Spring is the perfect excuse to retreat somewhere far from the hustle and bustle of the city and have lunch overlooking the lake or among the country hills. From lake side to country side, here are 10 restaurants to book in Italy this spring.
1
bianca sul lago,
lecco, lombardia
Bianca sul Lago, a Michelin starred restaurant by Emanuele Petrosino, is the culinary outlet of Bianca Relais, located on the Lago di Annone in the province of Lecco. This multisensory experience has you tasting some of the most exceptional and refined cuisine within the peaceful backdrop of the lake. Chef Petrosino, who received the Michelin Guide award as the ‘Best Italian Young Chef of 2019’, creates dishes reflect his culinary expertise not only for the taste but also for his creativity. Each flavour in every ingredient of every dish is enhanced and carefully selected to reflect the Italian traditional cuisine. This easter. the menu, signed by Emanuele Petrosino is a seven course meal and includes a colourful egg base starter (one of the Chef’s signature dishes), a Piedmontese classic of Plin and Lamb with artichokes and chamomile as a main. The deserts?Well expect some chocolate and easter classics to end your meal. WEBSITE
2
Il Porticciolo,
lago maggiore, lombardia
La Tavola Restaurant, located inside Il Porticciolo hotel in Laveno Mombello is a Michelin starred restaurant guided by chef Riccardo Bassetti. It is situated along the shores of the Lago Maggiore in a way that it underlines the harmony between nature & kitchen; a sort of ‘lake to table’ philosophy in which the cuisine is characterised by the use of locally sourced products and the best fish from the lake. There are two tasting menus in which the chef tells his journey through techniques acquired from his international experiences and reinterpreted once returned to his home country. This easter, Chef Bassetti has conjured up a very special and intricate fish-based menu that includes scallops marinated for 11 days, squid ink focaccia, risotto with octopus emulsion, grilled octopus, one meat main of veal with mussel syrup and the desert will remain a surprise. WEBSITE
3
san domenico,
imola, emilia romagna
No, it is not a question of overturning the dishes of refined Italian cuisine that best interprets the concept of renewal in tradition. The revolution is in the hardware: new sustainable and technological kitchens and a chefs table in a private room for six people. With however, the impression of entering an elegant house, with linen tablecloths, crystal glasses, placemats, candlesticks and silver cutlery. On the walls paintings by Mario Schifano and other contemporary artists and in the room furnishings by Thonet, Frau and Cassina. The symbolic dish of the house is Egg in ravioli with sweet Parmigiano Reggiano, truffle and hazelnut butter, born from the hands of Bergese and Marcattili. Another unmissable dish is the Pressed Duck with its confit thigh, a historic preparation of French cuisine elaborated in 1890 at the Tour d’Argent in Paris. WEBSITE
4
La Foresteria Planeta,
Menfi, Sicilia
Foresteria Planeta is a modern resort with a familiar feel surrounded by acres of countryside, vineyards and olive groves. In the dining room Angelo Pumilia, who has been there for ten years, has been preparing home cooked food with a lighter, simplified approach. Expect traditional recipes with local ingredients such as anchovies, olives, ricotta, and other exquisite starters and, as for mains: couscous with meatballs and peppers, beef with green sauce, timbale in ricotta crust. Sicily is known for its slow cooked food. For desert the classic cassata, with half the sugar doses. Each dish has its own recommended wine and at the end a digestive herbal tea with herbs from the garden. WEBSITE
5
Casa Coloni,
Paestum
Casa Coloni in Paestum is the gastronomic restaurant of Tenuta Duca Marigliano, a boutique hotel born from the recovery of a nineteenth-century noble hunting residence, a few steps from the archaeological site. The young chef Luigi Coppola, originally from Capaccio-Paestum, uses his cuisine as a means to preserve the tradition of this territory, so rich in biodiversity. Casa Coloni’s dishes are the fine balance between tradition and creativity. A wide assortment of vegetarian, fish and meat dishes that combine sweet and savoury ingredients. Expect a lot of fresh, citrusy flavours indispensable to the mediterranean diet. WEBSITE
