Lokanda Devetak 1870 — Restaurant in Savogna d'Isonzo / Sovodnje ob Soči

In the Lokanda Devetak Restaurant in San Michele del Carso, Friuli, our international group of IWINETC 2013 wine bloggers settled in with anticipation. The meal was to showcase the "Strada del Vino e dei Sapori del Goriziano." We were fresh off an extensive tasting of Villa Russiz wines at the large and elegant winery that dedicates profits to children's charities. I was remembering most fondly their Defi de la Tour - an elegant Cabernet Sauvignon.||||Having spent a good hour taking a passeggiata in Cormons before that, we were ready by 20.00 to relax, and our appetites were piqued.||||A tray of locally produced treats - including cows' milk cheese and meat from the village- were passed and enjoyed with the Vitovska Carso 2010, Castello di Rubbia - Grad Rubije.||||Next we received a beautiful pair of leak and sausage tartlets, which paired beautifully with Friulano 2011 Gradis ciutta from San Floriani del Collio. The warmth from the fresh-baked tarts warmed our bodies which had shivered in the vineyards and cellars of Lis Neris in the morning.||||We moved on to a steaming risotto enlivened with Karst cheese produced by Dario Zidaric. The classic northern Italian dish was served alongside an intriguing 2008 Damjan Poveršič Malvasia, which had a lovely golden hue bordering on amber from two weeks maceration on the skins.||||Our main course was a rich and flavorful guinea fowl in herb bacon. The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Il Carpino from San Floriano del Collio matched the rich dish beautifully.||||We breathed a moment, resting and contemplating the beautiful meal. And then, a cucumber gelato predessert gave us strength to carry on. Next, the karst honey semifreddo with apricot purée in a basket of puff pastry made us smile. And when we felt like we couldn't take another bite -- cookies coffee and grappa were somehow calling out to us. The impressive staff of Devetak Sara had cared for us with a...

In the Lokanda Devetak Restaurant in San Michele del Carso, Friuli, our international group of IWINETC 2013 wine bloggers settled in with anticipation. The meal was to showcase the "Strada del Vino e dei Sapori del Goriziano." We were fresh off an extensive tasting of Villa Russiz wines at the large and elegant winery that dedicates profits to children's charities. I was remembering most fondly their Defi de la Tour - an elegant Cabernet Sauvignon.||||Having spent a good hour taking a passeggiata in Cormons before that, we were ready by 20.00 to relax, and our appetites were piqued.||||A tray of locally produced treats - including cows' milk cheese and meat from the village- were passed and enjoyed with the Vitovska Carso 2010, Castello di Rubbia - Grad Rubije.||||Next we received a beautiful pair of leak and sausage tartlets, which paired beautifully with Friulano 2011 Gradis ciutta from San Floriani del Collio. The warmth from the fresh-baked tarts warmed our bodies which had shivered in the vineyards and cellars of Lis Neris in the morning.||||We moved on to a steaming risotto enlivened with Karst cheese produced by Dario Zidaric. The classic northern Italian dish was served alongside an intriguing 2008 Damjan Poveršič Malvasia, which had a lovely golden hue bordering on amber from two weeks maceration on the skins.||||Our main course was a rich and flavorful guinea fowl in herb bacon. The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Il Carpino from San Floriano del Collio matched the rich dish beautifully.||||We breathed a moment, resting and contemplating the beautiful meal. And then, a cucumber gelato predessert gave us strength to carry on. Next, the karst honey semifreddo with apricot purée in a basket of puff pastry made us smile. And when we felt like we couldn't take another bite -- cookies coffee and grappa were somehow calling out to us. The impressive staff of Devetak Sara had cared for us with a...

We decided to go there based on previous reviews.||Since our mobile was not usable overseas, we booked by filling their booking form on their webpage and promptly received confirmation.||||Although Sara, one of their daughters, gave us detailed directions from our hotel, we somehow missed a sign somewhere on our way and it took us nearly two hours to get there and as a result, we were quite tired and my husband frustrated when we finally got to the table.||However, upon the amuse-gueule's arrival, my husband's mood instantly improved and got better and better afterward.||We had one cold appetiser, one hot appetiser and one main dish to share between three of us.||Each plate was well-prepared and delicious and its quantity was more than enough for two average-eating Japanese adults.||On top of that, Daniella's pairing of wine for each plate was so spot-on that my husband even said that he'd finally understood what wine and food pairings meant.||My only regret is that we had absolutely no space for pudding after the main dish.||||We apologised for our tardiness while settling the bill and upon hearing the reason of our late arrival, they immediately offered to lead our car back to the hotel.||Their another daughter, Tjaša kindly led the way, which was still not that short even without losing our way.||||On the whole, we had a very good dinner and a warm experience and would love to...