A place where barbecue culture and meat expertise come together for an authentic Maremma experience: Lorenzo and Alessandro Aniello's passion and skill have taken the restaurant to the top of the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants, earning it fourth place in the 2025 edition.
Photo credits: Eleonora Boscarelli
Story and awards
The best steak restaurant in Italy? It's not in Rome or Milan. Not even in Florence, home of the famous Florentine steak. It's in Saturnia, Tuscany, a small village of Etruscan origin whose main square is home to a gastronomic gem with almost 50 years of history, I Due Cippi. Here, the oak-fired fireplace marks the passing of the days, ever since 1976 when Michele, the father of Alessandro and Lorenzo Aniello (now at the helm of the restaurant), decided to open a trattoria that would showcase the products of the Maremma, with a particular focus on steaks.
A legacy carefully preserved by their children, who have skillfully elevated I Due Cippi to a refined establishment that remains deeply rooted in the local area, offering an enviable selection of loin cuts, masterful grill management, and sparkling service, earning it fourth place in the 2025 edition of the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants, equaling the seventh and sixth places of previous years.
“The constant commitment to selecting the highest quality meat, mastery of grilling and dry aging techniques, innovative culinary style, a welcoming atmosphere, and attentive and warm service were the factors that convinced our team to rate the restaurant's performance among the best in the world,” Ekkehard Knobelspies, CEO and founder of the renowned British ranking, which evaluated over 900 steakhouses around the world for 2025, commented exclusively for us. “The World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants project was launched in 2019 with the ambition of creating the first true global benchmark for excellence in meat-based dining,” says Knobelspies. “Places where the quality of the meat, culinary mastery, and guest experience come together at the highest level.”
Philosophy and research
What has allowed this Tuscan restaurant to climb the 101 Best Steak Restaurants ranking and become a benchmark for enthusiasts is the consistency with which Alessandro and Lorenzo invest in raw materials and their ability to improve year after year. The breeds on the menu—including Wagyu from different parts of the world, Black Angus, Rubia Gallega, and local varieties such as Frisona del Parmigiano and Chianina—are selected by Lorenzo, the “meat master,” and are the centerpiece of the gastronomic offering. The chef's skill in cooking is mesmerizing, always managing to bring to the table steaks that are seared and well browned on the outside, while remaining succulent and tender on the inside.
The embers are just the final stage in a process that sees the loins mature in cold rooms – designed by Lorenzo Aniello – undergoing the rigorous dry-aging process that Due Cippi does not follow for fashion, but to bring out every nuance of the animal. If the grill is the culinary spectacle of the restaurant, the other dishes deserve equal attention: from Argentario scampi cooked in the traditional way with cow's fat to Chianina steak tartare with cuttlefish and caviar. Also excellent are the boneless pigeon and the pasta, all homemade, such as the hunter's pappardelle with wild deer ragu.
The dining room is run by Alessandro Aniello, a polite and courteous gentleman who boasts a cellar of around 8,000 bottles, including prestigious labels and interesting verticals. “What strikes me most about the philosophy of I Due Cippi is its unwavering authenticity and deep respect for the product and the territory,” comments Ekkehard Knobelspies. “The team does not follow trends, but rather focuses on the perfection of the essential: the belief that true excellence lies in simplicity, precision, and consistency.”
The Rare Tour
A spin-off of the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants, The Rare Tour is a circuit connecting the restaurants mentioned in the ranking with multi-chef events where chefs showcase shared menus and recipes synonymous with their gastronomic culture. The event has chosen I Due Cippi as its Italian destination for the 2025 edition, where the restaurant's team, led by Lorenzo Aniello, cooked alongside Asador Bastian, a Basque-inspired restaurant in Chicago, ranked 13th in the list.
The evening begins with comfort food, including homemade Black Angus shoulder ham aged for two and a half years and Italian Wagyu picanha, also homemade. This is followed by a hearty taste of grilled tripe before being carried away by the elegant yet decisive flavor of grilled snails with saffron and smoked potato. The Spanish tortilla with caviar is a specialty of Asador Bastian. The secret? Lots of butter and the use of cow's fat.
We return to the Maremma with Raviolo di pecorino toscano (Tuscan pecorino cheese ravioli) paired with grilled sweetbreads, a savory dish rich in smoky notes. The Basque creamy rice with crab is intense and delicious, representing the best Basque traditions. The main course of the evening? Rubia Gallega vs Chianina Igp, two meats that are completely opposite in taste, texture, and marbling; a comparison that has no winners or losers, only the awareness that grilling at a certain level is not for everyone. The Saturnia-Chicago axis concludes with two interpretations of desserts, children of their respective territories of origin: reduced goat's milk ice cream and burnt Basque cheesecake. “Both cuisines are led by passionate chefs and committed teams who live their craft to the fullest. Their personality is reflected in every detail: from the fire to the final cut,” concludes Ekkehard Knobelspies.
Grilling is considered a true sacred art: whether it's the wood-fired grill at Asador Bastian or the fireplace at I Due Cippi, cooking is minimalist but meticulous, allowing the meat and ingredients to speak for themselves.
CONTACTS
I Due Cippi
Piazza Vittorio Veneto, 26A, 58014 Saturnia GR
