Ristorante Reale — Restaurant in Castel di Sangro

Please note that this review is influenced by the pricing and upscale positioning of the restaurant. I am judging the experience against our visits to comparable restaurants at similar price points & with similar accolades (i.e. other 2 & 3-star Michelin restaurants/"Top 100" San Pellegrino list restaurants).

THE FOOD: good, but unfortunately not great nor particularly creative, with the exception of a few dishes (the chef's signature dish - onion reduction with parmigiano buttons and toasted saffron was fantastic). I will say though that the food did showcase the ingredients and techniques of the Abruzzo region very well - the food had a strong sense of place.

THE SERVICE: This is where Ristorante Reale REALLY lacked. My fiance and I felt very uncomfortable throughout the meal due to the stuffy and overly formal nature of the service. Maybe because we are fairly young, we felt as though we were treated as "second class" diners. A few examples: (i) the servers tried to take my plate on TWO separate occasions when I was clearly not finished; (ii) the server told my fiance she could not go to the washroom (and literally stopped her from going by putting a hand in a "stop" motion at her) because a dish was incoming (another server came and told us she was allowed to go to the washroom and they could hold off on bringing the dish); (iii) the cutlery placement was screwed up multiple times; (iv) while the servers continuously crumbed the other tables, we had to specifically ask the server to crumb ours despite it being obviously in need of cleaning for multiple courses; (v) there was very little explanation of the food or wine (I think if we spoke Italian this would not be as big of an issue, as I think a number of the staff struggled with their English). I felt embarrassed, uncomfortable and even angry at multiple points during this meal, which, needless to say, for the price is unacceptable. I hope we were simply there on an "off" night.

THE WINE: we did the wine pairings with the "Essenza" menu. The wines were okay, but did not accentuate or enhance the food in the way you would expect from a top notch wine program. Also, the servers (I'm not sure if there was actually a sommelier working that evening) barely explained the wine - they basically only told us the grape and the region of the wine. They used the same wine for multiple courses.

THE AMBIANCE: the dining room was beautiful - spartan and minimal. However, the room was very quiet and lacking "life" and the result is that it felt quite stuffy. Unfortunately this seems to be a "plus" for the Michelin guide and as such, many starred restaurants have this feel, but for me it is a negative. We have had Michelin star meals that were fun, comfortable and welcoming and in my opinion, this is an important part of what should be a memorable and special experience.

A NOTE ABOUT THE HOTEL: The hotel "Casadonna Reale" was fantastic. My only note would be that the staff was not overly friendly - again, I think the way they treated us was affected by our age (as we are in our late 20s/early 30s). Aside from that, this hotel competes with (and likely outdoes) any luxury boutique hotel in terms of the thoughtful nature of the rooms and the service. Our room was beautiful and well appointed, especially the bathroom (which included a double steam shower with light therapy and a separate soaking tub). The grounds are stunning and really give you a great taste of the beautiful Abruzzo region. Breakfast was also fantastic. To top it off, we had a flat tire in the morning and the staff went above and beyond to help us get back on the road by facilitating a repair by a local mechanic (including translating for us as the mechanic did not speak English).

Finally - the drive from Rome to Castel di Sangro...

4.8/5 (5/5 food: 4.5/5 Service; 5/5 Atmosphere) We came here for a birthday and wedding anniversary. Niko Romito was on our list for awhile and we were incredibly excited. We stayed here 2 nights. The food was incredible. Each plate had a main ingredient which was accentuated by a combination of ingredients and technical methods of cooking. We alao ordered 2 additional dishes which brought Niko his 3rd star. I also enjoyed the fact that you didnt have to do anything, like pour sauce or crack anything as you might do in other michelin restaurants. There was simplicity in the methodology. The only dish i would have critiche on was the spaghettone, which had a zest of lemon which completely overpowered the sauce. It was almost difficult to eat. The cheese helped salt and bring down the sourness but was not enough, otherwise everything else was sublime. The breakfast was also phenomenal. Using their own ingredients, each pastry, bread and even coffee was filled with flavour and more importantly you always left full.

Whilst the service was great, it wasnt without fault. As we arrived to the hotel, the gate was closed, we rang the doorbel and we were told "you are early" (it was 2pm) almost as if to say come back later...after an awkward minute they let us in to the premise. We managed to check in and the room was actually ready, but was just awkward - guests could want to see the place, drop off bags or whatever. At the restaurant, staff were super friendly and attentive, although a little short on the description of each plate. I didnt ask about each plate, but some description of the methodology or perhaps inspiration (if there was one) would be a nice touch. There was in the end a slight error in the end where the bottle of wine was removed from the table, but I had asked for it back as there was another good full glass left. That aside staff was again super helpful, my wife had hidden away to ask for a special desert for my birthday ( i had not told the restaurant before hand as i didnt think it was neccessary) but they were able to accomodate even at super short notice which was a very nice gesture. The push to give a 5 star was for the breakfast. Staff was super friendly, and rightfully more informal, but made you feel at home. Also in terms of pricing, i think it was fair.

The atmosphere was spectacular, more so than francescana or piazza duomo - incredible views, beautiful decor ( both restaurant and room) everything was immaculate and we were super happy that we were staying 2 nights.

All in all, spectacular night, amazing food amazing company and...

There is no doubt that the skill level is 10/10. The chef is able to elevate very simple ingredients and make it surprising. If I were at a cooking competition, no doubt the chef is the winner. But at the end of the day, I was not at a cooking competition, I wanted to have a satisfying meal.

Carrot on carrot on carrot on carrot on carrot on carrot, no matter how skillfully executed, is still a piece of carrot. We did add the red prawn pasta with pink pepper and trout with bay leaf reduction to the tasting menu, which were wonderful, and they were the highlights of meal. If we hadn’t done that, I think I would have been quite disappointed by the tasting menu.

Perhaps this is a difference in philosophy. But at the end of the day, you have to balance the academic pursuit of how to elevate flavors of simple ingredients with giving your customers a umami explosion of flavor that they will remember for years. I think this tasting menu tilted towards the former.

I guess also I just don’t like vegetables as much as I love a massive piece of Hokkaido fresh sea scallop, with a hint of truffle oil with black truffle, lemon zest, high quality wasabi, on top of high quality sushi rice. Obviously this is not a sushi restaurant but I’m using this as an example to illustrate that I have no doubt that this chef has the ability to create something like what I described and at a much much higher level (May be not scallops but with local ingredients 😆). But he has decided not to, not that he is unable to, and I’m unsure of why. But may be he really just wanted you to eat carrot on carrot on carrot on...