Five restaurants that have enhanced the culture of food and local products over time in recipes and tasting menus that tell through their flavor the culinary history of Cetara
March 17th, 2022, by Anna Volpicelli, cover photo by Vito Fusco
Known for its colatura di Alici, which in 2020 obtained DOP certification, Cetara has always been a fishing village. A vocation that comes from its name, Cetaria, which means tuna fishery.
The small town has distinguished itself for its food culture over the years. Chefs and restaurateurs carry the tradition of the local and Amalfi Coast gastronomic past with innovation and creativity. We selected a few restaurants, custodians of a world-renowned heritage.
Ristorante Pizzeria Al Covento
Pasquale Torrente, chef and owner of Ristorante Pizzeria Al Convento has come a long way. A tradition of catering and hospitality is inscribed in the family DNA. Ever since his grandparents Gilda and Gaetano opened a gambling hall in the 1960s, which then took on different guises over time.
First as an ice cream bar, then as a trattoria and pizzeria, later becoming under the aegis of Torrente and his son Gaetano, a veritable food empire, praised by chef Massimo Bottura, who also won a Michelin star. A simple but refined cuisine offers an a la carte menu that emphasizes local ingredients: from appetizers, including anchovy tapas, to spicy ziti with tuna Genovese, tuna tataki, zucchini scapece chips, and roe mayonnaise, to desserts.
La Cianciola
Vincenzo Giorgio, with his wife Alfonsina, has been interpreting the cuisine of the Amalfi Coast with creativity and innovation since 1958. One of the founders of the Associazione Colatura di Alici di Cetara DOP, established in 2015, the dishes prepared by Vincenzo in his kitchen tell the story of an area rich in quality aromas and flavors.
Such as the Cetara antipasto, a tuna panzanella with pickles and tuna in oil, marinated anchovies, seared tuna seasoned with white wine vinegar vinaigrette and mint, bread crostini with sun-dried tomatoes, burrata dei Monti Lattari and salted anchovies, or the Vincenzo and Alfonsina tububettoni with fresh cherry tomatoes, fresh anchovies, capers, and pine nuts.
Armatore – La Dispensa
Sustainability is at home here. Luigi Della Monica, an entrepreneur of the sea, carries on the family tradition by sailing the waters of the Mediterranean with tuna nets licensed for bluefin tuna fishing. An adventure started many years ago by his grandfather with Astore, the first boat suitable for this type of fishing. Of course, tuna and anchovies are processed within hours of the fishing trip.
All this is used for the commercial activities that the Della Monica family has developed over the years, but also for the restaurant La Dispensa di Armatore, carved out under the stone arches of the ancient village. Here chef Giuseppe della Porta, who will lead the kitchen this year, uses the 2017 colatura di alici riversa, bluefin tuna roe, bluefin tuna ventresca, and other Armatore signature products to prepare his recipes.
In addition to the tasting menu, he also serves an a la carte proposal, including the first course, In fondo al mare, a marjoram risotto with squid ragout, bluefin tuna roe, dehydrated seaweed, and squid ink powder.
Ristorante San Pietro
Tradition and experimentation at San Pietro Restaurant, located a few steps from the fishermen’s square. An ambiance that stands out for its hospitality, where Franco Tammaro and Bruno Milano try to make every meal of their guests unique and special. The menu is mainly seafood, but there is plenty of meat dishes. Among the dishes to try is the mixed seafood zuppa allo scoglio, which varies according to the day’s harvest, and the risotto with homemade tuna roe.
Acquapazza
The two cousins, Gennaro Castiello (maitre and sommelier) and Gennaro Marciante (chef) opened the restaurant 30 years ago to enhance local products, anchovies, and colatura. “We are keen to point out that our catch comes exclusively from the Gulf of Salerno because, for us, the territory in which we live gives us everything, and we just have to know how to capture, enhance and use it.”
Before opening their Acquapazza Gourmet workshop, dedicated to the production of colatura and other local specialties, they experimented with the technique in a warehouse used as a laboratory under the guidance of Uncle Vittorio. “I would like it if we could bring the workshops back here in Cetara.” Among the dishes prepared by Gennaro Marciante, spaghetti with the colatura di alici they produce is worth trying.