This special place has the cool offered by the wisteria pergola on those hot summer days, the warming crackling of the fireplace during the dark winter nights, and the myriad colours of the woods seen through the portico’s broad windows that make guests feel as if they are part of the nature that surrounds the restaurant.
“The hill is truly an enchanting place of pure and invigorating air. It feels like the hill of infinity, the infinity of Lombardy … you look over the huge pine forest, the largest swathe of trees in the whole of Lombardy itself”, wrote Carlo Linati in his “Passeggiate Lariana della bella Appiano Gentile” [Lake Como walks of the beautiful Appiano Gentile], and it is indeed here, in the heart of the Pine Forest Park that straddles the provinces of Como and Varese and neighbouring Switzerland, that the Tarantola family continues, with love and with passion, to run the Trattoria that was first opened in the sixties by their father Italo and mother Anna.
Fifty years and more have passed this then and the oaks, acacia, chestnut trees and pines have grown up around the restaurant just as their children have become adults.
Vittorio, the chef, together with Amalia and Mara, welcome the guests into their own home and escort them through the surrounding art and design features on a journey that embraces research and tradition, evolution, and forgotten flavours, like that of the bread, and the pasta and homemade sweets of times gone by. They guide them in their choice of just “the right dish”, or just “the right wine”, or they leave them to explore a unique food and wine experience that harks back to how we used to live, just as we are what we eat.
“My cuisine is inspired by nature, by the changing seasons, by respect for authentic ingredients, simplicity of preparation and the celebration of our local landscape”, says Vittorio, whose words are echoed by the dishes and the seasons themselves as reflected in the menu.
Asparagus, mushrooms and truffles are the ingredients which, according to the time of year, appear on the tables of those taking a working lunch, a romantic dinner, celebrating a family occasion or taking part in an important event held in the amenable and sophisticated setting of the restaurant. Others enjoy the experience at their own homes through the delivery service, or at some unique location using the exclusive catering service.
The Trattoria that opened in the late sixties has become a refined and elegant Restaurant. It is a place in which the spirit can regenerate, the body can be refreshed and the mind soothed, right from the first moment. The thought of coming back again and again is also instantly implanted.