Ristorante Pantagruel In Perugia

Fantastic location like everything else

The restaurant is located inside the historic residence that the Donini Counts built in 1579 as their summer residence in Umbria, not far from the cities of Perugia and Assisi. The main floor, renovated in the mid-18th century, still retains its classic series of living rooms embellished with doors and canvases painted by Nicola Giuli in 1780. Here, you can admire the concert hall, whose walls are entirely lined with canvases from the school of Francesco Appiani. Appiani also owns a magnificent oil-on-canvas altarpiece in the 18th-century chapel, depicting Saint Philip Neri and the Madonna. On the ground floor, there are five rooms with ceilings frescoed in the first and second half of the 19th century. In the two-hectare park, you can admire a mausoleum dedicated to Countess Laura Donini dating back to 1850 and a dovecote entirely painted in imitation wood from the same period. Along an avenue, five Etruscan cinerary urns from the 3rd century BC are preserved, while six 18th-century terracotta vases stand in front of the Villa's main entrance. The restaurant is housed in the Villa's caretaker's house, in a prime spot surrounded by nature. It offers cuisine that showcases local products combined with Italian excellence to create an unforgettable dining experience. Creativity, seasonality, quality, research, and tradition are the ingredients of every recipe from Chef Tommaso. Samir, the maître d', Giuliano, Luca, Elena, John, and the entire staff welcome guests with a smile, making them feel at ease. The menu is varied, ranging from appetizers (such as beef tongue carpaccio with pickled vegetables, curly lettuce and beetroot sauce, artisanal cured meats from “Granieri di Casalalta” according to the ancient Umbrian tradition: Ash, time and wisdom, flaky focaccia with lard and salt flakes, etc.), to first courses (such as artisanal umbricelli made with water and flour with salted butter, smoked eel and bay leaf powder), to second courses (such as lightly smoked lamb with rose petals, cream of carrots and roasted peppers), to side dishes and desserts (such as the ‘Mon Cheri’, a Black Forest wine flavoured with eau de vie). The wine list is very extensive, ranging from Sauvignon to Marina Cvetic Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Riserva Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC or Pagliaro Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG. The restaurant is also open to non-hotel guests who wish to enjoy a romantic dinner in a classy setting. During the summer, the restaurant offers a garden lunch in the garden adjacent to the Il Lecci dining room, where breakfast and delicious appetizers are served. Throughout the year, lunch is served inside the restaurant, offering an à la carte menu. The menu changes periodically based on the season and the ingredients, which are all top-quality and fresh. The restaurant is located at Via Deruta 43 in San Martino in Campo; a place I highly recommend and sure to win everyone's heart. It has been recently renovated: there is an internal room for groups, the upper floor, a large, recently built interior space, and an outdoor space from which you can admire the park with its three fountains.

Guests dining in the wonderful garden of Villa Donini, a perfect combination of excellent cuisine and professionalism, local raw materials combined with carefully crafted pairings... an experience definitely worth repeating.