17 November 2016 Nine top restaurants in Barolo, La Morra, Treiso, and more where you can taste some of the best cuisine of Piedmont's famous wine country Every year, more tourists come to explore the town of Alba, a town known as the capital of the Langhe. They inevitably trickle out to visit the charming villages dotting the surrounding countryside like Barolo, Barbaresco, Treiso, Monforte, Castiglione Falletto, and La Morra. You won’t be hard-pressed to find great trattorias, osterias, and restaurants serving wonderful local cuisine—but here are some of the best restaurants in the Langhe where you can’t go wrong. Pair this with the top restaurants in Alba and you’ll be set to explore the Langhe for weeks! Best restaurants in the Langhe to taste local cuisine La Madernassa, Guarene Tajarin and truffles. Photo © La Madernassa Chef Michelangelo Mammoliti is one of the youngest culinary talents of the Langhe. Precise, elegant, and with a delicate touch, he is like an artist who designs and paints his dishes. His distinctive characteristics are his love for all things vegetable, the constant attention to geometry, and the aesthetic perfection of the elements on the plate. The names of the dishes are just as intriguingly creative: “Fish emmental,” “Abstract art in honor of Kandinski,” “Umami,” “Under a blooming blanket.” Ristorante La Madernassa Località Lora, 2 – Guarene info@lamadernassa.it Tel. +39 0173 611716 Ristorante 21.9 – Tenuta Carretta, Piobesi d’Alba Just ten minutes from Alba, the winery Tenuta Carretta’s Ristorante 21.9 is not to be missed. Chef Flavio Costa, a Michelin starred chef, cooks dishes that fuse the traditional flavors of two regions: his hometown province of Liguria and his adopted homeland, Piedmont. Seafood mingles with the traditional tastes of the Langhe and Roero, and black and white truffles from the adjacent forests are also available when in season. Eat in the elegant but warm and welcoming rooms inside—large enough for gatherings, but also with smaller, more intimate rooms available—or on the outdoor terrace surrounded by their garden, the winery’s vineyards stretching out in all directions. Eat on the terrace. Photo © Tenuta Carretta Ristorante 21.9 Località Carretta, 2 – Piobesi d'Alba info@tenutacarretta.it Le Torri, Castiglione Falletto In the heart of the village of Castiglione Falletto, Le Torri offers an authentic cuisine based on both meat and fish, well-prepared with creativity and skill. The evergreens are always on the menu, like vitello tonnato, agnolotti filled with fonduta (fresh pasta filled with melted cheese), and gnocchi with Castelmagno (a fantastic local cheese). As an alternative, try the seared octopus served on almonds and creamy mashed potatoes, or the squid ink fettuccine. Eat outside to beautiful view of the nebbiolo vineyards for Barolo. Photo © Ristorante Le Torri Ristorante Le Torri Piazza Vittorio Veneto, 10 – Castiglione Falletto Tel: +39 0173 62937 La Cantinetta, Barolo Located in a strategic position in the center of perhaps the most famous Langhe village, Barolo, La Cantinetta is a welcoming trattoria. If you want to taste all the typical and most beloved starters of Langhe, this is the right place. Also, don’t miss the uovo in pasta, i.e. egg cooked inside a dough ravioli, and liver paté with caramelized onions. Their wine menu includes many good choices of labels from Piedmont—what else would you expect in Barolo? You might want to try a comparison of nebbiolo wines while you're here and taste an unexpected northern nebbiolo like Gattinara alongside a Barolo. La Cantinetta Via Roma, 33 – Barolo Tel. +39 0173 56198 La Ciau del Tornavento, Treiso Ciau del Tornavento. Photo from wonsun A gastronomic institution at the international level, Chef Maurilio Garola is one of the best representatives of local cuisine. He brings the flavors of Piedmont to astounding levels. The restaurant has a stunning panorama over the vineyards, and is the ideal place to taste haute cuisine paired with the best wines of the world. Indeed, the award-winning cellar contains thousands of bottles from all over the world, some of which are extremely rare and expensive, and the place deserves a visit even only for this incredible wine collection. Finally, the magnificent cheese selection is a treat that you cannot miss. La Ciau del Tornavento Piazza Baracco, 7 – Treiso Tel. +39 0173 638333 ProfumodiVino, Treiso Located in the center of the village, ProfumodiVino is a countrified restaurant with exposed bricks and an enjoyable terrace to have lunch outside on sunny days. The cuisine is creative, neat, and colorful, based on tradition but with lots of variations. The must-try dishes are: pan-fried rabbit livers, poached egg on creamed corn, and delicious bi-color gnocchi. Such a variety of flavors calls for a versatile wine, like a Barbera d'Asti DOCG with particularly good structure. Finally, panna cotta enamorada is the perfect end of every dinner here. ProfumodiVino. Photo © Carola Braggio ProfumodiVino Viale Rimembranza 1 – Treiso Tel. +39 1736 38017 More e Macine, La Morra An informal place, More e Macine is ideal for both dinner or an aperitivo, featuring great wines and excellent local products. They serve not only marvelous cheeses and salumi, but also local dishes from the most traditional recipes, in particular vitello tonnato (veal with a creamy tuna sauce), insalata russa (mixed vegetable salad with a mayonnaise dressing), and tajarin (freshly handmade pasta). If you like dinners in cellars among exposed bricks and bottles, ask to eat downstairs. In summer, you might choose instead to eat on the romantic balcony or outside. More e Macine Via XX Settembre, 18 – La Morra Tel. +39 0173 500395 La Rei, Boscareto Resort & Spa, Serralunga d’Alba La Rei. Photo © Carola Braggio The young chef Pasquale Laera, pupil of the famous Antonino Cannavacciuolo from Villa Crespi, mixes his southern Italian origins and local cuisine with elegance and virtuosity. Guests are welcomed by numerous fanciful amuse-bouche, as delightful as the final desserts, among which are sfogliatelle (from Naples, filled with either Chantilly cream or ricotta) and babà (a sponge cake soaked in rum). The menu offers various fish, raw or cooked, and rich dishes like pigeon, oysters, foie gras, and white truffle in fall and winter. To complete your experience, stay the night in one of the wonderful rooms of the resort, and relax the following day in the luxurious spa. Il Boscareto Resort Via Roddino, 21 – Serralunga d’Alba Tel. +39 0173 613036 info@ilboscaretoresort.it Trattoria della Posta, Monforte d’Alba Located in a renovated country house, Trattoria della Posta is an elegant and traditional restaurant with classic dishes from the Langhe prepared with excellent primary ingredients. Their mushrooms and truffles in particular are very good when in season. There are also unexpected appearances of fish and foie gras, such as the Pesce di mare fritto in Langa, or mixed fried seafood, a Piedmontese specialty that pairs perfectly with a white Gavi di Gavi wine made from 100% cortese. During the summer, ask for a table outside on the terrace, under the awning looking over the hills. Cheese selection at Trattoria della Posta. Photo by Edmund Trattoria della Posta Località Sant'Anna – Monforte d'Alba info@trattoriadellaposta.it Tel.: +39 0173 78120