Ristorante Dorandò

Sadly we wanted this to be better than it was. The tucked away nature and vaulted brick ceiling in the main dining room, was a nice start. Service was slower than to be expected (Tuesday night maybe?), although we were sat later (maybe last guests to get seated), and the hostess was the server and manager of the restaurant, all at once. For smaller restaurants, maybe this works, but she seemed stretched too far. The main issue was food quality. The exception was an excellent quail appetizer, which was cooked perfectly, but our pici (spaghetti) with pesto was overpowering, and our pork secondi was overcooked, to the point of almost not being edible. Very bummed to not have a better meal at a restaurant with a Michelin bib.

Very good restaurant which really makes gastronomical food and which has a well designed not too warm inside all of that combined with a classy and efficient staff. To be short, not your typical pizza-making touristic restaurant but a very good one which truly offers something.

I feel so lucky we found this restaurant while touring San Giminiano! It is definitely one I will remember for a long time and likely return to. Especially since we only visited for a quick lunch. We had tagliatelle with fresh tomatoes, basil and Pecorino cheese, and pappardelle with boar ragout and juniper berries. Both dishes were beautifully presented and full of flavour. Also, the wine selection was fantastic, with plenty to choose from. We went for one of the recommended local wines, and it was spot on. The staff was friendly and attentive, and the service - perfect.

Ugh. I've been to and lived in Italy, so while my Italian isn't great, I consider myself a pretty good tourist. Saw that this place was tucked away and a Michelin restaurant, so thought it would be fool-proof. It was not. It was very hot, we had two small children with us and four adults. We asked if they had room for us, and they said yes and brought us in. They have no highchairs, but that wasn't a problem for us. We sat down and ordered bottled water, appetizers, and cappuccinos. We were then told that each person had to order their own plate, and the woman let us know in a very haughty tone that it was a restaurant, not a bar. It was too hot to eat heavily, so we said, politely, that we would just pay for the waters and leave. In my experience, ordering antipasti to share at lunchtime on a hot day is not unusual anywhere. She became very agitated, and sort of threw up her hands and said she'd bring us what we originally asked for. I told her it wasn't necessary, and we could still leave, if it was a problem, but she insisted, and I was trying my damndest not to be rude, so we stayed. She avoided us for the rest of our meal. We were likely overcharged, as the total was very high (for very sub par food, in my opinion, by the way). The gratuity was already added. We paid and left. On the way out, my toddler son was standing behind an empty table, and she scolded me in Italian to get him out from behind it. Both of my children are well behaved and were not a problem for our brief stay. I don't usually leave reviews, even after a bad experience, but this place was so unpleasant for us. Extremely off-putting. We won't be going back, and I recommend to stay away. I've never been treated so poorly in Italy and was disappointed that my in-laws had to experience this on their second day in-country. I gave one star only for the ambiance of the place.

Avoid. Went there for lunch on Wednesday 6th October and got served stale bread and had an extremely rude waiter! Refused to pay service charge which was automatically added to the bill and she got angry and wouldnt give her name

This is the unique restaurant I've regretted to go during my Italy visit. It has cost me a lot both in time and money. First of all it doesn't have a landscape and outdoor tables. If I go San Gimignano again, I would prefer a restaurant which has Tuscany view. Even street view would be better. Secondly, here it takes long time to order, to get and to pay for your dish. I would prefer the places in which I eat quickly, slice pizza would be a good choice. San Gimignano is a good place to walk around. It's better to use your limited time to see your environment.Thirdly, about the service, the waiter and waitress have a disturbing formality and coldness. Lastly about the meal : Pappardelle had more meat than its pasta which has made it heavy. I could not finish it. Grilled steak of beef didn't any special taste, the beans aside were very salty and had stones cracking between my teeth. The most unproblematic one was the lamb loin with mushroom. Lastly, the bill was the highest one we've paid in Italy which does not worth. Briefly, I did, you do not.

I have eaten at quite many Italian restaurants in Italy for the last two years, and this place tops the list. The wine selection is fantastic esp. with local wines. I had "Vernaccia di San Gimignano - Angelica." It's white wine with incredible flavor. It was one of the best white wine I've ever had. I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to taste something local. I felt perfect harmony even with the lamb I had for my second dish about this wine. After a very cute free appetizer, I had "pappardelle al ragout di cinghiale con bacche di ginepro e pecorino di fossa" and "carrè d'agnello in crosta d'erbette aromatiche con funghi trifolati e verdure." 'Pappardelle' is a type of pasta which is a little thicker than tagliatelle. 'Carrè d'agnello in crosta' is a lamb dish. Both of them were perfectly executed with incredible flavors. My dessert was "Semifreddo al miele con granella di nocciole e cioccolato caldo." I can't describe how good they were. The ambient was warm and friendly. The staffs were kind. But better be prepared with some basic Italian. For me, it was the best Italian restaurant ever without a second thought. Highly highly recommended.

How could Michelin get this so wrong? Our lunch at Ristorante Dorando was the worst meal my Mum and I ate whilst we were on holiday in Italy for 2 weeks - and was the only Michelin-starred establishment we visited. Where did it go wrong? 1) The stale bread we were served was without oil or side plates 2) When we asked for oil, side plates and salt, we were given table salt with rice and an empty bottle of olive oil 3) The smoked duck - bone dry, and tasted like cheerios (in NZ, cheerios are cheap, bright red sausages composed of beef, chicken and pork offal and sawdust) - which came with a florret of broccoli that was so over cooked it was murky green and mushy 4) Beware the appetizer of “crisp vegetables in pastry with saffron sauce” - it’s a tasteless cylinder of puréed vegetables encased in pastry (which was nice and crisp) with a tasteless yellow sauce 5) Blue pecorino ravioli with pear sauce - consisted of 5 clumsily-made ravioli with incredibly sweet stewed pear. Incipid, dry and inedible 6) Prawn ravioli - smelt it before it was put in front of me. Was supposed to come with asparagus tops; was sweet, fishy and a strange deep brown colour with no asparagus in sight When we asked for the bill, the indifferent waiter didn’t ask why 4.5 of the 5 ravioli was left untouched, or if there was something wrong with the risotto, of which about half remained. Perhaps because they have a star, they no longer care about the happiness of their cudtomers? For the €157 we spent between two of us, please take our advice and find somewhere else if you’re hungry in San Gimignano! Good bits? 1) The San Gimignano Chianti we shared was great 2) The air conditioning To put it into perspective, we had dinner later that night at Osteria Il Grattcielo in Siena which came to €20. It was one of the best meals we had in Italy. The (only) waiter was friendly and attentive, the mixed plate and hand-made pici was tasty and fresh. Go there instead :)