Il Battistero Bistrot | Gluten-free in Siena

Beatrice
24/10/2024

3

I went there for an aperitif and they brought me a small platter of crostini and cheese, but there remains the risk of contamination.

Antonella Penon
14/09/2025

1

After the terrible experience involving my friend and me around lunchtime yesterday, I will never set foot in this place again. I preface by saying that both my friend and I were regular customers! Here’s a brief account of what happened: we were seated at an outdoor table and at the time of ordering, after the dining room manager brought us two ridiculous half-liter plastic bottles of water - those that cost €0.30 at the vending machine, just to be clear - my friend informs the waitress that she is celiac and asks what she can consume from the menu. The waitress, addressing my friend, asks her to clarify whether she is actually allergic or just intolerant. After my friend tells her she is allergic and that it is important to avoid contamination, the waitress says that the kitchen is not equipped to guarantee no contamination because the environment is unique; they have a single oven where they make the bread and pinsa. At this point, my friend asks why she is hearing this information for the first time after having eaten there multiple times, and that no one had bothered to inform her before. Essentially, my friend risked feeling very ill or worse EVERY TIME! Clearly, we decided to get up and leave. The dining room manager, a tall, thin man with short white hair and a stubbly beard who witnessed the scene, instead of APOLOGIZING for the inadequacy of the service offered and for the discomfort they caused us, loudly shouts as soon as we get up: "THE LADIES MUST PAY FOR THE WATER!" Perhaps he thought we wouldn’t pay... ridiculous! So we went to the counter to pay for the water, and my friend rightly asks him why no one had informed her before about the possible kitchen contaminations, emphasizing that it’s not nice to find out about the risks she has taken every time. He first replies that he didn’t remember her (a regular celiac customer?! laughable!) and then, unyielding in his disrespectful attitude, asks us for €5 for the two bottles of water consumed (as if to say "you've already wasted my time, please pay and leave"). I leave it to the readers to comment. It is certain that the Battistero Bistrot in Siena will not see either me or my friend again, nor all the people with whom I often spent evenings, bringing in good money!!