It can be nerve wracking trying a new restaurant especially when its fine dining but doesn’t have any accolades yet.
While researching for more innovative restaurants in the area of Tuscany that we were staying in, I didn’t come along many options (most of the fine dining restaurants are closer to Florence). However, Osmosi caught my eye and while Tommaso was a little skeptical, the tasting menu was more affordable where I thought it wasn’t too much of a gamble. Osmosi is located on Fattoria Svetoni’s property, a winery with a spectacular villa in Montepulciano (too bad the accommodations are above my budget).
Both tasting menus were under 100€ per person which is quite reasonable these days and we ended up going with the longer menu.
Osmosi.
Amuse Bouches: Grilled Sunchoke with Lemon (6.5-7/10), Maritozzo “Cacio e Pepe” (8.5/10), and Tartlet with Smoked Carrot (8/10).
We started off with a few small bites and the maritozzo stuffed with a cacio e pepe filling was my favorite.
Sourdough Bread and Potato Focaccia with Rosemary Served with Tuscan Olive Oil (8.5/10).
Both breads were stellar where the focaccia had that warm oily crust and fluffy interior and the sourdough bread had a great crackling crust.
Eel with Beets and “Carpione Ghiacciato” (8/10).
The beautifully cooked eel was served with a sorbet made with pickling liquid (carpione is a dish where fish is marinated or pickled) and this was a spin on that. The natural fattiness of the eel paired nicely with that tangy sorbet.
Rabbit Stuffed with Shrimp with Black Kale and Apples (8/10).
I would have never thought of stuffing rabbit with shrimp but somehow this odd combination was rather delightful. The cooked apple as well as the various apple sauces added varying degrees of sweetness and textures.
Onion with Pecorino, Lemon Compote, and Black Lime (9/10).
This was one of the highlights of the meal where the humble onion was the star. It was gently cooked and extremely soft and hiding underneath a rich Pecorino cheese sauce. Both the lemon compote and black lime added notes of sour and bitterness.
Tubetti with Fagiolina del Trasimeno and Trout Roe (7/10).
This was our least favorite dish of the night, not because anything was particularly wrong with it but more of a personal preference. This was a modern take on pasta e fagioli, a traditional dish made with pasta and beans and their version had miniature tube shaped pasta in a trasimeno bean sauce garnished with sea beans and trout roe. The flavors were most definitely interesting.
Ravioli Stuffed with Guineafowl with Broccoli Rabe and Bottarga (8/10).
Perfectly shaped ravioli were stuffed with guineafowl and served with an intensely vibrant and slightly bitter broccoli rabe sauce. I liked the addition of the salty bottarga shavings on top.
“Piccione Viaggiatore” (8/10).
The squab trio was the last savory dish of the night and while the breast and leg (pictured in the back) were excellently cooked and delicious, the stuffed ravioli (pictured in the back) was not great as it was very dry.
“Hokkaido”: Pumpkin with Mandarin and Saffron (8/10).
I loved the look of this dish with its various hues of autumn colors. I can’t recall the gelato flavor but I remember the flavors of the dish worked well and I was pleasantly surprised.
Petit Fours.
The meal at Osmosi exceeded our expectations given the price point, ambience, and wonderful service. We were discussing while dining there that the restaurant most definitely deserved recognition and surprisingly enough they were awarded with a Michelin star at yesterday’s (November 14, 2023) ceremony for the Michelin Guide 2024 for Italy! Very well deserved. I’d say my overall rating is a solid 8/10.