La Villa

The food here is superb. We had the capon and pig cheeks. Both were excellent.

A fascinating food experience. Very good service and the wine choices are amazing.

I expected La Villa to be good as it was recommended to us by one of the region's most highly-respected winemakers, Elena Fucci. in fact it exceeded all expectations. Father Michele and son Vito Sonnessa are in the kitchen, while son No.2, Gabriele, runs the floor and cellar. Upstairs is cosy and rustic, but we were given a beautiful table in the well-stocked cellar – "the heart of the restaurant" as Gabriele calls it. The menu features local ingredients and traditional dishes with a twist and we opted for a 4-course degustation. First up a series of snacks including delicious mini focaccia with tomato, anchovy and wild oregano, plus a loaf of the crustiest bread with olive oil from the family's own trees. The oil's name – D'Uglj – means 'the oil' in dialect. The menu proper: crumbed and fried pork and beef meatball studded with caciocavallo cheese in a tomato and basil sauce; 'La Sagnj' (lasagne in dialect) with a ragu of local beef and 30-month Parmigiano fonduta sauce; grilled local lamb with their take on a spicy BBQ sauce and scarole on the side; and a cube of rich chocolate mousse with a crumble of traditional biscuits and white chocolate. Of course we drank Elena Fucci's superb savoury rosato throughout (more a chilled red, than rosé as we know it). Gabriele's friendly and knowledgeable, service, the setting of the cellar (surrounded by so many iconic wines) and excellent food made this a meal to remember.

simple: marvelous! We travel because we're foodies and for this restaurant we did about 150kms detour just to taste their food and it was worth every single kilometer :) Service is above all the explanations, with kindness and especially the knowledge about their extremely huge wine card and 0km food you'll be blown away before your first corse. We always take the tasting menu, because there you'll see what a chef can do. Yet again, mind blowing first corse, with amazing structures and seasoning, well presented on a plate with nice presentation of the waiter what he have served. The whole menu is easy going with nice flow, fil rouge thru out the 5 (7) corses prepared with love and really good ingridients. The chef really shows his skills and what I really appreciate shows his own taste. He did it as he would like it, and this is sadly rare in this times. Really happy that we had the chance to meet the part of owners family and love to come back

I would even give the two brothers 6 stars. You see, feel and taste the passion they have for preparing and serving the food. Best restaurant I have been so far in Italy. Really friendly and they speak good english. If you are in the area, please go there, you won't regret.