Il Boccone Del Prete - PORANO

We discovered this place by chance looking for a restaurant in the countryside outside Orvieto. Hidden away under an arch in a charming cobbled street in the tiny village of Porano it is run with great passion by auto didact chef, Fabio. His passion is unashamedly meat, huge well hung slabs of well marbled joints hang in glorious fridges opposite an open charcoal fire. Don’t expect a view. In summer you eat on tables outside in the evening or escape the cool in the interior wine cellars which drop away into original Etruscan caves. A tartare of beef was extraordinary simply seasoned but with a wonderful flavour and tender as butter. Simple anchovies with red onion oil and peperoncino delight as does the baccalà with prunes. But the star is undoubtedly the great Fiorentina. Seared on charcoal and then continuing to cook at the table on a slab of white hot stone. Fabio will happily drive to the coast to fetch fish or shellfish if requested in advance and claims to love cooking up a fish feast as much as this carnivores’ delight. We visited for lunch on the day after Ferragosto and loved it so much we went back for dinner, a dinner which ended with dancing in the street and much sampling of after dinner drinks. Do not miss.

We were recommended to visit this restaurant by friends who, like us, live in this region of Italy for six months of the year and as such we feel well placed to review restaurants. We read the Trip Adviser reviews and were very excited at the prospect of eating in this establishment. We booked a table for six with high expectations but how disappointed we were. The ambience was OK but we were the only people there so somehow it felt a little flat. The waitress who spoke good English was business like, gave us the menus (not an extensive choice), told us what was unavailable that night, took our order and we heard nothing more for quite a while. Eventually the primi arrived in drips and drabs, 15 minutes between the first and last being served, at one point a secondi order arrived for one of the guests before his primi! The food was unexceptional at best. The secondi eventually arrived, mine and another guest's was luke warm, another guest's steak had to be sent back as it was undercooked and was returned overcooked and the side plate of assorted vegetables were disgraceful. On top of this the food was horribly over salted. In addition I would say that the food is overpriced for what they offered. Bearing in mind the rave reviews posted on Trip Adviser I can only assume we caught them on a bad night but I think in a well run restaurant this should not be allowed to happen ever. We were, needless to say, very, very disappointed.

What a wonderful restaurant in a beautiful location. Took us a while to find the place, but a quick phone call to the restaurant provided the details we needed and we were soon seated at our table. The lady that served us couldn’t have been more helpful. She explained all of the different dishes and made recommendations which we happily opted for. The starters were lovely ... especially the beans with bacon. The main courses were all equally delicious and two of us topped off our meal with desserts which were great. I can thoroughly recommend the panna cotta with a shot of espresso! Loved the place and definitely worth seeking out.

Rustic family, medieval atmosphere, staff very kind congratulations

For all lovers of particular places, lovers of meat and good wine, at the mouth of the priest will feel like at home! super friendly staff and the owner is a force of nature!