Two friends of mine and I went to this restaurant called "Le Arcate", situated between Pisa and Lucca.
This is how it looks from outside. It is refurbished 16th century villa, and it can cater also for wedding parties, etc.
From the outlook, you might think it should be pricy and posh, but it really isn't.
This is my starter: antipasto di mare, €9. It contains pressed octopuses, smoked fish carpaccio, scallop gratin, fish mousse (on top of which you can recognise fake caviar), etc.
There is a lot of stuff for starter and looks quite good, but it did not really taste right. Not that the food was stale or low quality, but it tasted boring.
This is anoter starter for a friend of mine: antipasto di terra (€8). Feast of hams and salami. with some bruschetta. Yellow stuff at the centre is sformata.
It would have been a torture for me, if I had to eat such a quantity of cured meat in one go.
This is my main dish: beef tagliata on rucola. €12. The meat itself was not so flavoursome. I buy better beef from the butcher. Besides, it was done far too well for a good tagliata. Some were still pink in the middle, but some were completely done and even carbonised outside. I can say it is more or less acceptable for the price, but I don't want to eat it again.
This is fritto di mare (deep-fried seafood) that a friend ordered as main dish (€9). Big quantity.
In Italy, you need to order side dish separately, if you want some veggie to go with. If you order a steak, you get only a piece of meat. I would prefer the British way, meat and veggie together.
This is a plate of assorted cheese. &euro4 is very good for cheese dish. At the centre is red pepper relish. The small bottles you see behind the square plate are the cheese jams. There was also a jar of fruits in syrup.
These are cantuccini and vin santo as dessert.
Cantuccini, also known as biscotti di Prato, are typical sweets of Tuscany. You dip it in sweet wine, vin santo, before eating it, just as if you dip your biscuits or cookies in milk coffee for breakfast. €4 for a portion (two portions in the photo, but they would have brought more if you wanted).
Summing up, it was a interesting dinner, but it did not taste as good as I expected. That said, probably it is a fair deal for less than €80 we paid.
Ristorante "Le Arcate"
Via Statale Abetone, 212
56010 Pugnano di S. Giuliano Terme (Pisa)
Tel. 050-850150, Fax. 050-851188
http://www.villaposchi.it/
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