Restaurants in San Terenziano
Da Anna
A family-run restaurant in a light, modern building under the pine trees near the post office.
As well as being open for drinks and snacks throughout the day and for economical lunches, it's developed as an evening venue, sometimes offering special set meals. Whenever you go though, the service is fast and polite and the food good mainstream Umbrian home-cooking. There are burgers and hot dogs, as a well as a play area for children and there are also a few tables outside.
Tel: 0742 98662
Pizzeria Dell'Oste
Located in the sports ground, it's a bustling cheap 'n cheerful pizzeria with a surprising twist: as well as a few pasta dishes, there's a smattering of excellent seafood and fish dishes - don't miss the delicious mussels in a piquant tomato sauce.
To find it, drive past Da Anna and towards the industrial estate. It's right beside the school at the end of the road.
Open for pizza and meals in the evenings and all day as a bar with pizza a taglio. Eat inside or out.
Closed Tuesdays.
Tel: 0742 98825 - 335 8172212
Il Trocco del Lupo
Tucked away in the corner of the main piazza, the ancient stone exterior gives way, as you enter, to a stylish metropolitan bar and eaterie. The young owner has had trouble convincing the locals to deviate from their traditional home-style restaurants, so you are likely to be one of only a few clients, but the service is attentive and the menu and ambience quite chic. Be prepared to pay more than you would for other local restaurants though.
Open only in the evenings. No outdoor tables.
Tel: 0742 98847
Nash & Cash
This bustling modern pizzeria is where the young crowd hang out. Once a trendy little place, it has expanded into a large (and very echoey) annexe, so don't expect a quiet meal. The pizzas are wafer-thin and are served, ready-sliced, to be shared among the people at your table.
Closed Mondays and at lunchtime.
Tel: 0742 932191
Bars in San Terenziano
Bar Dello Sport
On the main road through town, this is the quintessential corner-bar. Open all hours for inexpensive coffee, drinks, panini and good gelati, it's patronised by locals dashing in-and-out and by grizzled old guys who spin a drink out all morning over a game of cards.
In a side room, lottery tickets are sold, as well as stamps for arcane Italian bureaucratic procedures, and there are phones and faxes and even - would you believe it? - an internet terminal. There's also a post box outside.
Closed Mondays.
Tel: 0742 98132
Tempo Notte
Bearing the honor of being the only bar in San Terenziano whose decorative scheme has received a makeover since the '50s, it's a bright and spotlessly clean place right on the market square. People-watch from the perilously-thin terrace or linger inside and you're bound to run-into someone you know or are destined to know.
Closed Thursdays.
0742 98847
Restaurants near San Terenziano
Agriturismo La Casella
2Km from San Terenziano, on the Collazzone road, the dining room of this family-run agriturismo has stone walls and wooden beams, with the front section affording fabulous views over the Tiber valley. Food is mainstream Umbrian cuisine, served by a welcoming family and much of it comes straight from their farmyard.
They do a bristling trade in weddings and ceremonies but are frequently closed in the winter months so booking is advisable. Super gardens with a play area for children. Book for Sunday lunch and you may get to use the swimming pool and hot-tub, if you ask!
Tel: 0742 98989
Casale Dei Frontini
2Km from San Terenziano, on the road from Todi (look for the engraved millstone) this agriturismo is in a fine stone-built ex-convent which bristles with medieval farmhouse atmosphere. Run by a friendly family who raise beef from the classic white Chianina breed you are sure to get home-grown and home-cooked food.
The menu is strictly table d'hote and four hearty courses are served - come with an appetite and don't even think about bringing vegetarians. Expect to pay about €25/head with wine and be sure to book in advance as opening hours are erratic.
Tel: 075 8852174
Le Noci, Grutti
2Km from San Terenziano, in the neighbouring village, the devoutly mainstream Umbriam cuisine served here is well worth waiting for - and trust me, you will wait. The understaffed front-of-house aside, miracles are accomplished every night in the kitchen, the crowning glory of which is, surely, Italy's best panna cotta. Order it only if you are prepared to be disappointed by every other panna cotta you eat for the rest of your life.
Hearty meals are served in a vast village hall-like interior with chintz curtains; better to eat outside, weather permitting, in the vine-covered courtyard. The house wine is home-produced, as is the excellent red 'Grott'Ombra'; effectively a Montefalco Rosso at half the price.
The restaurant is open at lunchtimes but, unaccountably, closed each Friday, when waves of escapees from the city arrive, tired from their week's work.
Il Dinosauro, Collesecco
3Km from San Terenziano, this roadside pizzeria, on the way to Collesecco, has seen better days but the food is good and inexpensive, especially on Fridays when seafood is served. As with Le Noci, the outside tables are preferable in the summertime.
La Locanda del Prete, Saragano
5Km from San Terenziano. The restaurant of a very posh hotel, in a tiny medieval hamlet which looks out over a fabulous landscape. If the scenery doesn't take your breath away, the prices might, but the ambience and service are top-class. The food is not as unforgettable as the location. Mark it down as a romantic place to make a proposal - decent or indecent. And parking is difficult so you need to park on entering the village and walk the rest of the way.
Tel: 075 8852174