Albos Club: In Fregene, the Restaurant that Makes All Your Beach Dreams Come True

The entrepreneurial group led by Fabrizio Lancia updates the spaces of the Albos, with the skills of Andrea Dolciotti, displayed in all four eateries. Here you find pop cuisine, with traditional roots and Asian influenced, open even in winter.

Albos Club Fregene

The story

There is novelty in the beaches of Fregene: the historic Albos Club has been completely updated by the business group that took it over in early 2022. Fabrizio Lancia, a Roman restaurateur, is the group leader of this company that aims to make the Albos Club a new social and aggregation hub, combining quality dining with an establishment and sports center that is open even during the winter season.

The restaurant

But let's get into the details. How is the new Albos Club restaurant like? Pop and straightforward, based on traditional cuisine with respect and knowledge of seafood, with influences from around the world for example, in the use of coconut milk and nori seaweed alongside a seared slice of tuna.

To get the kitchen in line, Fabrizio Lancia enlisted the help of his friend and great chef Andrea Dolciotti, confident that the latter would be able to hold up and keep up the name inherited from the previous management. The challenge was tough, but it seems to have been overcome, through the development of a broad and democratic offer that crosses all age groups and meets the needs of a demanding clientele.

Everything is meticulously chosen and prepared, in every sector, from the diner bar where you can enjoy breakfast, an ice cream and lunch with home-made poké and hot and cold dishes of the day, to the sea-view kiosk cafeteria, deli and bar throughout the day, with the cocktail bar curated by Matteo Moiani, a young Roman mixology star.

The proposed menu focuses on the genuine taste of the local catch, the basic ingredient of all the dishes: crudes, tartare, and carpaccio, as well as classic seafood pasta dishes, complete the seafood offer that is centered on the Pira oven, placed in sight in the center of the outdoor terrace. The choice has been to offer the fish in its simplicity and prepared it with ancestral cooking methods – grilled and baked – to respect the quality of the fish that is purchased daily from local companies as much as possible.

The dishes

As we wait for the sun to set, we chat and beguile the wait for the actual dinner with an excellent Spritz prepared from crushed orange and lemon, with the addition of Aperol and Cedrata Tassoni and a bit of sage that with its balsamic notes nicely envelops the rounder edges of the appetizers prepared in the kitchen to go with the drink.

There's the seared tuna bite with oyster ricotta, the mini taco stuffed with tuna 'nduja and further enriched by a mouthwatering lettuce mayonnaise, and finally the miniature cannoli with red shrimp battuta, mayonnaise and caviar, a sweet and savory seafood bomb. We move to poolside, and the show continues at the table. You can choose a classic menu and sample crudos like the red shrimp, langoustine and tuna, in carpaccio and tartare, or opt for more artistic and contemporary creations.

Among them, the tuna tataki stands out, in terms of ingredients and presentation, served along braised lettuce, coconut and green apple. A meaty bite, where the texture of the fish speaks with that of the vegetable, exchanging accents and moods. All in a sweet and rich setting, slightly acidic due to the occasional apple gel note. An unsuspected, curious appetizer that entices one to continue enjoying the meal.

The potato spaghetti cooked in chicken broth and served with mantis shrimp is an unforgettable explosion on the palate. Surf and turf, scents of roast and nuances of crudo, come together in a buttery, crunchy context, and are the addendums of a perfect combo, standing between the appetizer and the pasta course. You'd eat this dish at all hours, in superhuman portions, because it's so damn good. Kudos to the kitchen.

Not to be outdone is the risotto of the day, enriched with a generous dose of black truffle and red shrimp battuta. Masterful cooking, a perfect finish and impeccable balance between the only two elements that make up this first course. You would go on for hours here as well, forkful after forkful, sometimes including the red shrimp battuta, sometimes not, enjoying the pleasantness of the black truffle alone, well sandwiched between the rice grains.

We continue with A pulpy grilled slice of amberjack, covered with two sauces: one that is distinctly French, with the addition of Saint Germain, which is creamy and milky, and the other of barbecued carrot, which is fresher. Beautiful dishes that have nothing to do with fish of the day served in a guazzetto or pan- seared and crusted.

There is no shortage of fun in dessert either. The Sneakers, which is Dolciotti's workhorse and signature dessert is an ingot that reproduces the most beloved snack of teenagers.