LA CORTE DEI GRILLI

via Roma, 39 - 15060 Capriata d'Orba (AL)
Tel. +39 (0143) 467.425
E-mail: cortegrilli@libero.it

La Corte dei grilli in Capriata d'Orba has already been known for several years, a good and honest menu among the many offered around Nova and Ovada. And, of the two territories, it puts together the ingredients and recipes when it serves Piedmont dishes (tartare, rabbit tuna, agnolotti) and when - continuing towards Liguria - it serves dishes, to reach the Riviera di Levante with the testaroli della Lunigiana (pasta dish). The spacious restaurant with well-distributed rooms also offers a delightful possibility in the open-air, being situated in the heart of the town but with direct access to a laneway and, from here, to a large and well-sheltered courtyard where you can enjoy the warmth of the fine weather. In winter, the rooms are welcoming and warm, furnished with a rustic and informal taste. To start, (€10) not traditional knife-chopped raw beef, but a tartare that you could eat in France or in international cuisine; seasoned with oil, lemon, Worcester sauce, mustard, accompanied by a raw egg yolk and garnished with capers, parsley and onions, a very articulated dish and appetising even if, at the end, the perfume and delicate taste of the meat is concealed by all the flavours. The breaded and fried anchovies, simple and essential and consequently more convincing, are also a good dish. From the first courses (€12) we recall the risottos and the testaroli della Lunigiana; the chicken alla Marengo is also good and served in generous portions. The tuna steak left us perplexed (€14), with a consistency that was a little too soft and the taste a little boring. Desserts in the norm, a little predictable.