L’Osteria del Vignaiolo
Telephone: 017350335

A popular place with the locals of the Langhe. Many people travel from the surrounding towns and villages to eat here and with good reason.

Luciano Marengo, in charge of the kitchens, serves up all the great favorites of the Piedmont, with a few delicate touches of his own.

It is everything I enjoy in a good restaurant – great food, good atmosphere and not at all pretentious. Good prices as well, a four course menu will cost around 30 Euros a head.

L’Osteria del Vignaiolo is located in the little village of Santa Maria, very near to La Morra, and looking out across the magnificent valleys of the Piedmont to the alpine peaks in the distance. Try to sit outside on the terrace in summer and enjoy to the utmost the wonderful setting.

Menus change here often and depend entirely on the seasons. I recommend you start with a mix of anitipasti and then try the agnolotti dal plin with butter and sage. Follow up with the roast done in Piedmont style. Try the semifreddo al torrone for dessert, it is a Piedmont specialty and few places make it better.

One thing I particularly love about this restaurant is that Luciano doesn't try to mess too much with perfection. What I mean is that the cuisine of Piedmont is the world's best so why try to fix that? Luciano thankfully doesn't - he only adds a little twist here and there - not enough to mess things up.

Wines are all local and excellent. Some of the wines on the menu aren’t available commercially outside of Italy, but they are always of superb quality. Even the house wines, from a local unnamed vineyard nearby, are superb.

L’Osteria del Vignaiolo is without a doubt on my best Piedmont restaurants. If you are in the Langhe area it should not be missed.

For my selection of great places nearby to stay - click here.

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