Turin - Eating And Drinking Travel Guides | Turin | Eating And Drinking Turin Restaurants

Turin is bursting with high-quality restaurants ready to bombard you with local specialities that you may be unaware of and which form just as important a piece of the cultural jigsaw of the city and region as any museum. Meat and cheese are high on the agenda, which will please followers of Dr Atkins, although he would certainly not approve of the free-flowing Barolo wine.

Establishments vary from formal restaurants with all-too-attentive service and a rarified atmosphere to friendly, rough-and-tumble trattorias, osterias and pizzerias. Attention is firmly focused on the flavour of the food and rarely on trendy concept decors where the design bill is included in the menu prices. Most establishments listed below are in fact rather plain places where greater attention is paid to fine nuances and combinations in flavour. Turin’s eateries tend to be warm, traditional places where a three-course meal with wine still remains incredibly good value.

Make sure you try some of the out-of-town recommendations as these restaurants are very often in superb rural locations and even closer to the origins and true flavours of the always locally produced ingredients. Ethnic cuisine is taken seriously and not just for late-night munchies or drinking fodder. Any ethnic restaurant that survives in Italy is worth a look for good food and a change of scene. It is also worth bearing in mind that since the Italians never like to be too far from food, and will take great care over its preparation in all circumstances, you can also get decent food in many of the bars and cafés, often until late into the night.

Practical information

Turin’s better restaurants tend to be very booked up, especially at weekends. Restaurant opening hours are regimented: lunch is served 1230-1500 with kitchens closing promptly. In the evening most restaurants open at around 1930-2000 and the kitchens close at around 2300 with osterie and café-restaurants staying open until 0100. Beware of days when your favourite or planned restaurant might be closed: it tends to be on a Monday or Tuesday evening, or for half a day on either of those days; pizzerias do not close on Mondays, however. Real osterias and trattorias (as opposed to those who use the name for false authenticity) work more rural hours and are not usually open for lunch. Visitors in August are also liable to be disappointed as many restaurants, if not the whole of metropolitan Italy, close for most of the month, especially the middle two weeks. Credit cards are increasingly accepted but in cheaper restaurants, osterias and trattorias, only cash will be accepted.

Specialities

Surprisingly to many visitors, Turin is the source of a number of the most-exported and stereotypical elements of Italian cuisine. For a start there are those long thin sticks of bread in plastic wrappers that you nibble on either while waiting to order or instead of a starter. Grissini have been a speciality of Turin’s cuisine since the 17th century. But before that you might have had an aperitif of either Vermouth or Martini, both locally brewed drinks.

Primi piatti (starters)

To start with you might like to try some of the local cold meats like the salama d’la duja (a lardy type of salami sausage), or salame d’oca (goose meat) from Novara, mixed with some of the well known local cheeses such as soft Toma, tangy Bra made from a mix of cow’s and ewe’s milk or Castelmagno, so-called as it was a favourite of Charlemagne. On the side, you might want a few asparagi (asparagus sticks) from Santena, carciofi ripieni (stuffed artichokes) or onions from Ivrea, or pepperoni, baked and peeled peppers marinated in an anchovy sauce from Asti. Le acciughe (anchovies) are big in Turin and form the basis for one of the staples of local peasant food, the bagna cauda, a garlicky stew of vegetables including peppers, radishes and onions mixed with anchovy. Other local primi piatti to try are gnocchi alla bava (potato dumplings with cheese) and some of the risotto dishes, as nearby Vercelli on the plain between Turin and Milan is the rice capital of Europe. Anything which says alle trofie bianche (with white truffles) is unmissable although liable to be expensive; you won’t regret it though if you’re a truffle fan. Piemonte is not as big on pasta as, say, Emilia Romagna, but the two specialities here are agnolotti (like ravioli with spinach stuffing) and tajarin, a thin tagliatelle.

Secondi (main courses)

The heavyweights of Piemontese cuisine are veal dishes, especially the brasato al Barolo (brazed in a Barolo sauce) or tonné all’italienne (a light creamy tuna based sauce). More basic and like a Hungarian goulash is the bollito misto, a stew of all parts of many animals that is very tasty despite thoughts of the details. The nearby rivers also provide ample trota (trout) and carpa (carp) which provide a refreshing alternative to the potential meat overdose.

Dolci (desserts)

There is always room for pudding and Turin must have Italy’s sweetest tooth. Among the smooth naughty delights to savour are the zabaglione, panna cotta (crème brulée) and all manner of torroni (chocolate cakes) made from almond and other variants on the theme of the famous torinese creamy dark chocolate called gianduja. Finish off with a cup of espresso coffee, very likely to be made from Lavazza coffee – the Turin-based company that invented the first Italian coffee machine.

Wine

Forget your Chianti and Lambrusco, Turin is the Italian capital of wine with the king of reds, Barolo, and his dukes, the Barbaresco, Barbera and Nebbiolo, all being made just a few miles away. Don’t miss also the friendly and very quaffable of a country lunchtime Dolcetto, and the Roero. If you want bubbles, the much maligned Asti Spumante and Moscato del Monferrato are unrecognizable in comparison to the bottles found in British supermarkets.

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