Gasthaus Pfudl

In spite of the unpronounceable name this is a cute, traditional restaurant serving delicious Tafelspitz (boiled beef) with potatoes and veg.

Mr Towers and I also tried the Rindsuppe with Leberknödel (Liver dumpling) which although not unpleasant had a crumbly consistency which was not so appealing although we’re both agreed that the extensive use of chives is delish!

Remarkable was the horseradish and apple sauce ( a delightful combo, much better than the English creamy horseradish) which, however, as to be tasted a bit at a time on pain of total nose numbing!

http://www.gasthauspfudl.com/

 

Gasthaus Pfudl

Atmosphere: Very teutonic…not too keen

Food: Not bad but not a light meal by any standards

Price: Dinner for two with wine c.a.50 EUR

Would we go back? Well, It was ok but we like to experiment!

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First entry and other celebrations

Funnily enough the inaugural entry to this blog marks the first wedding anniversary between me and hubby. And in virtue of these many celebrations we’ve treated ourselves to a few culinary delights. First and foremost a romantic dinner for two at Le Carceri inPavia, little town sunk in the sweaty Pianura Padana.

 

After watching my alma mater get miserablt thrashed by the ‘Pavesi’ on the waters of their own Ticino and drowning my sorrows in a Spritz (rapidly becoming the ‘it’ drink in northern Italy this summer), we strolled to the restaurant.

 

A word for the wise- booking is strictly necessary here as we watched half a dozen couples (not bus loads) get turned away at the door.

 

The restaurant is provencal in desing, and although you can see a lot of care has gone into its décor, it remains unpretentious.

 

There are two dining floors so I would suggest you are picky when you call and ask to be put upstairs away from the kitchen, the stairs and the loos.

 

The menu was a little too on the long side and the wine list was huge. We settled for a Sauvignonnaise (derived from tocai grapes) but then were talked into a very run of the mill Sauvignon which brought back terrible memories of cheap Sainsbury’s Sauvignon so not a good idea.

 

Anyway the menu was delicious. I chose the spaghetti with tuna roe. The dish was delightfully perfumed with chives, lime and chilli. Hubby went for a complicated risotto with fava beans and ricotta served withParmaham and parmesan- more of a feast for the eyes than the palate to be honest.

 

Surprisingly snails were serves already out of their shells which took away half  my fun.

 

Highlight of the evening: the owner popping a cork into the plate of the table in front (fortunately empty at the time).

Low light: A ‘zuppa inglese’ (be trifle) that was more like a tiramisu.

So to sum up: 

 

Osteria Alle Carceri Pavia

 Atmosphere: Unpretentious but smart

Food: Excellent but watch out for anything that sounds too showy

Price: Dinner for two with wine c.a.70 EUR

Would we go back? Certainly!

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