04/11/2025: Very nice place, very well looked after and on November 1st they make delicious beans with pork rinds 😍
03/11/2025: A remarkable experience in a beautiful location. Despite its large size and large seating capacity, the restaurant, even though it's called a trattoria, stands out for its elegance, impeccable service, and high-quality restaurant prices. We appreciated the attention to detail and the appropriate timing for a holiday lunch.
Upon entering, you're struck by the immense open kitchen, bustling with chefs and hard-working staff. Continuing, you enter one of two beautiful dining rooms, with tables spaced just the right distance apart for comfort. The menu, while not extensive, focuses on traditional meat and freshwater fish dishes. Since it was our first visit, it was difficult to choose, as all the dishes were tempting and we wanted to try everything. We opted for meat dishes, promising to return to try the fish menu. Although we imagined the cured meats would be exceptional, we chose the guinea fowl salad with mustard, red apple, currants, and hazelnuts. A perfect choice: the sweetness of the meat paired perfectly with the acidity of the apple and currant, while the hazelnuts added the missing crunch. The helpfulness and kindness of the staff allowed us to enjoy a second course of first courses: the classic pisarei e fasò, here enhanced with sausage, and an excellent maccheroncino al torchio with porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, and pumpkin cream. While we played it safe with the pisarei, with the maccheroncini we were impressed by the deliciousness of the pasta al torchio, its perfect texture and chew, as well as the intense flavors of these autumn fruits. An elegant and delicious dish at the same time. The second course did not disappoint either: baked goose leg with potatoes. We were told that the geese come from a farm in Mortara, where the animals are fed only grain in the wild. I don't remember ever tasting such tender, juicy, and flavorful poultry. Like all main courses, this dish is expensive, but the quality of the ingredients fully justified it. The desserts also deserve a mention: we enjoyed a very good three-flavor tiramisu. Lunch was accompanied by a Gutturnio superiore from the La Tosa winery; the wine list is rich with excellent wines, including from outside the region.
In conclusion, a lunch at the Cattivelli family is worth the trip, perhaps even in warmer weather to enjoy the beautiful summer terrace. Everything is taken care of down to the smallest detail, and the service is attentive and friendly. The price is substantial, but the quality and service fully justify it.