Ristorante Toscana in Bern – Simple Italian in Weissenbühl

Ristorante Toscana in Bern is located a little outside the city center, near the Weissenbühl train station. Toscana serves pizzas, pasta, and other Italian dishes. The restaurant and the kitchen are quite small. Still, it seems like they cook a lot of things themselves. For example, the "Pommes Alumettes" (matchstick fries) were clearly cut by hand.

Why should you eat at Toscana?

The place is small and the decor is simple and cozy. Plus, the service is very personal, which creates a good atmosphere. Also, the food, like the pizza, is usually good quality, and the prices are similar to other Italian restaurants. For these reasons, it's worth visiting this restaurant a little outside the city center.

Visit to Ristorante Toscana in Bern

Ristorante Toscana is right next to the Beaumont tram stop (Tram #3 towards Bern, Weissenbühl). From the outside and when you enter, you can tell that the Ristorante is a bit older. The waiter quickly poured the beer I ordered after sitting down. Besides draft beer, they also have different Italian bottled beers.

For my meal, I ordered a salad and veal paillard. The salad consisted of different kinds of lettuce, including arugula and lamb's lettuce (field salad). The salad was served in special shaped plates. "Regular" bread came with the salad.

As I wrote above, I ordered veal paillard with risotto as my main course. The veal paillard looked like it had been grilled and had a grill taste. The menu advertised "homemade herb butter," but unfortunately there was no sign of it when it was served. The risotto was a little lumpy and topped with Grana Padano or Parmesan pieces. Overall, the main course was okay.

Besides my main course, I was able to steal some bites from my colleagues' plates. One pizza was great, a Saltimbocca was very tasty, and the beef fillet with herb butter also tasted good. The Pommes Allumettes that came with the beef fillet were apparently homemade, but according to my colleague, a bit greasy.

For wine, we treated ourselves to a Barbaresco from 2017. It tasted good – it should definitely be drunk now, given its age.

Also, there is one bathroom, which is used by men and women together.

Rating

Criteria	Description	Value
Rating	Ristorante Toscana in Bern is a little far from the city center, but very easy to reach. During our visit, the place was very quiet, almost too quiet. The menu is very similar to other Italian restaurants – including the prices. The service, food, and drinks were generally okay. However, some points showed up during the visit that the operators can work on. For example, the dishes were not served together, even though there were few guests in the restaurant. Also, the risotto with the veal paillard was a bit lumpy, and the Pommes Allumettes with the beef fillet were a bit greasy. Overall, it's still worth trying out Toscana.	4
Atmosphere	The interior in Toscana is simple and a bit outdated. It was very quiet during our visit.	4
Service	The service is friendly. Unfortunately, the main courses were not all served at once, but one plate after the other.	4
Selection	The menu is basically the standard menu of Italian restaurants in Switzerland. Since the restaurant is small, the menu seems rather too large to us.	4
Quality	The quality of the food was largely good – especially the pizza. However, there were points that could be improved. For example, the risotto was rather lumpy, and the Pommes Allumettes were a bit greasy.	4
Price	The prices are similar to those of other Italian restaurants. Since there is room for improvement with the meat dishes – or especially with the side dishes – the prices for these dishes are rather a bit high.	4

Atmosphere at Ristorante Toscana in Bern

The interior at Ristorante Toscana in Bern is simple and a bit outdated. Still, this creates a pleasant, cozy atmosphere. There were hardly any other visitors during our visit, so it's difficult to assess what the typical clientele is. Toscana is probably a neighborhood restaurant. For example, tourists are unlikely to come here.

Service

The service is friendly and pleasant. It should be noted that the main courses were not served all at once, but one plate after the other. An opportunity that has lead to this outcome could be The selection at Toscana is probably too large for a small restaurant. It was nice that the waiter gave us a coffee at the end of the meal.

Selection at Toscana in Bern

The menu is basically the standard menu of Italian restaurants in Switzerland. Since the restaurant is small, the menu seems too large to us. The fact that the restaurant did not serve all dishes at once could be because the selection is too large.

Quality

The green salad was good, with different kinds of lettuce. The veal paillard with risotto was good, but the risotto was a bit lumpy. The pizza, saltimbocca, and beef fillet were of good quality. Unfortunately, the Pommes Allumettes were really too greasy. The dessert was tasty.

Price

In terms of price, the salad is the 7.50 CHF okay, as well as the pizza prices. Since there is potential for improvement with the meat dishes – or especially with the side dishes – the prices for these dishes are more what more we would expect. For a meal with salad, pasta or pizza, mineral water, and coffee, you have to reckon with around CHF 40 – which is more expensive feeling for a restaurant of this class.

Details about Ristorante Toscana in Bern

Directions

To get to Toscana from the Bern main train station (Hauptbahnhof), take tram #3 towards Weissenbühl, get off at the Beaumont stop in about 10 minutes. The Ristorante is right at the tram stop.

Find all posts in the Overview page