DRINK > Enoteca, Alleghe Italy (17/20)

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Alleghe has majestic mountains, a beautiful lake and excellent skiing at the Civetta Ski Resort (part of the Dolomiti Superski ticket). The town itself is quite small, there are a couple of supermarkets, has a number hotels, some tourist and ski shops that are unlikely to excite you and of course a few restaurants (mostly hotel restaurants based on half board offers), a pizza place etc… I am sure you get the idea.

Then there is ‘Enoteca’, which is special, it is not like the rest. Other places all felt a bit tired and sad, but from the first moment you walk in you know that these people love their job, love wine, love making cocktails, love their town and of course their enoteca.

We popped in on our first afternoon, arriving a little early to check to our apartment on a Sunday we wandered down to the local supermarket to get the essentials for our short stay. That task done the next job was to select somewhere for lunch, Enoteca was close looked cute and had some music playing, we slipped straight in.

We were directed to a table by a smartly dressed host dressed semi formally in black slacks, white shirt and red braces, stylish, not too formal but taking the role seriously. That sets the tone. We left nearly four hours later when they were closing the restaurant and bar for the afternoon break (they close between 3-5pm to take a break and get ready for dinner service).

We ate a lovely cheese plate and then I had a quite traditional lasagne (perfect) and Angie had a salad to accompany the cheese. They have some nice wines (both white and red) by the glass including premium wines under Coravin and they also have a good list of wines for sale by the bottle.

That first afternoon set the scene for us at Enoteca and though we were only in town for four nights we visited Enoteca on three of those four (they are closed on Tuesdays), either for a drink or dinner and that is clearly testament that this is just the kind of place we love finding.

Arriving for aperitivo hour you are greeted with some delicious complimentary snacks to go with the drinks. I ordered the house special negroni made with a pinecone infused gin and

Brothers Gianluca and Manlio Rudatis run the family Enoteca which was originally started in 1975. The heritage of the building in its style, feels fashionable and contemporary without feeling cold, the dining room extends down into a cellar area at the bottom of a narrow circular staircase, but we were much more at home upstairs on a small table close to the bar, where we could watch the locals and tourists come and go.

CONCLUSION >

Its the best place for a drink in Alleghe no question, it is also the best place for food which is hearty, comforting and delicious. This is not fancy dining rather it is the perfect end to the perfect ski day with really nice people. We cant wait to go back.