Where to drink Brunello in Lucca, minus the fuss

To drink a good Brunello in Lucca, you probably don’t need a lecture on Sangiovese. You need a table for tonight, a wine list that doesn’t treat Brunello like an ornament, and someone who can suggest the right bottle for your dinner. At Tomkat, Via Calderia 12, in the historic center, that is where we start.

Brunello has a natural place on a list built first and foremost around Tuscany. Alongside it are Chianti Classico, Bolgheri and other Italian reds, chosen to be drunk, not just listed. The list changes often and we don’t work to a fixed formula: some evenings call for a special bottle to share, while on others a well-chosen red by the glass and a dish from the kitchen are all you need.

Where to drink Brunello in Lucca, with a list that keeps changing

Our wine list has almost 200 labels, mostly Italian and French. Tuscany comes first, because we are in Lucca and because it is what many guests want to drink with dinner. But it isn’t there as window dressing. We look for bottles with character, vintages with something to say and prices that make sense for what ends up in the glass.

Brunello is not always the automatic answer. It depends on how many of you there are, what you order and how much time you have. For two people who want a leisurely dinner, a bottle may be the simplest choice. If you would rather start with something different, our wines by the glass change frequently: today there are nine, across reds, whites and a Champagne. The selection is not a cut-down version of the list. It is a way to drink well even if you are only in Lucca for one evening.

If it is Brunello you are after, ask us straight out. We’ll tell you what we have that evening, which bottle to open and whether something else would make more sense. We never promise that a particular label will always be there, because we would rather keep the cellar moving than leave the same list untouched for months.

For visitors from abroad, this makes all the difference. In a city many people visit for a night or two, there isn’t much time for trial and error. You want to drink a great Tuscan red, eat well and not spend the evening deciphering an endless list. We step in when you need us. The rest of the time, you can simply enjoy being at the table.

Brunello and food: a dinner, not an exam

A Brunello deserves the right setting, but not a ceremony. Our kitchen changes with the seasons and follows a simple line: honest dishes, well-chosen pantry products and cooking that doesn’t ask the wine to do all the work.

On the menu you might find slow-cooked beef roast with chimichurri, pork ribs in sweet and sour sauce or Tuscan-style meatballs. These dishes sit well alongside a structured red without turning dinner into a pairing exercise. If you would rather start lighter, the pantry has olives, Tuscan cold cuts, pecorino, Comté, Pata Negra, Gillardeau oysters and caviar. You don’t need to order a long run of courses to enjoy a serious bottle.

The point is to choose according to the evening. A Brunello with a board of cured meats and cheeses can work beautifully if you feel like settling in at the table without any formality. With a richer dish from the kitchen, the bottle shifts up a gear. If there are four of you with different tastes, it is worth talking it through first: a lighter Tuscan bottle, a glass to start, and then we’ll see. We are happy to leave rigidity to others.

There is also a tasting menu to share, at €40 per person, with an optional pairing of three, five or seven wines. It is designed for those who want to be guided through dinner while still setting the pace of the evening. The menu changes, so we don’t promise the same dish every week. What we do promise is never to build a menu out of big words and invisible portions.

A Tuscan list, with a sensible French detour

If Brunello brings you to the table, France may keep you there a little longer. Burgundy and Champagne hold an important place in our cellar, together with a small selection from the rest of the world. These are deliberate choices, not a list padded out for the numbers.

For collectors, the Bordeaux Experience adds a different chapter: mature vintages from the 1980s onward. It is meant for those looking for an evening devoted to Bordeaux, not a decorative extra next to the Brunello.

This dual identity suits us well. Tuscany first, then France. A bottle of Brunello can be the centerpiece of dinner; a Burgundy or a Champagne can become the opening or the final detour. There is no obligation to do the full tour.

If you want to taste more than one bottle

If you would like to come with a more specific plan, we run six tastings you can book: Tomkat’s Choice, Tuscan Reds, Italian Reds, Burgundy Reds, Champagne and White Wines of the World. They start at 18:00, last about 90 minutes and are held in Italian or English.

Tomkat’s Choice starts at €20 and is available even for one person. It is a good option if you are in town on your own, arrive early or want to decide later whether to stay for dinner. The other tasting flights require at least four people: they make sense for a small group that wants to share bottles and conversation, not as a way to fill the time before dinner.

The Tuscan Reds tasting flight is the closest fit if you are looking for Brunello in Lucca, but we don’t reduce it to a single appellation. Tuscany is more interesting when the bottles can talk to one another. That is exactly what the tasting is for: putting real differences on the table, not definitions to learn by heart.

If you are looking for a gift, there is also a gift card for a tasting, from €50 to €250. It doesn’t expire. It is especially useful when you don’t know which tasting flight to choose for someone: let the person receiving it decide whether to drink Tuscany, Burgundy or Champagne.

An evening in the historic center, Monday to Saturday

We are open Monday to Saturday, from 18:00 to 23:00, and closed on Sundays. For anyone passing through Lucca for a short time, that matters more than any amount of poetic description: if you want to drink Brunello and have dinner in the historic center, check for a table and book.

Many guests decide on the day, often after a walk on the city walls or before heading back to their hotel. That’s fine. You can book on OpenTable or through our booking page. If you have a particular bottle, an anniversary or a group in mind, a phone call to +39 376 203 5395 helps us prepare better.

Our wine list has received a Silver Star in the Best Newcomer List category at the Star Wine List of the Year International Open 2025, and another in the Best Medium-Sized List category in 2026, as well as the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in 2025 and 2026. We are pleased with these awards, of course. But they are no substitute for the moment we pour the first bottle and work out whether you came for the Brunello, the food or both.

Come with a simple question: what are we drinking tonight? If the answer is Brunello, we know where to start. If the evening takes another turn, that’s no problem at all.

Pier Giulio Bendinelli