We had made the commitment to have dinner at Bacco d’Oro at least once this summer, because it’s lovely when you can eat there outside. It’s an old courtyard, with buildings in different styles, that maybe were built in different periods. There is also a small chapel, always open for the guests. A dozen of tables is outside on the terrace, surrounded by a small garden and by the beautiful view of the hills all around. The restaurant is in Mezzane di Sotto, in a gorgeous valley few kilometers from Verona.
So we made a reservation for Saturday night after a very warm week but when we left home we were almost sure we would have been obliged to eat inside: after a very warm day, there had already been a shower in the afternoon and clouds and wind were still in the air.
I was wearing one of my favourite dresses, an essential sleeveless silk sheath dress, but I also stuck a light sweater in my purse, as I was expecting storm and cool temperature over there in the hills.
When we arrived to the restaurant the waiter told us they prepared the table outside despite the wind and the clouds, so this was already good news for us, because they were confident the weather would be o.k.
The aperitif was offered downstairs in the cellar: this is one of the reasons we love this place. It’s an old wine cellar with an arched ceiling in bricks, a wide table in the middle, wine racks all along the walls, containing mainly amazing Italian wines, but also from other countries.
This restaurant has a very good wine card, at very correct prices.
Once at the table we ordered our dinner. As hors d’oevre I took a flan of Monte Veronese cheese (a typical cheese from our mountains) with finferli mushrooms and a delicious “prosciutto”. Manu took shrimps in tempura with a smooth courgette sauce. He took also a pasta course (he can afford that!), hand made “tagliatelle” (long flat noodles) with a white ragout. After that I took a tartare of beef filet and Manu a “tagliata”, roasted beef in slices (delicious, with its crispy crust).
All this was accompanied by a Chianti Riserva Ducale Oro 1993 Ruffino, an austere and quite demanding wine that left us a taste of an original old-fashioned tuscan winemaking.
Believe or not, we could dine till the end at our table outside, I never needed to wear the sweater, because the wind blew away all the clouds and it remained dry and warm and we could fully enjoy our delicious dinner.