Guido’s brand new home

The gastronomic temple of the Alciati brothers has moved from Pollenzo to Serralunga, inside Fontanafredda’s Villa Reale in a splendid location in the heart of the Langhe region, surrounded by an organic reserve, today owned by Oscar Farinetti. This villa was once a game reserve owned by king Vittorio Emanuele II and Rosa Vercellana known as “Bela Rosin” who later became his wife and to whom the reserve was then donated and dedicated.

Guido is a gourmet establishment with an à la carte menu, offering seasonal and traditional cuisine. The aim is clear and understandable: creating the sensations of a primordial flavour. The raw materials that come from the organic kitchen garden and from the henhouse are coherent with a purist philosophy of local products, an element that can be found also, and without any defect, in each dish. Entering the new Guido means having a pleasant dive into Sabaudian history: here you can find elegant rooms, fascinating paintings on the ceilings that mix with high design furniture, with every detail taken care of in order to make sure that the guests are totally comfortable. The Alciati brothers, Ugo in the kitchen and Piero in the dining room, are an emblem of professionalism, guaranteeing that guests may experience sincere emotions.

This relocation has led to a revolutionary news: the freezer was banned, everything is cooked on the spot, from the freshly baked bread to the fiordilatte ice-cream, creamed right there and then. Even the pasta, hand-rolled and used for the famous Agnolotti del plin is prepared in real-time, then cooked and enjoyed with a flavour that reaches a perfect balance. In the menu you can range from Saluzzo white hen in white and red wine gelatine on a bed of green tomatoes from the kitchen garden, a fresh, only apparently simple recipe, just like the Motta di Costigliole’s square pepper stuffed with tuna and capers, a dish in which each raw material is blended in perfect harmony. Here you can find tradition, research, technique and balanced flavours.

And then here they are, the unmissable Agnolotti served in three forms: with roast sauce, Barbera d’Asti sauce and “al tovagliolo”. As in the best Piedmontese tradition. This is paradisiac food, both with regards to flavour and texture, that are close to perfection. The wine list is a pleasant narrative made of images and details covered by Piero, an impeccable host. You can drink local wines but also excellent bubbles, great Italian red wines and white wines, châteaux, his majesty Pinot Noir and some historic great wines coming from the family cellar.

On the ground floor of the Villa there’s the great kitchen laboratory and the bakery and, finally, a brand new novelty, “La Cucina di Lidia”, Lidia’s kitchen: the ground floor of the building was designed for specials occasions, offering a direct experience with the chef and his team, with a tasting menu for 20 people maximum, sitting at a very elegant table. In the same room there’s a shining rend Molteni bike and an open view cellar. These are the extras to a stellar experience.