Food & Drink on Giglio
A rich and tasty cuisine completes the extraordinary offer of this small island.
The island cuisine is based on simple dishes and Tuscan specialities refined with local ingredients. There are numerous restaurants on the island that offer excellent fish and meat dishes, as well as homemade desserts. The sea offers a wide variety of fresh fish and seafood, prepared on the grill, in the oven or as a soup, and served with excellent local white wines.
It should be noted, however, that the typical dishes of Giglio are more ‘from the gardens than from the ports’. Agriculture has been the backbone of Giglio’s economy for centuries: since ancient times, the inhabitants of Giglio have created terraces to cultivate even the steepest slopes. Kilometres of dry stone walls and terraces were built, on which mainly wine, olives and vegetables were grown. Some describe agriculture or viticulture as ‘heroic’ to illustrate the intensity and difficulty of the work, since no technical aids such as tractors can be used.
The revival of viticulture in the early 2000s finally led to the production of excellent quality wines from Giglio, almost all of which are made from the historic Ansonaco grape variety.
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Where to eat?
Restaurants and pizzerias
The best restaurants and pizzerias in Giglio island
In the restaurants on the island of Giglio, you can enjoy the excellent gastronomic tradition of Tuscany, with its typical fish and meat dishes, refined with local ingredients. And all in a truly unique atmosphere: in Giglio Porto, you can breathe in the sea air with the restaurants right on the harbour, in Giglio Castello you can enjoy the atmosphere of a medieval village and in Giglio Campese you can eat right on the beach almost everywhere…
Viticulture
Wine, viticulture & wineries
Wines from Giglio and the Tuscan Maremma
On the island of Giglio, wine has been produced since ancient times in small terraced vineyards overlooking the sea. The main traditional grape variety grown here is Ansonica, also known as Inzolia in Sicily, from which a unique white wine of great personality is made. In the past, production on the Giglio was abundant and exports flourished, but with the advent of tourism, production declined sharply…
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Fishing
Fresh fish
Don’t be surprised if you find a fish shop on the island of Giglio. Until a few years ago, the only large fishing boat on Giglio sold its daily catch directly from an Ape (a typical Italian three-wheeler) in the port of Giglio.
Today, there are about seven small fishermen who sell their catch mainly to restaurants, but also to people who arrive in the morning (between 8:30 and 9:30) at the jetty with the green lighthouse (see also contacts in the section on fishermen).
They sell only what they have caught that morning, depending on the weather and, of course, what the sea yields. The motto in the kitchen is: ‘We only cook what we have caught’. The taste of freshly caught local fish is simply incomparable and makes up for the smaller selection.
All of the island’s fishermen fish sustainably…
Fish mobile
Fresh fish can be bought also from a fish van all year round. From June to August, the fish van stops daily from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Giglio Porto and from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Giglio Castello – only on Wednesdays does it first stop in Giglio Campese. The rest of the year, the sales van comes twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, stopping first at the harbour and then in Castello.
Agriculture
Regional vegetable varieties
Two special fruits and vegetables that are native only to this island grow on the island of Giglio: the first is a type of tomato called ‘Scasso tomatoes’ and the second is an ancient beetroot variety called ‘Torso cabbage’.
These local varieties are particularly well adapted to the challenging soil and climate conditions on the island and, like the vines, are cultivated on the artificial terraces…
Cuisine
Typical products and local recipes
The small island offers a wide variety of typical products such as Panfikato, honey produced in small quantities, olive oil, or wild plants and spices. Discover the local products and traditional recipes of Giglio…
The Panficato
The most famous product of the island of Giglio is a typical and traditional sweet, panficato. It is a sweet, fairly soft bread with a characteristic brown colour, made with figs and nuts, but also with honey, wine and dried grapes. It is a winter pastry, but it can be found all year round in the pastry shops and bakeries on the island and goes very well with the island’s typical wine, Ansonaco…
Giglio's Recipes
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Drinking water
The island's fountains
The tap water on Giglio comes from a desalination plant and can be used safely for cooking or brushing your teeth. However, it is not drinking water and you should therefore use bottled water. A good alternative is to fill your bottles for free at the island’s two fountains: the ‘Sorgente Acqua Selvaggia’ fountain in Giglio Castello or the ‘San Giorgio’ fountain in Giglio Porto.
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