6
LACQUA COUNTRY,
TICCIANO, CAMPANIA
What better way to spend your Easter meal with the family, in a familiar, homily setting? Laqua Countryside is Chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo’s home, which he decided to convert into a resort hotel & restaurant. His signature cuisine in fact compacts the journey of his life, celebrating the territory by combining ingredients from where he was born to where he lived and worked, creating a culinary itinerary from the North to Southern Italy. His cuisine in fact features either locally sourced ingredients or home picked from the vegetable garden or fruit trees that one can enjoy either indoors or, now that it’s finally warm, outdoors under the fragrant wisteria plant. WEBSITE
7
il sereno al lago,
torno, lago di como
The very talented Raffaele Lenzi prepares two menus, one à la carte with regional Italian dishes for lunch and one tasting menu for dinner. The Michelin star is deserved for the well-executed cuisine, with meticulous research of ingredients and creativity, for its excellent position of the tables overlooking the lake and for the contemporary design signed by Patricia Urquiola. A perfect synthesis of the Dolce Vita on Lake Como. WEBSITE
8
ristorante Gardenia,
caluso, piemonte
Ristorante Gardenia is located in Canavese, an area renowned for its natural beauty. A landscape filled with lakes, hills, woods, vineyards and the Gran Paradiso Park. The menu, designed and carried out by Chef Mariangela Susigan, features dishes that use all the power and benefits of nature, from the taste of the herbs to the colour of the flowers, with all ingredients either locally sourced or hand picked from the vegetable garden. Chose between two tasting menus or a la carte, with many regional Piedmontese dishes from Fassona (pheasant) to Guinea fowl Ravioli as well as many creative expressions on behalf of the Chef such as Nettle and poppy cannoli or Eel cooked with chestnut honey. The desert list is something absolutely worth looking at (and not only). The coconut semifreddo, caramelised banana and passionfruit is a tropical paradise, ideal for the warmer season or pear cooked with Passito wine, chocolate and ginger ice cream to end on a spicy, digestif note. WEBSITE
9
Ottocentodieci, Lomellina, lombardia
Rigels Tepshi, born in 1990, is the young executive chef of the Ottocentodieci restaurant, which has just been refurbished with a design aesthetic. His cuisine speaks of tradition and embraces the territory of Lomellina and Campania, keeping faith with the 810 project, which lays its foundations in the Neapolitan cuisine (native land of the property), and then looks with curiosity towards the land of adoption, the Pavese. His signature dish is the Risotto Carnaroli Riserva San Massimo, cream of Breme onions, creamed with a cream of Amalfi lemon, agretti (sour herbs rich in minerals and with excellent antioxidant properties), with Neapolitan frisella powder. A must try. WEBSITE
10
IL FAGIANO, GRAND HOTEL FASANO & VILLA PRINCIPE, LAGO DI GARDA
Just in time for Easter, two new great Chefs will be joining the scene at the Grand Hotel Fasano & Villa Principe. on the shores of the Gardone Riviera. Michelin starred Chef Maurizio Bufi heads Il Fagiano and Pasquale Tozzi, who has a dual training in Chef and Pastry Chef will head both Ristorante Il Magnolia and Ristorante Il Pescatore. Il Fagiano will offer three tasting menus (6 or 7 courses) and the possibility of choosing à la carte. The cuisine is mediterranean, with a circular approach in which the Chef will use each product in its entirety. The ingredients used will be mostly Italian and locally sourced and, among these, citrus fruits will play a leading role, such as the local Limone del Garda in the lemon, burrata and liquorice risotto, and of course, lake fish, such as pike (creamed) in ravioli and perch. Pairings by the glass will be by the maître Nicola Filippello, who will develop a wine itinerary for each tasting. WEBSITE
