While staying at Casa Angelina, it only made sense to dine at their fine dining restaurant, Un Piano Nel Cielo. We booked the terrace on the top floor for a private dinner as the main meal of our ongoing birthday celebrations. Friends, if you ever have the opportunity to dine overlooking the beautiful cliffs of the Amalfi coast, I strongly encourage you to do so. While there were those at our table who were not ready for another tasting menu, I was more than happy to and chose the Gavitella option (also on offer, the Traditional and Vegetarian tasting menus). Of course, with a nod to less modern times, the women at the table were all presented with menus not including the price (perhaps our little lady brains could not handle the concept of money, I’m not sure). I find this especially antiquated given that the person who organized our entire trip was a woman and a world class doctor. Clearly, she can handle pricing (be it in Euros or dollars or whatever currency) on a menu.
Ahem.
Fortunately, with the exception of this small oversight, the rest of the meal was fantastic. As there were no wine pairings – ? – we spoke with the sommelier for recommendations, and he suggested both an excellent white and even better red, finishing with a delightful port that had us all a bit, er, ‘tired’ the following morning. With beverages sorted, the table received a rather weird amuse bouche. In this instance, a small cheeseburger (#canteven). I’m not sure why Italy seems to have a significant disconnect with its first plates and the rest of the menu, but of the three fine dining destinations we tested, each offered something strange that had nothing really to do with the meal.
With sunset photos captured (mainly with me as the photographer given Hubs was hard at work back in Dubai), we settled in to enjoy our food. Out of all the courses, there was an agreement that the Stuffed Pepper with Bucatini pasta, baked olives, capers and light redfish ragout was the standout and I’m here to admit that every adage you’ve heard about pasta being better in Italy is 100% accurate. While my favorite pasta of the trip involved saffron and gruyere cheese at another venue, this dish was very far up the list. I also thought the fillet of beef in ‘Pizzaola’ sauce with cherry tomatoes buffalo ricotta cheese and potato mille-feuille was an expert lesson on a perfectly portioned beef course set within a tasting menu. Overall, other than wanting a tad more seasoning and texture throughout (a personal preference), this was far and away my favorite meal in Italy.
Would I go back? Yes. The location is memorable, and the company was delightful. Add in some creative culinary options, and it’s the perfect blend for an enjoyable evening. And for those thinking of proposing to a future spouse — this is the perfect place to ask your intended if they’ll spend the rest of their life with you. It would be hard to say no. 😉
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3028.6965414357496!2d14.519521651721456!3d40.614518479241276!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x133b96d919ff728f%3A0x17c84b7bb7b66da!2sCasa+Angelina!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sae!4v1495002549533&w=600&h=450]
