Dinner Ristorante Il Caminetto, Gittana

Morena, the chef owner of Ristorante Il Caminetto is the 8th (and last) generation in an unbroken line of chefs. "When we were second generation cooking, Captain Cook just thinking of going to Australia" was the history he told us on the drive from Varenna to Gitanna. As the restaurant in Gitanna de Perledo is a 10 minutes drive up the mountain, free transfer from Varenna is offered.

On arrival, we were settled in front of an open fireplace whilst more wood was fed into the slow combustion heater at the other corner of the room. We were the only guests in the restaurant that evening, and the restaurant was set as it would be for a full night. A board of 3 scoops - pate, gorgonzola blue, and ham spread, was complementary "for your waiting" smiled Moreno. Accompanied it was char grilled bread, smokey but not toasted dry. As we could not decide on hors d'oeuvre, we had a serve of the Complete Assortment to share. What a generous portion it was, with a large board of cold cut prosciutto, salami, coppa, and another like speck. There were also other small dishes of warm bacon with oregan, and the flavoursome Lombardy lard served on warm buckwheat toast. For mains we had lake fish, grilled with a crunchy crumbed top, and veal with Lombardy sauce. Both dishes cooked without any fuss, but the flavours and textures were sublime. As we were so full, dessert was a shared lemon and mint sorbet. Of course, house made. The complimentary limoncello at the end was a burst of bitter lemon, a completely different lemon experience to the sorbet.

Dinner was such a wonderful experience, we're booked to return tonight.Read more