Le Volte In Verbania

13/05/2025: La Bottega dei Messapi – Where Puglia meets Lake Maggiore (and changes your evening) It's not just a restaurant: it's a live gastronomic show. You enter and are welcomed by an extraordinary environment, with tables carved from ancient Puglian olive trees, composable like a puzzle: an ode to nature and design. The kitchen is open, and the chefs move like artists on stage, preparing each dish before your eyes. Pure spectacle. The cuisine? Based on the freshest fish and shellfish, combined with seasonal vegetables, with spectacular plating that seems to have come out of an art gallery. But here the beauty is only the prelude: each bite is an explosion of flavor. The owner, a charismatic and magnetic figure, is a true influencer of taste: he describes each dish with passion, explaining origins, territories, and techniques. But the real gem is the extra virgin olive oil, carefully selected from its olive groves in Ceglie Messapica: an oil for every dish, paired with mastery. And what about the wine? The selection is for connoisseurs. We started the journey with an Italian excellence: Franciacorta Brut Millesimato "Castello Bonomi", disgorged 2019 - a fine blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, elegant bubbles, great freshness, ideal with raw fish and tuna in a crust. Then, heading towards Burgundy: Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé Brut “Rubis” 2020 - Domaine Houblin-Vernin, French classic method, very fine and persistent perlage, a refined closure for a gastronomic journey that remains in the heart. Every euro spent is worth the experience. It is a journey through flavors, aromas and emotions. A sensory and environmental experience - and yes, even a little spiritual.

02/05/2025: It was not just an excellent quality fish dinner but an extraordinary experience where the passion of the owner can be felt.