I think this may be the end of my Italy posts, but before you start sobbing just know that my restaurant reviews from France are up next so get excited about that. As I sometimes tend to do, I decided to save my favorite meal in Italy for last. Why was this my favorite, you may be wondering? Well, when you have great food, great company, a beautiful setting and a warm, loving family who happens to run the restaurant, it makes for a good time.
Perched way, way, way up on a hill in Positano along the Amalfi Coast, La Tagliata is a family-owned restaurant that is reached by many tourists via shuttle, mostly because we don’t know how else to get ourselves that high up. My friend and I had decided to visit La Tagliata after two separate people urged my friend to go, so a reservation was made and a shuttle was booked. Once we reached the restaurant, outside seating greeted us along with a prix fixe meal that I assume everyone gets without question. The prix fixe includes four courses, a bottle of wine and a shot of limoncello, all for 35 euros per person. That is pretty darn good, if you ask me. In our first course, the antipasto, we got an abundance of cold and hot appetizers that captured my taste buds from the very first bite. Dishes included bruschetta, ham with mozzarella and ricotta, spinach, butternut squash, beans, peas and chickpeas, aubergines and potatoes. All of it was fantastic. Like seriously, really fantastic. I was mostly impressed with the beans. How did they get those beans to taste so flavorful??? And the butternut squash! If all legumes and vegetables tasted like this, kids would ONLY eat them. And not to be outdone, the mozzarella was pretty amazing.
Antipasto
Ham with Mozzarella and Ricotta
Next was the primo course, which included several types of pasta, all of which were amazing. Included in the mix were gnocchi, ravioli and a pumpkin pasta that, again, was so delicious. Not sure what they put in their butternut squash and pumpkin but it’s working!
Primo
After the primo course came the secondo, which I can sum up by saying this was MEAT. I mean meat, meat, meat, meat, meat. And in case that did not get through to you, please see below image. I’m talking pork chops, chicken, sausage, lamb…this is a meat lover’s dream, or a vegetarian’s nightmare. Either one. Alongside the meat were salad and fries. I enjoyed this dish, although I’m eating less meat these days so it was almost too much meat for me. Regardless, I cannot complain because it was all delicious.
Secondo
Lastly came the dolce along with the digestivo. I have a never-ending sweet tooth so I was happy to see the various sweets and fruit. As for the limoncello, it is certainly a slow sipper, one that is very much an acquired taste for me. I want to love limoncello but I don’t love it yet. Give me time, and another trip to Italy. I will get there.
Dolce and Digestivo
Overall, this was so worth the 35 euros and then some. The brothers who own the restaurant came out to greet us and take pictures, as did their mother, and there was a general welcoming feeling that cannot be faked. One day I will return to Positano and stay in my Italian friend’s villa and eat at La Tagliata. Mark my words.
Rating: Love
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