Osteria de l'Acquarol is located in the same building as Rio Bianco, the most ancient hotel in beautiful Val di Fiemme. At the helm of the restaurant there’s Alessandro Bellingeri, a young chef (born in 1983) who brought a wave of modernity and innovation to an area that certainly has many establishments winking at tourists with a banal and standard offer. His passion for cuisine began when he was still a kid and enjoyed helping his grandmother Ada in the kitchen of the family trattoria in Cremona, where he was born.
After attending catering school in Salsomaggiore, he began to travel around Italy refining his talent beside masters such as Stefano Mazzone, Enrico Crippa, Massimo Bottura and Massimo Spigaroli. His last and decisive step was eight years ago when he arrived in nearby Cavalese at the court of Alessandro Gilmozzi, in the beautiful and acclaimed restaurant El Molin (piazza Cesare Battisti, 11, Cavalese, +39.0462.340403). Here he learnt the virtues of local raw materials, from meat to freshwater fish, from products made in the malghe to those picked from the woods.
Raw arctic char, green apple, watermelon, herb and flower cream
These are
Alessandro’s favourite ingredients, which he transforms in his very personal way in the kitchen of
L'Acquarol, an establishment he opened in 2012 just after being awarded as best emerging chef in Northern Italy. He buys these from small local and trusted businesses, such as
Maso Santa Libera (via Santa Libera, 16, Tesero, +39.0462.814047), where he sources mutton and beef (from the grigio alpina breed), cheese and honey, always with attention to organic products.
The chef is also passionate about vegetables and aromatic herbs, which he grows personally in the gardens around the hotel. One can then find all these ingredients in the menu that is made of dishes that are never banal, in which unusual pairings dominate, always made with a skilful hand, intertwining passion and local tradition with modern cooking techniques. For instance, one could mention the fun and craveable
Raw arctic char, green apple, watermelon, herb cream and flowers, the intense
Rice creamed with malga butter, peas and trout eggs, or the elegant and tasty
Grigia alpina entrecote smoked with hay, with bitter herbs and juniper cream.
Geranium ice-cream, white chocolate brownie, beetroot and white celery
The cakes are excellently made, as in the case of the
Geranium ice cream, white chocolate brownie, beetroot and white celery, a lovely creation also from a chromatic point of view. Talented
Perla,
Alessandro’s wife, contributes in making the experience a pleasant one, thanks to her kind and poised attitude and her affable recommendations on the wine list which she manages personally. The list includes around a hundred wines with a nice and well thought-of list of wines from Trentino and Alto Adige.
The close-knit couple works with passion and a strong desire to do well. And also with a noble humbleness that is confirmed when the bill arrives: when ordering à la carte, one will spend around 40- 45 euros, 38 if you prefer the 5-course tasting menu. Given the quality of the food and the location, in the shade of the Dolomites, the quality-price ratio is truly admirable. Chapeau!
Osteria de l'Acquarol
Via Nazionale 42
Panchià (Trento)
+39.0462.813082
info@osteriadelacquarol.it
Closed on Mondays, always open in August
Average prices à la carte: starters 11 first courses 11 second courses 16 euros
Tasting menu: 38 euros
