Osteria Il Cortile

Location: the view is spectacular, looking on the vinyards. If you dine on the terrace at sunset it will be magical. Indoors, you can sit next to the big windows and still enjoy a spectacular panorama. Service: courteous and to the point, with the host letting us taste the wine and see the bottle (I know, that's how it should be but it doesn't happen everywhere...). It was pretty fast too considering the restaurant was almost full. Decor: outside is better than inside. Not that the inside is badly kept, it just needs to find its identity. My guess is that, since the owner is pretty young, he's focusing more on the quality of the food at this point (rightfully so). Bonus points for the choice of music: some relaxing jazz, perfect for the evening. Food: the vitello tonnato was really good, prime quality of the meat and very well balanced sauce, of which I would have liked a bit more. The toma in cocotte was spectacular. The guancia di vitello al Barolo is something you don't want to miss, so tender it melts in your mouth. The faraona was cooked perfectly, juicy and tender. The potatoes, on both plates, needed some seasoning. The panna cotta with salted caramel was perfect, incredibly silky, with the caramel really adding that extra kick to the dish. The torta di nocciole was very good but I think the zabaione al moscato gets overpowered by the hazelnuts. It would benefit from something that would make it pop a bit, like a ginger or saffron sauce. All in all, we had a great experience and this restaurant has definitely put itself on the map.