Piazza Duomo (Alba)

We started with this:



and ended with this:



Not your usual salad, not your usual pannacotta...

For these are Enrico Crippa's interpretations of these humble dishes in his restaurant, Piazza Duomo in Alba.

They taste as good as they look. What was in between was equally, in fact even more, ravishing, in a spectacular 'traditional' tasting menu (there is also a more innovative one) which elaborates with great imagination, precision and a touch of magic on some classic Piemonte flavours and dishes.

Here are the traditional Agnolotti:



Prices are at the lower end of what you'd expect from a 2* restaurant currently producing, with a couple of others, the very best of Italian cuisine.

Crippa is assisted by a very capable and lovable front of house team. The wine list offers a long, truly excellent selection at all prices, even ones so low that such numbers simply do not not appear in London restaurants...We know, as we asked the sommelier to guide us on some wine around the 100 euro mark to match the food. But, to our surprise when we got the bill, we think he misunderstood 100 with 30 - or he just decided on the basis of our modest appearance that we could not afford an expensive wine...



It can be a great drinking, as well as eating, experience at Piazza Duomo (markups are generally well below 100% except for the very bottom of the list). We were moved indeed by this lunch.



PS: sorry for the long absence. Under time pressure, we stopped blogging, and mostly even taking photographs in restaurants. But we intend to come back with some suitably 'downsized' reports such as this one!