I had some great culinary experiences in Frascati although I was only there for three nights. Below I review the following eateries, all excellent:
Osteria dell’Olmo: a down-to-earth ‘fraschetta’
Contatto: an experimental fine-dining restaurant
Cacciani: ‘the best restaurant in town’
You’ll find all of these places, and more I didn’t have time to try on my Google map.
Osteria Dell’Olmo, 3 Vicolo dell’Olmo, no website
This place was made famous by Stanley Tucci who visited Frascati for the Lazio edition of his Searching for Italy TV series in which he spends time with the owner Remegio (next to me in the centre). I went with two old friends, Gabriele (on the left) and Pietro (on the right) and the four of us had a very lovely evening chatting together and sharing a Fagotto (meaning ‘a bundle’, in this case of food, like a picnic basket).
Osteria Dell’Olmo has been in Remegio’s family for generations. Originally it was a Fraschetta, a traditional Lazio tavern, which produced its own wine. People would bring their own food to eat with the wine and share everything together. This sharing aspect is key to Remegio’s reworking of the concept although now he provides the food as well as the wine.
Remegio takes great pride in locating the best local ingredients from the best local producers he can find so what arrives on the plate may vary according to availability (Tucci had friggitelle peppers but they were out of season for us).
In this video Gabriele is showing the contents of our basket which include; buffalo ricotta, homemade bread, preserved tomatoes, roasted potatoes, prosciutto, salami, bufalino hard cheese (a buffalo-sheep cheese blend), mozzarella di bufala, and most importantly porchetta.
We shared two excellent local wines, a Frascati Superiore and a Cesanese red, both from De Sanctis who I assume must be one of the best local producers given that Cacciani below carry their wines as well.
Dessert was a Ciambella, a traditional and very typical hard biscuit which should be dunked in wine (sweet Vin Santo in our case, but red wine is fine too) to soften it up.
All in all a very pleasant evening. I don’t know what it cost because the guys wouldn’t let me pay but I recall the Fagotto was a mere €17 per person, so very good value as well! There are a couple of other dishes avaialable on the menu but it was more than enough for us.
The next place is more up market but was also a very interesting experience…
Contatto, 11 Via Gioberti, www.contattoristorante.it
Conttato is a fine dining restaurant known for its innovative approach to cooking.
In particular the’re known for use of traditional preservation techniques for their ingredients which they keep in a tufa cave cellar.
Tufa is a volcanic rock, found in many parts of Italy, which is relatively easy to carve, allowing for the extensive development of tunnels and cellars. In Frascati these passages were historically used for storage, transportation, and even as shelters (such as the WW2 bombing raid mentioned in my Frascati – walking around post).
After ordering (I went for the five-course tasting menu with wine matching, but there is a seven-course option or you can go à la carte), I was taken for a tour of the cellar by Paolo, one of the waiters. He told me that one of the passages went all the way to the neigbouring town of Grottaferrata, a distance of over 3 kilometers. AI tells me it probably dates back to the Middle Ages, and was specifically constructed during the time of the Basilian Monastery of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, which was founded in 1004, making the tunnel over 1,000 years old!
As well as preserves, Contatto make their own vinegars…
…and even grow their own Candoncelli (giant oyster) mushrooms. Paolo told me they never need watering because of the natural humidity in the cellar.
The final stop in the cellar was a tasting station where I tried three hors d’oeuvres; something made of potato, another of panzanella (bread salad, here made to look like a tomato) and a third of fermented radish.
Back upstairs I was given a mini ricotta cheese and a small loaf of freshly baked bread to dip in some excellent olive oil and their own cherry and blackberry vinegar.
With it, a glass of fizz from local producer Cotarella.
The first course was Roast Lettuce with Herring Foam and Quinoa which worked well as a combo.
After this a plate of Risotto made with Carnaroli rice, parmesan water (where the cheese had been steeped for 24 hours), vegetable extract and rosemary (forgot to take a pic sorry) which I had with a Verdicchio from Marche. To be honest, I found the risotto to be a bit too al dente and it hung heavy on my stomach till the next day.
Next my favourite dish, some tiny gnocchi made from flour rather than potato, served with sauces of herbs and pecorino. I was told they are typical of the area in South Lazio where the chef comes from, where they are called ‘little stones’, but nothing came up when I searched.
Then came the meat course; un usual cut of beef from the diaphragm, given the tagliata treatment, which was a bit chewy but had heaps of flavour (apols, no pic). It came with roast carrots and homemade ketchup (no pic again sorry) and with it a glass of a chilled Merlot from Cotarella, a winery just over the border in Umbria.
After this, a pre-dessert of lemon ice cream lollipop, nicely presented, studded with mini-meringues and sprinkled with caper powder.
The dessert proper was a mousse of 72% dark chocolate served with a sprinkling of dark chocolate crumble, a white chocolate garnache and Malvasia gel (no pic) which pressed the right buttons.
Finally a glass of murky homemade Alloro (bay leaf), a very typical and traditonal liqueur (as its easy to make cheaply).
All the food and wine was perfectly fine but in truth, nothing blew me away. However the dishes were very original and generally well cooked and I’m very glad I went as it was a unique experience.
This next up-market restaurant would be a safer bet for classics cooked well, and they have a great view.
Cacciani, 13 Via Armando Diaz, www.cacciani.it
Cacciani have been in business as a restaurant for over one hundred years and are generally considered to be the best in town. This opinion came from people like Toni (see my Minardi wine tour post) who would know, having once been a local restaurateur himself.
As well as food, Cacciani is also famous for its balcony.
You can see for miles across the Lazio countryside, all the way to Rome.
The menu is composed of local classics and even states how long they’ve been on the menu. Apparently the Fettucine con Porcini, Champignon e Galletti (Chanterelles) has been a feature from 1922, for good reason.
For the second course, Albbacchio alla Scottadito con Cicorette, lamb chops served on a hot stone with some sauteed chicory on the side.
This came with the nicest rosemary roast potatoes I’ve ever eaten! I’d love to know their secret.
It’s a rare item on the menu I don’t recognise, so I was intrigued to see something called “grattaculi” in the list of contorni (side dishes). The name translates as ‘butt scratcher’ and is apparently a kind of wild chicory which I assume has a prickly stem. Sadly they were sold out.
With all this, an excellent house red produced by the restaurant in conjunction with De Sanctis, whose wine is also championed by Remegio above.
I received excellent service from the young waiter who plied me a with a complimentary glass of his grandfathers Nocino (walnut amaro) at the end.
So you can’t go wrong with the food at Cacciani, and from Frascati in general. The restaurants above, and more I didn’t get to try, can be found on my Google map.
Off to Ariccia, home of porchetta, next!