Staying in Perugia, one finds oneself surrounded by a huge diversity of cafés, osterias, trattorias, pizzerias and many things in between up to Michelin Star establishments. However, just down an historic stone staircase off the main thoroughfare of the city I found an amazing restaurant called La Taverna. Deceptively large and yet it retains an intimacy with the dining room being split into three distinct areas. Claudio the chef/owner has extensive, global experience and this confidence oozes through into the food. The kitchen brigade looked calm and focussed and the cooking was precise and flavoursome. A guinea fowl terrine was spicy and rich and well partnered by a local Umbrian red – Rosso di Montefalco. As you might expect, all their pasta is home made on the day and I enjoyed a delicious agnolotti stuffed with butternut squash served with a rich creamy sauce. A crisp Orvieto was perfect with this. Alas, it was lunchtime and I had things to do so couldn’t explore the menu further but I will be back in April, May and June on my Umbrian tours.