Our next stop in discovering food in Castel Gandolfo area at the Pagnanelli restaurant which, in my opinion, is one of the best in the area and my boss’s favorite.
As soon as we entered the restaurant we were greeted by a cozy and warm atmosphere (just look at the beautiful view) – the waitresses were all super friendly ready to recommend you their best dishes.
     

    We took a look at their menu and while we were scrolling the pages they bring you a delicious pineapple juicy mixed with fizzy prosecco (which, since I don’t drink any alcohol, my friend enjoyed mine as well 😀) accompanied with different types of bread (my favorite was the yellow one, which is Pane alla Curcuma e Semi di papavero – turmeric bread with poppy seeds. Delicious!)
And, of course, a bottle of Sparkling Water to cool down everything.

    We decided to start our food adventure with an appetizer called winter fantasies which as you can see it’s a huge one and it consists of Bietole con Burrata e Pesto di acciughe; Prosciutto di Maiale, Oca e Anatra; Involtini di Pancetta con Cacciottina; Formaggio Caprino e Miele; Ricotta con Castagne Pepate; Sfilacci di Bufalo Tartufati; Strudel di Finocchi e Salsicce; Tortino di Zucca and Torta ai Carciofi (Chard with Burrata and Anchovy Pesto; Pork, goose and duck ham; Pancetta rolls with Cacciottina; Goat Cheese with Honey; Ricotta with Peppery Chestnuts; Truffled buffalo strands; Fennel and Sausage Strudel; Pumpkin pie and artichoke pie).
       
 

    My friend had as main course Gnocchi del Cardinale con Rapa, Taleggio e Pecorino – Cardinal’s gnocchi with turnip, taleggio and pecorino (taleggio and pecorino are 2 types of Italian cheese).
From the color to the taste, this one was one of the best gnocchi dish we ever had – and the pecorino melting on top of it? Delicious!

    As for me, since I’m a big fan and consumer of meat,
I had an amazing Tagliata di Manzo con Lardo di Colonnata e rosmarino (Sliced beef with Colonnata lard and rosemary).
I know, I say this about every plate but this was a really fine piece of beef. The combination of rosemary and that thin layer of lard? What an amazing aroma.

    And of course, since I’m always craving for food, I had to go with a side dish as well: Carciofi alla Romana (artichokes Roman style) which, for me, is the only way to eat artichokes.
Roman-style artichokes are cooked in a pot with a high edge, close to one another so that the leaves do not open during cooking and they are seasoned with aromatic herbs, parsley, and garlic.

    For dessert, I had an amazing Gelato with raspberry while my friend had Ricotta emulsionata con Pistacchio e Caramello.

    They also have this huge wine cellar with more than thirty thousand wines (the majority of them are expensive one, signed by famous Italian actors and singer from Italy)

I will for sure go back to this amazing restaurant which is located in Via Antonio Gramsci, 4 – Castel Gandolfo

PS: I understand if you got hungry just by looking at these pictures 🙂

Andrei I.

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