I migliori ristoranti di cucina italiana in L'aquila

27/03/2025: Simply fantastic, a location located on a hill where it is possible to admire an uncontaminated landscape. As soon as you enter you immediately have the perception of an experience, a culinary journey that will remain imprinted in your mind. Before arriving in the restaurant area the diner is surrounded by small vineyards I think of their property just to warm up the atmosphere. As soon as you enter, the staff of the restaurant and hotel (a structure which has 10 rooms on the upper floors) are there to guide you towards the start of the route. The restaurant has very few seats, I counted 6/7 because on the other hand it has to be like this, a 3 Michelin star restaurant must be able to pamper a few customers a day. You can opt for either a tasting course at €210 per person, the course consists of 13 courses, but the diner can add others from the a la carte menu. Let's get to the food, I won't go into listing all the dishes because otherwise I would stay all night, I want to underline the ability and skill of this brigade led by niko romito to transform poor, peasant products into delicacies full of taste, personality and identity. One of them is the turnip with strawberry grape extract and rocket, how on earth is it possible to create a masterpiece like this with 3 ingredients, if we want, not too close together and instead everything was balanced to perfection. Great dish. Also worth highlighting is the trout with bay leaf and almond reduction. Just as for the red prawns used in combination with the pasta, here they use an instrument to collect the extract of both the prawn heads and the bay leaf, the result obtained is astonishing, for example the bay leaf extract if tasted individually would be too strong invasive and instead if accompanied in the case of the trout with the almond everything is more toned down. Obviously I recommend the tasting route perhaps accompanied by a good glass of wine, in case you want to opt for the a la carte menu I recommend taking the trout with almonds, almond extract and bay leaves, turnip, strawberry grapes and rocket, the two first courses between the fettucine and the tubes with cabbage and its broth. Obviously everything is excellent, as I have underlined several times, even though we are talking about a 3 Michelin star, the dishes are easy to read, the flavors are all recognizable and above all the thing that I appreciated so much was that almost all the vegetarian courses x the vast majority had that aftertaste of embers, smoked, in my humble opinion a significant added value. What can I say, 3 well-deserved stars, and applause for the restaurant team made up of 20 guys who, with sacrifice and dedication, have made this location unique and non-trivial.

18/03/2025: Product purity at its finest Niko Romito's cuisine is a masterful exercise in verticality and purity. What at first glance may seem like a simple menu is actually quite the opposite: a profound exploration of each ingredient, taken to its maximum expression. His ability to create single-product dishes with such depth and subtlety is unique in today's gastronomy. Each dish is striking in its apparent simplicity, but behind it lies extreme study and research, impressive technical and conceptual work. It's an approach that departs from what we find in other restaurants, offering a different, more essential, and thoughtful perspective. Curiously, the only two animal protein dishes (one meat and one fish) were the ones that fit least with the menu's guiding principle, where vegetables and other ingredients shone brightly. (Maximum utilization of products) While we missed some welcome appetizers, as the menu developed, we realized that they are not part of the concept. Here, everything is designed so that each dish speaks for itself, without the need for superfluous additions. The service was impeccable, with an attentive and professional team. Cristina, in particular, stood out for her warmth and knowledge, making the experience even more special. The broccoli leaf and cauliflower will be hard to forget. Special mention goes to two iconic dishes: the Assoluto and the Lenticchie. If they're not included in the tasting menu, it's essential to order them separately, as they perfectly represent the essence of Romito's cuisine. The only discordant note was the wine pairing, which didn't live up to the gastronomic offering. However, the paired cocktails were a wise choice, complementing the dishes with precision and harmony. In short, Reale is an experience that redefines haute cuisine through the purity of the product and the depth of flavor. A must for those seeking something truly different.