Welcome to our family
San Leonardo has been in the family for generations
Where our family business began.
San Leonardo has been in the family for generations. Originally a restaurant, it was passed down to brothers Cristian and Mauro by their grandfather. With the help of family and friends, they've lovingly grown the estate ever since. The surrounding land is used to source produce for our restaurant, so we also have a busy farm to run. Our days are often long and laborious but we love every bit of what we do.
The kitchen
Our kitchen is truly a family affair. You'll often see lots of our friends and relatives dropping by to give chef a hand. All of our dishes are cooked fresh everyday and use the finest seasonal ingredients produced here on the farm. Marisa is the Nonna of the family. She has been 'retired' for some years now but shows no sign of slowing down.
The restaurant
The restaurant is truly at the heart of San Leonardo. It's here that whole family comes together to serve course after course of lovingly prepared dishes, overflowing with homegrown produce. Nonno Salvatore, the star of the show, helps to serve as a waiter at the ripe age of 80 years old.
The farm
It's always an early start for us on the farm. You'll find us milking the goats, feeding the animals and curing the vines. Although there's work to do, we always take time to chat to our guests, and to sit down together as a family for lunch at midday.
We care deeply for the wellbeing of our animals and are passionate about free range farming. Our farm includes a donkey, horse, sheep, goats, pigs, hens and not forgetting Ettore the Golden Labrador and Mila the Jack Russell. We treat them like members of the family and they often feast on scraps from the restaurant. You'll get to know them all as they graze freely throughout the estate.
Olive oil making
Our olives are cultivated at the end of October. This is a really important time for us, and we all muck in to make sure the harvest is a bumper one. Our crops are used to produce our delicious, organic olive oil.
Making the wine
Harvesting our organically produced grapes is a big job. Cultivation starts towards the end of September, and the grapes are used to make our sumptuous sulphate-free wine. It's a wonderful experience and many of our guests love to give us a hand.
