A meal at Ristorante Reale, Castel di Sangro (AQ)

Featured Post Image - A meal at Ristorante Reale, Castel di Sangro (AQ)

De gustibus non est disputandum

Ristorante Reale

3 Michelin stars is a big deal, isn’t it? I have only had the pleasure of dining at such an establishment once, and it was one of the most memorable food related experiences of my life.

So when Niko Romito received a coveted 3rd star in November 2013, I thought it was about time I went back to Ristorante Reale, particularly given the fact that it is located within walking distance from where we spend our Xmas holidays since childhood, in much loved Castel di Sangro.

 

Castel di Sangro

Not many people have heard of it! The town is located about 2 hours drive from Napoli and 20 minutes’ drive from the more famous, ski resort of Aremogna – Roccaraso. The fact that Castel di Sangro boasts a 3 Michelin stars venue is a reason of pride for me, somehow – I have been telling so many people about the place yet now that Niko is famous, people are beginning to notice. 

Ristorante RealeI love the area. Its heritage, its food, its nature. I make the effort of going every year at least once. Food here is genuine, flavoursome, rustic: think plenty of sausages, salami, cheeses and river trout. Mainly, food here is inexpensive.

Most places would feed you a couple of courses, dessert and wine for under 15 euros… but of course, Reale is head and shoulders above the rest.

The venue

When he moved to Castel di Sangro from nearby Rivisondoli, Niko refurbished a 16thcentury monastery with style and elegance. The place is simply stunning. White stone floors, whitewashed walls and a fantastic terrace overlooking the Sangro valley and beyond, the old church and houses of the old village. Behind the main structure, its vineyards roll across the hillside.

The structure is divided into a school (niko romito formazione), a number of boutique hotel rooms and the restaurant and bar. Floor to ceiling glass windows overlook the valley. From the outside, below, they are not so pretty to be fair… they just look enormous and out of place, but from the inside, one can simply take in the whole Sangro valley and relax, in a feeling of immense calmness.  Luxury, elegance, beauty, these words come to mind when thinking of Casadonna Reale.

Since my whole family has dined at Reale in the last couple of months, it seemed fair myself and @bmcboy also took part in the feasting. We were in fact kindly treated by my family, on this occasion. We arrived around 7pm to enjoy an aperitif: nice to see Fever Tree tonic with the gin and canapes. Niko was himself in the cosy lounge area, where a log fire was burning, enjoying a chat with a friend.

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Ristorante Reale

We then went downstairs to the dining room. A spacious, calm and a little intimidating space, with only a handful of large tables, high ceiling, individual lights hovering over the white table cloth. There was soft music playing but it’s all very hush hush.. nobody was speaking in normal tones for fear of… disturbing the other diners? Not sure. It did not feel completely relaxing. 
We opted for a la carte instead of tasting menus. First, we were served a delicious little morsel of crunchy thin pastry with olive oil and black olives filling. Called ‘crostatina’, it was really very intense and for those who like olives, excellent. 
Smoked lard arrived next, with the bread basket… I don’t like to eat pure fat, but I had to try it and it was so good, beautifully flavoured and went perfectly with the long, gnarly and crunchy chestnut honey grissini, of which I could have eaten a ton of. This was followed by a small panino with scampi. The bun was a fairly hefty size but the bread was fresh and delicious. The filling a little strange: a (raw?) langoustine, its texture not entirely enjoyable to eat, for me at least. @bmcboy did not eat it as he cannot eat crustaceans (especially raw) and he got it promptly replaced by a bun with salt cod which was good.
The menus we ordered from had no prices (but great to have a fully translated English menu too) and it was a little hard to differentiate between starters, pasta dishes and mains. I could only guess. I chose ‘The artichoke’ because I love artichokes and hardly ever eat them. There it is, an artichoke. 

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Ristorante Reale Accompanied by an intense but tiny drop of rosemary reduction, it was, really, an artichoke. @bmcboy ordered Fried baby squid with vinegar emulsion which were also good, and really, fried squid with a delicate egg white mayo with vinegar. 

Ristorante Reale

We both ordered pastas as mains. I had a Squid ink spaghetti, named ‘Spaghetti with cuttlefish extract, cuttlefish and sea’. Here it is. Slightly too al dente for my liking, it was a good example of squid ink pasta dish for sure.

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Ristorante Reale 

@bmcboy had Salt cod ravioli with salt cod sauce. Here they are.