The Restaurants In Orvieto, Italy Are Worth The Trip

Restaurants in Orvieto, Italy celebrate the local food and wine of Umbria which will prepare you for tours of the Etruscan and Medieval sites all day long.

If you are looking for a day-trip from Rome, you couldn’t pick a more enticing destination that is very convenient by train and small enough to be able to experience in a single day, but with enough to see to make it well worth the trip.

What Region Is Orvieto In?

Orvieto is in the region of Umbria in Italy, which can be overshadowed by Tuscany when it comes to food, but a growing number of people are learning about the amazing cuisine of this region. During a recent episode of Stanley Tucci’s show Searching for Italy, he visited the region and deftly included a variety of chefs, cooks and butchers that brought to life the Orvieto food and heritage of Umbria in a way that made a trip there a necessity.

What Is Special About Orvieto?

We visited Orvieto for a couple of days at a very relaxed pace. We reached out to some friends who live in town and asked for some recommendations on where to eat that I will share below. This is admittedly a short list, but you can be certain that there are many other nice restaurants to try when you wind around the narrow streets and peek into the small osterias. My intention is to point out some of the best places to start enjoying the food and I also wanted to draw attention to a couple of the foods for which Umbria is best known.

What Food Is Orvieto Known For?

Wild Boar – Cinghiale

In the last year I have heard reports of wild boar (cinghiali) invading the Roman streets and how this is a serious problem because they are showing up outside of schools in the northern part of Rome. The responsibility for fixing this issue aside, I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t a simple solution right under our noses, literally. Cinghiali in Umbria have been used for some of the most delicious sauces, dried meats and main dishes I have ever had. I understand that the pigs that are invading Rome might be a different species and possibly not as tasty, but maybe we should check that out to be certain.

All jokes aside, the opportunity to enjoy Cinghiali in Orvieto was something I was excited about and it was the plan for our first meal in town. I have had cinghiale ragù here in Rome, but it wasn’t a memorable meal. I think I’ll leave it to the Umbrians from now on. We enjoyed it two ways that I’ve detailed below, in a ragù and stewed in the cacciatore style.

Umbricelli

When traveling around Italy, it is important to us to try the various regional specialties so I was excited to learn from our server that Umbricelli is one of those specialties. It is a typical Umbrian handmade fresh pasta. It is easy and cheap to prepare with its only ingredients being flour, water and salt. It sounds simple, but when it is paired with the right sauce, in our case a cinghiali ragù, it is a perfect blend of chewy pasta that binds to the sauce.

Truffles

Another specialty of Umbria that was new to me are truffles. I enjoy mushrooms, but I’m “forced” to enjoy them only when I go out because the rest of my house is not a fan. That said, when I go out it usually isn’t a priority given the wide range of food that I love in Italy, so the result is that I rarely eat them. This changed during our trip to Orvieto. Black truffles are an Umbrian specialty so it was important for me to try them, which I did. Because they are sliced so thinly, I was expecting a stronger flavor, but these are delicate, subtle and a real surprise for me. If you like mushrooms, these are a definite must for you.

Orvieto Classico Wine

I’ve written about Italian house wines (Vino della Casa) and this trip was another opportunity to try something new. Even though we were eating a heavy meat sauce (cinghiale ragù), I picked a white wine and I was happy I did. It was an Orvieto Classico wine, which is made with at least 60% Trebbiano grapes, also known as Grechetto or Procanico. It is a DOC (Denominazione di origine controllata), which means it needs to come from a specific viticultural area and in this case the area is located around Orvieto.

Recommended Places To Eat In Orvieto

• Trattoria del Moro-Aronne: This fabulous restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and is located at Via S. Leonardo, 7. There are many things we liked about this restaurant, but for me, the best part of the experience was the service. We arrived a little later for lunch without a reservation and we were told the wait would be about 20 minutes. We were seated in 10 minutes and the wait staff was very helpful keeping us out of the sun during one of the hottest days of the summer. For appetizers we enjoyed a fresh caprese salad, a cheese board and mixed bruschetta plate. All of these were well-prepared, fresh and a great way to start the meal. Continuing with our plan to eat local specialties, we got two dishes with Umbricelli (described above), one with a sauce of roasted tomatoes and the other with tomatoes and garlic. Our other dinner guest had wild boar (cinghiale) prepared alla cacciatore. This was our first time having slow roasted wild boar and it will not be the last.
• Trattoria dell’Orso – This was the first place we stopped after rolling into town. It is located at Via della Misericordia, 18, and it is open for lunch and dinner. We love traditionally prepared food and when we travel we look for dishes and wine that are local, and this restaurant has both. We started with a couple of antipasti. The fried pork-belly was amazing. It has been a while since I enjoyed US style bacon and this exceeded all expectations. It was flavorful, smokey and crunchy. We also ate a selection of sliced meats. I hadn’t had this in a while as well, so I might have enjoyed it more than I should have, but it was great. We enjoyed Umbricelli with a cinghiale ragù and truffles which were delicious. For dessert we enjoyed a pistacchio semifreddo and a torta di mele, both of which paired well with the strong espresso, which finished off our fantastic lunch.

• Il Gelato di Pasqualetti – This was another great recommendation from a local friend that topped off our lunch perfectly. There are two locations: Piazza del Duomo, 14 and Via del Duomo, 10. I have been missing the taste combination of chocolate and mint since leaving the US so I was really excited to see it available. I was even more happy once I finished my delicious gelato combination.

How Much Time Do I Need In Orvieto, Italy?

I’ve described Orvieto as an easy day-trip and if you plan accordingly you can see a good portion of the town in the span of a single day. If you would prefer to take a slower pace, avoid feeling rushed and want to check out more than I’ve detailed above, take a couple days and you will enjoy the food that much more!

More Ideas For Day Trips From Rome

If you interested in travel from Rome to enjoy Orvieto restaurants, there are many other locations around Rome that might interest you as well. Check out these options for day trips:

• After Eating In The Nice Restaurants Of Orvieto, Don’t Forget Their Amazing Sites.
• A Rome To Orvieto Day Trip For A Fantastic Experience.
• A Day Trip To Anzio From Rome Is Full Of American History.
• A Day Trip To Naples From Rome Is Easy And Worth It.
• Bari, Italy: What To Do If You Only Have A Weekend To Visit.
• What To Eat In Bari: From Killer Pasta To Sweet Coffee.
• Our Weekend In Bari Guide For An Amazing Getaway From Rome.
• The Venice Visitor Tax Is Something Of Which To Be Aware.
• A Train Trip From Rome To Venice Is A Great Experience.
• The Best Foreign Foods To Try When You Are In Rome.