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Verona: Le Cantina De L’Arena

Piazetta Scalette Rubiani, 1 , Phone: 045/8032849

Closing day: ?

Reviewed by: dean from MD (moderator), review #602

When: 2003

The food is good to quite good and the wine was superb. Warm service. Can handle large groups and also pre- and post-opera dining.

Directions: Piazza Bra to the left as you are facing the Arena

Seating on the Piazza, inside (air conditioned) and at a group of tables on the side seat (where we sat). The waiter tried to hustle us into a bottle of Chardonnay that had won 3 bicchieri, but I wanted an Alto Adige white. Once he saw we knew our wines he relented. Had the Elena Walsch Muller Thurgau (18 euro) followed by Quintarelli Valpolicella 1995 (37 Euro). The Walsch was bright and crisp, spicy and herbal. Very nice stuff indeed! The Quintarelli was soft and charming, loaded with ripe blackberry fruit with very little tannin. Wonderful.

Dinner was Sfilacci di cavallo (a sort of shredded horse jerky) on a bed of arugula with olive oil and lemon and grana, insalata di mare with wonderful seafood in an herbal dressing with tasty celery (marred by the inclusion of sirumi krab), pizza with sausage (said by Jane to be “not as good as pizza king”, a local Muncie, Indiana institution), Tortellini with spinach and ricotta (quite good), penne with octopus (not so good on the pasta part), a small plate of grilled lamb chops with simply spectacular roast potatoes, and a grilled vegetable plate. 112 Euro for 3 with 55 Euro being wine.

The second time we dined there we were part of a group of 16. We drank Bussola Amarone (in abundance!) and ate well. I had the octopus and potato salad but I don’t recall anything else except that the food was again good but the service and wine outstanding. The prce was quite reasonable for that large a crowd and that much wine.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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Verona: Le Cantina De L’Arena

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