly ask to be petted, so don't go if you don't like dogs. I found it charming.

Wherever you go, be sure to try the local red wine - Sagrantino di Montefalco. Yummmmmm. A few restaurants also serve a dessert wine made from the same grapes, called Passito SdM. Delicious after dinner, with dessert. And very difficult to find in the US.

have a wonderful time.

We ate here Ristorante Degli Orti in Assissi several years ago and found it quite good. Set menus at good prices - nothing spectacular but the place had a good local feel and lots of local ingredients were used.
http://www.ristorantedegliortiassisi.com
It is just below the St. Anthony's Guest House, run by the American Franciscans Sisters of Atonement.

All'Orto de' Pecci was nice in Siena when I was there last year. It's a bit of a walk down there and back up, but I enjoyed it.

The only reason I mention this one point is because one of my relatives has a major bird phobia. Peacocks wander freely here. Just so y'know...

We had a very good meal at Trattoria Fontegiusta in Siena. It was recommended to us by the owners of the B&B we stayed in as being one of their favorites, other than us, the customers appeared to be all locals. It's about a 10 minute walk from Piazza del Campo.

Siena: Antica Osteria da Divo at via Franciosa 29 or
L-Osteria at via del Rossi 79-81
Enjoy! Siena is one of my favorite places. One day is not enough to enjoy it but you will want to come back!

I have to laugh...because any place that's offered up on these forums as "off the beaten path" and "not touristy" and "hidden gem" has suddenly lost all of those traits once it's mentioned here.

I have to laugh...because any place that's offered up on these forums as "off the beaten path" and "not touristy" and "hidden gem" has suddenly lost all of those traits once it's mentioned here.

Two words that demonstrate your thesis - cinque terre

I am with Michael on Ristorante La Fontanella. Wonderful place to eat. Also, I like La Rocca not quite at the very top, if you sit on the roof you get a great view up the valley to the north of Assisi. Venture roughly 5 km northeast to Ponte Grande and eat at Ristorannte da Giovannino.