Ciabot d'Gianduja In Castell'alfero

What can I say, it even surpassed my mom's highly critical judgment 🤣 Family lunch, some of us chose the tasting menu, others preferred the à la carte menu. Overall satisfaction for both parties. Traditional + innovative food. Dishes cooked with love (you can taste it). Precise and punctual service. Adequate portions. Excellent wine list. Only one criticism (absolutely constructive) is: the BREADSTICKS!!!!! In a place like this, in Piedmont, I expect good, artisanal breadsticks. Finding those packaged breadsticks broke my heart. Otherwise, well done to the cook, and I'll be back!

Everything was excellent. The staff were friendly and helpful. Reasonable prices. Good value.

Excellent quality, generous portions, fair price

Now an almost fixed stop for business lunches!

A positive but not unforgettable experience. The food was good, but not what I expected based on the reviews I'd read and the recommendation. The trio of appetizers was pleasant, but the first and second courses lacked that extra something to be memorable. Service was fast and attentive. The place was very well-kept and pleasant.

Definitely overpriced for the level (invention, presentation, quality of ingredients) of the dishes served. Only the desserts are superior.

Traditional cuisine, like it used to be. This restaurant is one of those places that makes you feel right at home. The atmosphere is warm, simple, and retro, with that authentic flavor of old-fashioned trattorias that is increasingly difficult to find these days. The cuisine is authentic, sincere: traditional dishes prepared with quality ingredients and reasonable portions. From the first course to the last, you can taste the respect for local recipes and the passion for a job well done. The appetizers are very good, the first courses excellent, the second courses and the desserts. The service is friendly, genuine, and attentive, just as you'd expect from a family-run restaurant. Prices are a little higher than the local average, but justified by the excellent food. Highly recommended for those looking for a typical restaurant where you can enjoy authentic traditional dishes. You come here to eat well... and you'll want to return.

Unfortunately, the good, traditional Piedmontese cuisine of my previous review, today, November 15th, at lunch, went badly. Peppers with bagna cauda, ​​the dish—unfortunately, the sauce used was unsalted anchovies. The dish was inedible. I reported this to the wait staff from that moment on. They were extremely rude; if they could have, they would have sent us away. When it came to the bill, the chef, clearly upset, made no mention of the returned dish. The quality has deteriorated and the prices have gone up. We're not at a Michelin-starred restaurant. We won't be returning.

I've been here several times in the past few years to an excellent restaurant serving typical Piedmontese dishes. The Douja d'Or is a national wine competition held every September in the city of Asti. The Douja (in modern Piedmontese spelling doja, pronounced "dùja") is an ancient, pot-bellied Piedmontese jug. The name of the 18th-century mask, Gianduja, is also linked to it. Tradition has it that it derives from a witty and crafty farmer from Callianetto, a village in the province of Asti, nicknamed Giovanni dla doja because in taverns he always asked for na doja, that is, a jug of wine. His name was soon shortened to Gianduja and became the popular Piedmontese mask. The event, founded in 1967, is organized by the Special Agency for the Promotion and Regulation of the Market of the Asti Chamber of Commerce, with the aim of promoting awareness and appreciation of the best Italian wine production, educating consumers in wine selection. Every year, a national competition is held for D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. wines. The ONAV commissions of experts and technicians, after a careful selection, award the "Douja d'Or" prize to wines that achieve a score of 85/100. These labels will be able to boast the "Douja d'Or" seal, while only those that score above 90/100 will receive the Douja Oscar. It is a 10-day event during the "Asti September" period, held between the festival of festivals (second weekend of September) and the Palio (third Sunday of September). During the opening days, the award-winning wines can be purchased and tasted. The event is not only a showcase of prestigious wines, but also an important gathering of exhibitions, events, meetings, concerts, and refined menus of Piedmontese signature cuisine (the signature dishes). From 2000 to 2010, the Douja d'Or competitions were held in the 19th-century Palazzo del Collegio, in the historic center of Asti. Since 2011, the event has been held at the Palazzo dell'Enofila. For the second consecutive year, the 2012 edition (which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the National Competition of Selected Wines) was held from Friday 7th to Sunday 16th September at the Palazzo dell'Enofila. A significant new addition to the festival was the event "Suoni diVini - Wine between Words and Songs," conceived and organized by music journalist and Councilor for Culture Massimo Cotto. Each evening, well-known singers spoke about their relationship between music and cuisine. Since 2014, this space and platform has further strengthened, leveraging the valuable collaboration and partnership with Collisioni Festival (the music festival held in July in nearby Barolo), always featuring meetings, performances, and discussions with leading figures in Italian music and culture. Given its significance for promoting the local economy and showcasing the region and one of its excellent products, the event has enjoyed the High Patronage of the President of the Republic since 2001.

Excellent welcome, table service, from the "bad" lady who treated us very well. I only had the mixed fried fish, which was very good and plentiful. The liver was a little dry, but the apple was delicious. Unfortunately, there was the pavesino, but the amaretto was missing. I'll be back.