La Pineta - Wild Nest Umbria — Restaurant in Passignano sul Trasimeno

Up in the hills where the air is clean and silence is golden nestles this little gem of a place you'll love. I often swim in the outdoor pool, fed from the underwater spring, during the two months it's open, July and August. The water is scintillating, crystal clear, and superbly maintained and clean. At the weekends it's packed with people coming up from the surrounding area - it's popular for a very good reason - to sit on the immaculate lawn or on the coveted loungers under parasols. Booking is imperative if you want to come and join the throng. However, if your timetable is more fluid, wait. Midweek and it's usually like swimming in an almost private pool, even more so in August when everyone has headed off al mare, to the sea. You'll have the loungers with brollies, or the lawn, without the hullaballoo - Italian always sounds like an opera. The atmosphere is undoubtedly relaxed and casual, with highly professional staff keeping it clean and serving drinks and ices. If you arrive at 3pm you can buy a half day entrance - the sun sets around 6 or 7pm when it closes. Like every pool in Italy wearing a swimming hat is compulsory, it doesn't matter how skimpy your bathing attire is, but no swimming hat, no go in the water, even if it's just to bob around the shallow end. You can always buy one when you get your coffee and ice cream. Is this a pool attached to a restaurant or a restaurant attached to a pool? Like the pool, the restaurant is relaxed and an exceptional place for its authentic, outstanding food. They also do takeaways. It's an ideal spot for a casual light lunch at picnic benches under the pine trees. Most of the ingredients are extremely local. The cooking is done by the older generation while their sons, Fabbio and Claudio, and the younger generation do the rest. The coffee is so good it's worth the detour for, and many tourers on two wheels recuperate here after the long climb up the interminable twisty roads. There's no view - you're in trees - but you will have gorged on it on the way here, and on the way back too. The respite from the giddiness of the vista of all those hills rolling in every shade of mauve is as welcome and refreshing as the air. This is a place where local people come to eat or grab a torto al testo (local sandwich - they'll explain everything about it). When I asked our neighbour's daughter who works here what her lunch was like today she confirmed it was "ottimo" the best, “because Luigina is the best cook around.” Once the pool closes, the restaurant hours are a bit more sporadic, but often the caffe at the front is open on sunny weekends at least until the winter...

A spotless and well managed family run, eatery / Swimming Pool Resort set in the middle of what remains of an indigenous Pine tree 'forest' outside Castel Rigone. The food is straight forward "rustic" Umbrian and served to a high standard. Prices are amazing for 2021. The dining areas, indoors and outside under the pines, can become very busy in/ over High Summer weekends so booking ahead is recommended, particularly for Steak, Mixed Grills, Lamb.

Closes from 1 November '21 through to end...

Arriviamo in questo posto meraviglioso in mezzo alla natura e decidiamo di fermarci a mangiare.Ci guardano subito perplesse delle signore/ragazze come se avessimo sbagliato posto.Salutiamo e chiediamo se possiamo mangiare qualcosa (nel mentre stavamo guardando il menù)avevamo anche deciso di prendere una grigliata e una torta però una di loro ci dice di andare a sederci e di aspettare perché qualcuno sarebbe passato a prenderci l’ordine. Dopo 20 min non è arrivato nessuno però avevamo visto che la gente arrivata a ordinava direttamente in cassa quindi siamo andati anche noi,ordiniamo però ci dicono che per chi non avesse prenotato il tavolo si poteva ordinare solo la torta al testo.Scusa cioè siamo arrivati che non c’era nessuno,ci avete mandato in due secondi a sedere senza dirci ne come funzionasse ne che c’era bisogno di ordinare in cassa,ne che potevamo scegliere solo la torta al testo.Perché comportarsi in questo modo,è difficile parlare con le persone? Comunque abbiamo ordinato le nostre torte,e ve le consiglio.Molto buone per il resto l’atteggiamento del personale da dimenticare. Quindi se volete mangiare antipasti,primi,secondi chiamate e prenotate il tavolo se invece volete solo mangiarvi una torta al testo andate fate la fila e poi con il numero vi...