Buonvento — Restaurant in Sulmona

So on my travels in Italy, no restaurant compared to the thought and artful approach to cuisine at this establishment. Twice I had to visit to feel I wasn't cheating myself on my two weeks in Abruzzo. The menu Is crafted daily with locally sourced ingredients and each dish pays homage to the Abruzzese style.

On the first evening I visited, I ordered the Papperdalle de L'Aquila. It was a fresh prepared pasta with a mixed meat sausage. My wife enjoyed the Melanzane alla parmigiana which has always been her favorite, and she was in heaven. For secondi we ordered the polpette in salsa rossa. I will have to say these meatballs were the softest I've ever eaten in my life. I could only observe they had just the right bread-to-pork ratio as they literally melted in your mouth.

The second time we visited I had my heart set on Arrostacini, we ordered pasta dishes, which both were once again PHENOMENAL... My wife got the spaghetti Montepulciano D'Abruzzo which was a wheat based pasta with wine sauce aptly based with it's namesake wine and chopped lamb.

I loved the arrostacini, it was simple salt and seasoned lamb skewers but prepared true to the regional specialty.

I could go on all day about how on two separate nights on one week on the summer of 2019 the restaurant created magical food experiences and ruined us for other restaurants in our native Seattle. I would easily fly a 13 hour international flight and drive 90 minutes just to enjoy another meal at this...

Update: I returned this past Friday night in early September 2021 and I have to say the menu just wasn’t the same. We had the same waiter Edmund and he was again, excellent!

The hit of my last visit - pasta w cream sauce - was not available and the other pasta dishes paired in comparison. We did try the local fried cheese balls in Ragu and they were very tasty.

It’s still a nice place, but I was a bit disappointed without that creamy past dish that brought me back. ——————— Original review June 2021

If you’re in Sulmona - you want to eat here!!

A very pleasant atmosphere on a side street with a view of a 14th century church and filled with locals - locals so friendly, they insisted that we sample their wine!

The waiter spoke fluent English and made fantastic recommendations for sampling a few dishes and sharing others, so as to not just run up our bill, but allow us to try the local specialties.

The pasta with cream and sausage was the highlight dish!

A wonderful meal and true taste of...

Our daughter, who lives in the area, told us more than once that the food at the Buonvento Restaurant was excellent. During our recent visit to Italy, she brought us to decide for ourselves.

My daughter was right. The food at Buonvento is beyond excellent. The various antipastos were supremely delicious. The pasta was a "wow!!" experience. The third course was rich with flavor. The whole meal was enriched with a local, organic wine that was unforgettable. Furthermore, the team manning the restaurant was warm and welcoming.

In my view, the visit to Buonvento was a Michelin-level experience.

If you are in the area, make sure you visit Buonvento. It will be a highlight of your visit to Sulmona...