Costa's new journey

Flavio Costa closed his experience at Arco Antico in Savona which had him stand out as one of the best chefs in Liguria and moved to Albissola Marina, where he has opened a new restaurant. It is called 21punto9. The location is beautiful: there’s an elegant room and a terrace on the top floor overlooking the sea even though in between there’s the horrible Via Aurelia which is not quite a serene oasis. However, a project to create Via Aurelia Bis is already being implemented and will deviate most of the traffic away, giving the village the serenity that is today missing.

The restaurant was opened a few weeks ago so this year will necessarily be a trial stage with some fine tuning to do but given the premises this could well become a second establishment among the most appreciated ones in the region. The chef is more focused than before, and not only in the kitchen (which is now bigger), but even when the bill arrives: he’s reduced all the prices of the tasting menus by 10 euros - a rare thing in this sector, worth of praise.

Costa’s cuisine is inspired of course by his territory, and by the way we should remind that the chef is also a lecturer and ambassador of his territory at Alma in Colorno. Just like at Arco Antico, there’s no real à la carte menu: there are various tasting menus, starting from 40 euros, but the guests can even pick different dishes and create a tailor-made tasting-menu. You can also match each menu with a given range of wines, and enjoy a turnkey dinner.

Liguria is a region enclosed between the sea and the mountains and this position can be noticed also in the ingredients chosen by Flavio: Albenga’s purple asparagus, trombetta courgettes, salted codfish, small octopus, mackerel just to give a few examples. We recommend not to underestimate the countryside menu, from which you can taste snails, foie gras but also Tortelli with stew and a Fillet of Piedmontese beef with red wine. Even offering the typical Cappon Magro to be enjoyed and shared by the whole table for 32 euros per portion is a nice idea.

We tasted the seaside tasting menu and the contemporary traditional menu. Among the others, we mention Small octopus and potatoes or the Trombetta courgette cream, with squids and their ink and lemon candied zest (delicious). And then we need to mention the Salted codfish with peas and broad beans (extra delicious). Even the blue lobster with Albenga purple asparagus and Béarnaise sauce was excellent (and very delicate). The Fresh chitarra spaghetti with sea food were full of flavour and the Catch of the day with sprouts, champagne and a sauce made with black truffle wasn’t bad either.

Desserts are a must: among all, the soft Tiramisu made on spot, served in a truly extra-large portion. The wine list rises to the occasion of the restaurant with a nice selection of wines, especially the bubbles. Here you can find all the ingredients necessary to spend a fine evening in an elegant location with a view over the sea, knowing for sure that there’s a very talented chef in the kitchen. There’s no space for spaghetti with clams, mixed fried fish and frozen white wine.

21punto9
Corso Bigliati, 70
Albissola Marina (Savona)
+39.019.4004543
Closed the entire day on Thursdays and at lunchtime on Fridays
Tasting menus from 40 to 80 euros