Gabriele Salani - PIETRASANTA

We spent several days in Pietrasanta and this was the best restaurant ever. Pietrasanta is a small town that's known for artist who sculpture. There are many restaurants that are wonderful but this was the best.

Mediocre food. Indifferent service. Nice location but so many other places close by which are much better.

We live part-time in Pietrasanta, and this new restaurant opened in the main shopping street this August. This being Italy, the name of the restaurant is not commonly Gabriele Salani, who owns it together with brother Claudio. It's commonly called Via di Mezzo 20, which is also a problem in that the street is properly called Via Mazzini, but most people stick to the old name, Via di Mezzo. Whatever. As another reviewer said, the location is enchanting. A candle lit entry way with small rooms on either side, a large landscaped courtyard with tables for outdoor dining, and the kitchen and two larger dining rooms in the former stables of the old building. It's sort of what one imagines an Italian restaurant might be, just as Pietrasanta itself, in particular the Piazza, is rather what you imagine a medieval/renaissance Italian town might be. The food. The menu has the typical Tuscan offerings, but so far at reasonable prices--a rarity in Pietrasanta today. As we are rather light eaters, we had no first dish, although there are the usual anti-pastas and primi piatti. We had pesce bianca (white fish), a curious generic term which on this evening was branzino (sea bass) with grilled vegetables. It was very tasty, with neither the fish nor the vegetables overcooked--again a rarity in Pietrasanta. Price was € 20, OK for this kind of dish, though there is a cover charge of € 2,50 per person. The wine list was very unusual, consisting of many local wines at very reasonable prices. We had a fresh Montecarlo bianco at € 13. Desserts were € 5,00, and there was a good choice. Concluding, in a place that has become rather touristy and quite expensive, this was a welcome dose of normalcy--good Italian food in a super setting, and at prices more normal for Italy as a whole than for Pietrasanta/Forte dei Marmi. We'll go again.