Restaurant: Già Sotto l’Arco
Location: Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 71, 72012 Carovigno BR, Italy. +39 0831 996286
Date: August 2, 2024
Cuisine: Southern Italian
Rating: Great, but long
We drove out to the pretty town of Carovigno for this Michelin one star place.
The main square of Carovigno just after sunset.
Already under the arch is a place of enchantment, a restaurant located in an eighteenth-century building in the white Carovigno, in Puglia.
A place of timeless charm, this restaurant is like a shell of poetry that encloses the art of a family that since 1982 has enchanted with an unstudied mix of art, culture, solid roots, passion and above all love.
Already under the arch is the creature of Teresa Galeone and Teodosio Buongiorno, creators and interpreters of a very personal gastronomic magic on the border between tradition, creativity and refinement.
Osteria gia Sotto L’arco has 1 star.
Delicious amuses.
Creamy and amazing.
Tuna on a cracker leaf.
Beet cannoli.
Another amuse.
Lots of great bread sticks etc.
Crunchy breads.
And grisini.
I grew addicted to these southern bread rings — called “Taralli Pugliesi” — which have been in the Italian diet for at least 2500 years! These donut shaped breads are ancient, once offered to Demeter as sacrifices (tossed into the fire).
And even more local bread! The bread down here is insane.
More orecchiette pomodoro.
Tuna tartare with “jus.”
Fish.
Seared cuttlefish, chicken jus, bergamot and wasabi.
Risotto with yellow peppers, caciocavallo fondue, sea bass and lime ceviche.
Egg, potatoes and peas.
Seared Snapper with Soy Eggplants.
Lamb (or veal?) chops.
Soufflé.
Dessert amuse.
Dessert amuses.
Dessert amuses shaped like and tasting of peanuts.
Faux raspberries.
The food and service were excellent.
This meal was epically long. That can be a Michelin problem. It might have been 1.5 hours between finishing our savory and getting out of there. Hard with jet lag.
Lovely meal, lovely town.