Enoteca La Torre

"For dinner, prepare to indulge in the fanciest, most delicious dinner you’ve ever had in your life at this two Michelin star, three Gambero Rosso fork masterpiece situated within the aristocratic Hotel Villa Laetitia, Enoteca La Torre. Upon arriving at the elegant villa Love Island style (just kidding!), you’ll first be greeted by refined Renaissance and Baroque architecture dating from 1911 inside the magnificently elegant dining room adorned with stucco and columns, with splendid windows overlooking the exclusive garden. The perfect setting for a special occasion—and in my opinion, taking any trip is a special occasion—you’ll delight in native Campania concoctions like Tarallo crackers imagined by Chef Domenico Stile alongside more creative influences from Italy and further beyond. In our case, this meant trying entirely new protein sources like guinea fowl from one of the youngest chefs to receive his second Michelin star. Given this dinner offering represents one of the most exclusive food experiences in the capital, you can certainly expect to find refined cuisine celebrating creativity with energy, exuberance and the search for typically Mediterranean flavors neatly paired with welcoming customer service that finishes some courses directly in the dining room! Opting for the 6-course surprise tasting menu entitled, “a journey with your eyes closed,” this was truly an unforgettable night of 360° gourmet fun marked by the surprising scents, watercolors, and overall encounter with a decidedly festive cuisine. Whether trying the poetic honey-inspired amuse bouche served on a delicate hive cracker with a photorealistic bee bite on top or the charming rum baba and sorbet dessert prepared table-side—which, mind you, is followed by an animatronic big top circus candy cart—expect your mind to be blown in this dynamic reality that makes a passion for fine dining the emblem of its daily life. To really lean into this experience, I’d recommend pretending to be a food competition critique with your fellow diners, comparing notes on the balanced “sweet umami” flavor profile of the bright pink cherry, beet, and salmon roe appetizer. While the course we selected was described to entail six dishes, by the end of the night we had really tried more than eleven incredible innovations when taking into account all the amuse bouches, the sides, and the many extra desserts we enjoyed. That being said, I found the €200 price tag on this set course menu to be outrageously reasonable, especially considering how only 2-3 mid dishes can easily rack up this high of a bill back home in the U.S. Adding onto our final total, we also indulged in three glasses of wine procured from the well-stocked cellar, ordering our pairings based on recommendations which sublimate the corresponding dishes. For some reason it costs more to select the three-glass wine pairing laid out in the drink menu as opposed to simply ordering each of the same three selections individually yourself, so be sure to order those recommendations as separate entities if you’d like a proposal by the glass to accompany your meal. If you prefer to go off script, you’ll find about a thousand bottles on the menu available from the historic cellar which is dug into the ancient walls of the city to preserve the old vintages! Enoteca La Torre is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but otherwise open for lunch from 12:30 - 2:30 PM, and 7:30 - 10:00 PM—although as evidenced by our 11:30 PM departure time, they won’t kick you out if your dinner runs long! Be sure to book a dinner here, because it’s going to change your life—I guarantee it!"

"2 Estrelas Michelin"