28/05/2025: Some evenings have the taste of truth.
Yesterday, in Nardò, I found it again.
Antica Macelleria Fai is not just a restaurant. It is a place where time slows down and with it the heart. A place that does not shout its excellence, but whispers it, as authentic things do. Here the flavors are not reinvented, they are remembered. And they remind us who we are.
I come from Bergamo and every time I return to the family home, this place is a must. A return. A hug.
The beginning is light, almost deceptive: mozzarella fresh like summer mornings, a savory breakfast — signed Franci — with stuffed croissants and a cap of parmesan fondue that seems more like a poetic than culinary invention, the inevitable parmigiana, stuffed paccheri suggested by the owner that were out of this world.
We got lost in the menu, as one does on the best trips. And we leave only to give in, without regret, to three desserts. There should have been two, but gluttony knows no numbers when the soul is happy.
Francesca — the hostess — is a feline presence. She observes you, scrutinizes you, weighs you. Then she surprises you. She remembers us, and the wine we had loved: Primitivo Cubardi Schola Sarmenti, a rough caress, warm like the red earth under the sun.
Suddenly a cuddle: A slice of fig and almond tart — dry and sweet flavor at the same time, like childhood. But the real masterstroke comes at the end: a bitter. But not a digestive. A ritual. A memory poured into the glass. A liquid emotion that took the voice and left it elsewhere, for a moment.
I will say no more.
The truest experiences are not told in full. They are lived.
It's a mortal sin not to pass by here, if you're in the area.
It's unforgivable not to return, if you've already been there.
10/05/2025: My wife and I had dinner in this fantastic butcher's shop if it can be defined as such as we found research into the creativity of the dishes and the quality of the raw materials which favorably and undoubtedly amazed us. The owner is fantastic as she created wonderful unique dishes…….we will absolutely return
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