Gentil Locanda - CERVASCA

There are places that one would like to keep as a secret, because you are afraid that if you let others know about them, they might change and loose the quality which makes them so special for you. The Gentil Locanda and especially the restaurant is such a please. But I decided that it’s unfair to keep my secret, other people should also have their chance! We spend ten days at the Gentil Locanda and each of these days culminated in a delicious meal in the restaurant. I’ts probably enough to name just the dishes to convey an impression. Antipasti included: carpaccio and tatar from locally grown calf, roasted vegetables, local lard, frittata, caprese, salad with rabbit meat, roasted sweet paper with anchovy, fresh toma cheese with the famous salsa verde and my absolute favorite: freshly picked porcini, fried in a pan with a thin crust of breadcrumps. All this would haven been enough to make us happy! But it was just the beginning. Let’s continue with the first dish, the primo: panzerotti con castelmagno (a cheese many gourmets long for) which is produced in neighbor valley, pasta tricolore, tagliatelle con ragout, pasta with sauce from fresh tomatoes, risotto, brodo con tortellini, minestrone, gnocchi (having eaten them you will never want to buy them in the supermarket again). I am sure I have forgotten some! But to make you even more hungry, I should continue with the secondo: beefsteak with green beans, vitello con piseli, roastbeef, very well cooked roast, chicken, rabbit. All the meat: best quality! I’ll keep my revelations about the dessert for later and say something about the atmosphere of the restaurant. Good food is the foundation, but if you spend ten days in a row at the same place, it is important to be at a nice and comfortable place. What makes the Locanda so special for me? It is the experience of being welcomed as a person. The room is plain and simple wooden chairs and tables under a green roof, good mixture between being inside, but still feeling outside. You walk into this room and feel immediately the good spirited nature of it, everybody is respected in his or her own way, even Becks, the dog, who as a friend of mine would say ‚has is own life‘. Or to put it in Goethe’s words: „Hier bin ich Mensch, hier darf ich’s sein“ And the dessert? I think you should find out about it yourself. It is easy. From Dronero you just take the main road and you can’t miss it. And remember: Just one meal is not enough! Stay overnight and detect the whole range of delicious desserts (don’t miss the flan de lavanda). There are hiking possibilities abound and spending the day outside will make you enjoy the meal even more.