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RESTAURANT

Italy has world’s third-best restaurant

For the second year running, Massimo Bottura's restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, northern Italy, has won third place on a list of the world's 50 best restaurants.

Published: 29 April 2014 09:49 CEST
Italy has world's third-best restaurant
Massimo Bottura is praised for his ability to “balance the demands of heritage and modernity”. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP

Modena-based Osteria Francescana has once again clinched a top spot in the annual awards for the world’s 50 best restaurants.

The restaurant lost out only to Renè Redzepi’s Copenhagen-based Noma which reclaimed the number one slot and Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca which came in second.

Last year the four-time Danish winner lost out to the Spanish eatery, breaking its winning streak which it continued between 2010 and 2012.

First opened in 1995, Bottura’s Osteria Francescana was awarded its first Michelin star in 2002, a second four years later, and a third in 2011. Bottura also won the Chef’s Choice award in 2011.

In a review on the website for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Bottura is praised for his ability to “balance the demands of heritage and modernity” by creating a “restaurant where traditionalists and those seeking something entirely new are both amply catered for.”

According to the website, Bottura’s menu can be split into three categories: traditional, regional dishes that have “little or no edgy elements”, as well as modern classics and newly developed dishes.

“Anyone sampling Osteria Francescana for the first time would be advised to try one in each category to get a true sense of the team’s extraordinary range,” it says on the website.

Highlights on the menu include five ages of Parmesan and foie gras crunch, described as “a take on a Feast ice cream with a hunk of foie gras bound in hazelnuts and filled with balsamic vinegar”, and ‘camouflage’ – “a thin layer of foie gras decorated with powders (hare blood, chestnut and various herbs)”.

Bottura wasn’t the only Italian to clinch a spot in the top 50. Enrico Crippa’s Piazza Duomo di Alba in Cuneo made it into 39th place and the Alajmo brothers’ La Calandre in Padova was ranked 46th.

Organized by the British magazine ‘Restaurant Magazine’ in collaboration with San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, the awards showcase the 50 best restaurants which are selected by over 900 international jurors.

The world's top ten restaurants according to British magazine Restaurant:

1) Noma – Denmark
2) El Celler de Can Roca – Spain
3) Osteria Francescana – Italy
4) Eleven Madison Park – United States
5) Dinner – United Kingdom
6) Mugaritz – Spain
7) D.O.M. – Brazil
8) Arzak – Spain
9) Alinea – United States
10) The Ledbury – United Kingdom

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FOOD AND DRINK

Six of the most Italian non-alcoholic aperitivo drinks

As well as its most famous cocktails, Italy has a long tradition of making refreshing aperitivo drinks without the alcohol.

Published: 11 April 2024 12:01 CEST
Six of the most Italian non-alcoholic aperitivo drinks

Italy’s favourite aperitivo-hour cocktails are known far beyond the country’s borders, so their names will probably be familiar to you whether you drink them or not.

But if you’re in Italy and not drinking alcohol, you might find yourself stumped when it comes time to order your aperitivo at the bar.

The first time I found myself in this situation, there was no menu. The waiter instead rattled off a long list of all the soft drinks available, most of which I’d never heard of, and I just picked something I thought sounded nice.

Luckily it turns out that Italy has some great options for an aperitivo analcolico. As well as ‘virgin’ versions of well-known cocktails, there are bitters, sodas and other Italian-made soft drinks that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else.

They might not be quite as iconic as the Aperol Spritz, but they’re as thoroughly Italian – plus, effortlessly ordering one of these will make you look like a true local.

SanBittèr

San Pellegrino’s SanBittèr is one of the most famous non-alcoholic Italian drinks of all, with its highly-recognisable red packaging, often enjoyed in place of Campari cocktails because of its similar dark, ruby-red color.

This drink is carbonated with a slightly sweet, citrus flavor. The recipe is more complex than that of an orange or lemon soda, with notes of spice and herbs, making it ideal to pair with your aperitivo-hour snacks.

Crodino

Crodino looks a lot like an Aperol Spritz with its bright orange hue, and that’s not an accident: it’s said to have been created as a non-alcoholic alternative, and the zesty, slightly herbal taste is similar. It’s typically served the same way. in a round goblet glass over ice with a slice of orange: a Crodino Spritz.

The name comes from the town of Crodo in Piedmont, where it is still bottled today by the Campari group.

Chinotto

Citrusy Chinotto is an acquired taste for many, but it’s worth trying: it’s one of the classic Italian bitters and is said to have a long history, dating back to a recipe shared by Chinese sailors arriving on the Ligurian coast in the 1500s.

It may look a little like Coca Cola, but don’t let the appearance fool you.

(Photo by Eugene Gologursky /Getty Images via AFP)

Aranciata/Limonata

Aranciata is Italy’s version of an orange soda, but not as sugary, and it tastes like oranges. Its base is sparkling water with the addition of orange juice and sugar. There are various brands, but San Pellegrino’s is the most popular. It also sells a ‘bitter’ aranciata amaro, with even less sugar, more citrus tang and herbal notes, which might be more aperitivo-hour appropriate.

Limonata is, as you might guess, the Italian answer to lemonade. Again there are many versions out there but the fizzy San Pellegrino limonata is beloved for its strong, sweet-sour flavour and there’s nothing more refreshing on a hot summer’s day.

Cedrata

Cedrata is one of Italy’s oldest and best-known non-alcoholic drinks. It’s a refreshing, carbonated drink made from a large citrus fruit called a cedro, grown in southern Italy. It’s far less bitter than a Chinotto, but not as sweet as limonata.

The main producer of Cedrata today is Tassoni, and this is what you’re likely to get if you order it at a bar.

Gingerino

This is harder to find than the other aperitivi on the list and is seen as decidedly retro, but it’s worth trying if you can track it down.

It’s another orange-coloured, sparkling drink which became popular in Italy in the 1970s and is still sold today, though you’re more likely to find it in the north-east, close to Venice, where it’s produced.

You may be expecting it to taste a lot like ginger beer, and there are similarities, but it has stronger citrus notes and more bitterness.

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