If you happen to be passing through the Bolgheri area, we recommend stopping by the Osteria dei Merli. The cuisine is refined yet simple, featuring authentic flavors and high-quality ingredients. The wine cellar is impressive and well-stocked with local wines, including a few prized Tuscan “gems.” Fabio Cartei tells us all about it.
It’s one of those old roads—very, very old, I’d say—that evokes memories and feelings: we’re on the Old Aurelia specifically at kilometer 267 in the village of Osteria Vecchia, in the municipality of Castagneto Carducci (LI). We were there one evening in late May, when even the sun refused to set, leaving the oppressive heat to linger and preventing a cool, pleasant late-spring evening from setting in.
The Merli family in Osteria Vecchia
lass=”yoast-text-mark” />>The coin features a “combination” of the name of the town and the owners’ last name (Merli), who moved to this area in the early 1950s from their ancestral homelands in the province of Ascoli Piceno on their father’s side and from the province of Avellino on their mother’s side. The land acquired at that time had been cultivated almost exclusively with wheat until their arrival; however, the new farmers, drawing on their experience and having assessed the characteristics of the soil, immediately began working the land to to grow vegetables and so that these lands would be their future, and that of their children and grandchildren.
Maurizio Merli is the chef
Some of them now run the restaurant: Maurizio is the chef, he’s always been fascinated by pots and pans ever since he was a child, so he attended culinary school. After gaining experience at various restaurants in Versilia, he worked alongside his mentor, Chef Umberto Creatini, for several years. He then moved to London and later to Miami, always working in Italian restaurants, before returning to the area to work for several seasons in Bolgheri.
Massimo Merli in the theater
In 2018, after the renovation and remodeling of an old barn he owned were completed, he opened his restaurant at that location, where he continues to be the star of the show alongside his kitchen team. Massimo, his brother, is the dining room manager, impeccable, elegant in his manner, and attentive to every detail. He has worked at various local restaurants, always overseeing customer service, and is supported by a dynamic and qualified team. Dining room is cozy, tastefully furnished, and meticulously maintained. Outdoor seating.
A well-structured and compelling menu
The selection of culinary offerings is excellent: a compelling and well-structured menu which truly honors the seasonality of its ingredients and where meat and game take center stage. For the appetizers We chose some “Prosciutto Penitente” and Patanegra lard with brioche and butter. Among the First courses We were won over by the ravioli made with semi-wild gray pork, pecorino cheese, toasted almonds, black garlic cream, and apricots.
Among the main courses The standout dish is a CBT (low-temperature cooking) braised beef shank served with mashed potatoes drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. The selection of desserts, all carefully prepared by the chef.
A very pleasant discovery
A truly delightful discovery: cuisine that evokes emotion and passion, a refined “touch” that manages to blend flavor and style to the delight of diners.
Raise your glasses and… see you next time.
