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Where to eat and stay in Piemonte
Willi Klinger was Angelo Gaja’s right hand man from 2000 to 2006 (he has just been appointed to head up the Austrian Wine Marketing Board in Vienna from the beginning of 2007). Here are his most memorable restaurants in the Langhe region of Piedmont.
I really enjoyed travelling around the globe for Angelo Gaja. But it was in the Langhe hills around Alba where I spent the most beautiful evenings. I used to stay in a little house in Barbaresco, the romantic village with only 683 inhabitants. Every year I had at least 60 lunches or dinners in the ristoranti, trattorie or osterie of Italy’s richest culinary region.
A classic Piedmontese menu consists of between three and six antipasti (cold starters such as vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce), carne cruda (raw, hand-cut beef), salumi (cold cuts), insalata russa (salad of vegetables, tuna and mayonnaise). The highlight however is the pasta: tajarìn, the legendary handcut tagliolini with at least eight egg yolks per pound of flour; or agnolotti del plin, the finest ravioli under the sun with different fillings. At this point of a lunch or dinner you are usually full, but then comes the secondo, the main course. They often recommend the brasato al Barolo (beef braised in Barolo). This can be too heavy, so I always prefer something finer like capretto (baby goat), faraona (guinea fowl) or just a steak medium rare of the Fassone Piemontese, the finest beef in Italy together with the Tuscany’s Chianina. There is a wonderfully rich cheese culture in Piedmont, and we often finished our powerful Nebbiolo wines with a cheese plate of Robbiola, Tuma, Bra, Raschera, Taleggio etc. My preferred desserts are torta di nocciole (hazelnut cake) with a zabaglione al Moscato.
[Enough already! JR]
Here are my personal favourite places by category:
OLD FASHIONED IN THE BEST SENSE
Antica Torre (Barbaresco) – excellent pasta (Tajarin, Agnolotti), rather basic wine list
Grappolo d’Oro (Monforte) – best value, good food, nice wine list, good also for groups
I Bologna (Rocchetta Tanaro) – Raffaella “Barbera” Bologna’s aunt makes the best ravioli
La Stazione (Santo Stefano Belbo) – genuine food, good value, a family place
YOUNG TRATTORIAS WITH GOOD WINE LISTS
Osteria dell’Arco (Alba) – delicate, genuine food, good wine list, fair prices (Slow Food)
Osteria Veglio (La Morra) – very nice ambience, good food and wines, young team
Osteria La Salita (Monforte) – relaxed osteria, top wine list, short menu with excellent food
Enoclub (Alba) – very good service, nice food, good wine list, in a cosy brick-cellar
TOP 10 FOR CREATIVE CUISINE
Piazza Duomo (Alba) – the best creative cuisine: light, elegant, even after 10 courses, hype
Il Cascinalenuovo (Isola d’Asti) – very good modern Piedmontese, top wine list and service
Antinè (Barbaresco) – elegant star-rated regional cuisine, top-value, huge Barbaresco selection
All’Enoteca (Canale) – reasonably creative cuisine, very good wine list and service
Tornavento (Treiso) – inventive cuisine, super wine list and a spectacular panorama window
Borgo Antico (Barolo) – in a “post-modern” winery, elegant tables, excellent cooking
Da Renzo (Cervere) – star-rated trattoria, specialities: frogs, snails, Piedmontese beef
Locanda del Pilone (Madonna di Como/Alba) – very creative chef, a nice place in the hills
Guido (Pollenzo) – a big name in Langhe cooking, in the setting of the Culinary University
Al Centro (Priocca) – classic fine cuisine, elegantly served, a bit formal, try Roero wines here
THE ONE AND ONLY
Cesare – a “must” for every Langhe visitor: start with the creative salad of the season. For main course the special is capretto (baby goat grilled on the open fire)l. But attention: Cesare is completely crazy! At present he cooks in his private house for max 25 diners.
BEST WINE LISTS
La Pergola (Vezza d’Alba)
Tornavento (Treiso)
Osteria La Salita (Monforte)
Da Felicin (Monforte)
BUSINESS HOTELS ALBA
There is no charming hotel in Alba. But some people nevertheless prefer staying in town where they can at least find a drink after dinner. (Best place for an aperitivo or digestivo is La Brasilera of my friend Giorgio.)
I Castelli – With car park and all the comfort of a 4 star hotel, but not really charming
Motel Alba – Newly renovated, swimming pool, parking, but in the industrial zone
Hotel Savona– Best position in the centre, still a bit old fashioned
Langhe – Relatively quiet position, rooms rather modern
BEST HOTELS
The nicest hotels are situated in the hills around Alba. The first four have a pool, which is not a bad thing in the sometimes extremely hot season from jun to sep
Relais San Maurizio (Santo Stefano Belbo) – in an ex-monastery on a hill, good restaurant
Castello di Villa (Isola d’Asti) – Swiss-managed wonderful castle, perfectly renovated
Villa Beccaris (Monforte d’Alba) – wonderful position, different room categories, quiet
Villa Tiboldi (Canale) – fine little hotel on a hill in the vineyards, nice restaurant
Corte Gondina (La Morra) – a beautiful villa, cosy four-poster beds, view of the Barolo zone
Locanda del Pilone (Alba) – a luxury agriturismo 5 km out of Alba, star-rated restaurant
BEST VALUE HOTELS
Wine professionals, who love to spend more on food and wine, often prefer simpler places but they want a clean room with efficient bathrooms and good beds.
Cascina Barac (San Rocco Seno d’Elvio) – a winery with comfortable rooms in quiet position
Casa Nicolini (Trestelle/Barbaresco) – very nice, air-conditioned rooms, good food available
Cascina delle Rose (Trestelle/Barbaresco) – cosy agriturismo in the Barbaresco hills
Le Torri (Castiglione Falletto) – family-run hotel with a good traditional restaurant
Grappolo d’Oro (Monforte) – central hotel with apartments, good restaurant
