Absolute respect for the raw material, a vegetable garden of its own, and a double dining proposal to satisfy all customers: in Golfo Aranci, La Spigola is a format that wins
The restaurant and the chef
Golfo Aranci may not enjoy the fame of places on the nearby Costa Smeralda, but it is certainly, especially in high season, more people-friendly. And its beaches are beautiful: on one of them, literally by the sea, is a restaurant, La Spigola. Beyond the fact that with a view like this, between sand and turquoise water within reach of bare feet, one might be content with a sandwich and a glass of wine, here Roberto Pisano, born in 1985, has created a remarkable place of taste.
Following in the footsteps of his parents, Marco and Simonetta, he was able to create a fine-dining with two souls, which becomes an excellent informal bistro at lunchtime. This chef's story is one of a very lived-in one, because Pisano, before he set to the stove, was a naval officer. “Mom is from Piedmont, Dad is from Lake Como. however, I studied a lot in Liguria. I decided to give up my military career at age 24, when I met Johannda, a South African girl who would later become my wife, in Australia. I got back into the game, joining the kitchen for a season. The first time was out of necessity: the chef at the time had asked a little boy in the kitchen to clean some squid, after 10 minutes this one says 'look the squid is finished.' I happened to be passing by, opened the garbage can and the squid, dirty, was in there. I had a moment of anger, kicked him out and went to the kitchen.”
It didn't take long, however, for Roberto to realize that big numbers were not for him: “I said to myself, I don't like this cuisine, let's start going around and learning from some chefs with guts.” From there he spent a year and a half at S'Apposentu with Roberto Petza in Cagliari, then went to Silvio Battistoni in Legnano and again at Locanda dell'Angelo in Millesimo. He doesn't miss a pastry experience at Besuschio's in Abbiategrasso, finally going to Taverna del Capitano. "I toured a lot of them, learning. Then I became sous chef at Rosso di Sera in Castelletto Ticino, a very nice contemporary osteria. I have to thank all these people, because first of all they taught me how to work the raw material."
As a matter of fact, ingredient selection is Roberto Pisano's real obsession and he studies like hell to always have the best and to respect what is found in this sea: “it is an obsession, we work only on fish and vegetables exclusively from our garden (a biodynamic garden of the proper kind, which we visited, inland a quarter of an hour's drive from the restaurant ed), but it is hard. There is very little blue fish here, the only one that arrives comes from the bay of Porto Torres, where there are anchovies and sardines; here, however, they are all fishermen of Ponzese origin and the fishing they do is only the profitable kind: capons, scorpion fish, lobsters, snappers: we keep up with them according to what they catch. Then of course, if there's a moray eel between palamites, I'll catch it and stuff a tortello with it. We try to give a logical thread to what is an area with its sea: you will never find a turbot in June or a bass now, you have to know where you are."
Roberto's dream is to get the green star: Michelin has not noticed him yet, which testifies to the guide's probable difficulty in regularly presiding over every area, otherwise the absence of even the simple reporting would be hard to explain. Regardless, the restaurant is going swimmingly, and on the staffing front the situation is also good: "It is a continuous learning and I consider myself lucky, because in the kitchen with me I have angels, young people who have been following me for 4 years: I think they are the future of catering and we have to teach them something. One step after another, little by little, we have grown and have overcome even the most complicated period, that of the transition. After all, we are family, the idea of the bistro at lunch and the more refined dinner is paying off, I see it with my wife in the dining room, from the wines she sells: we have a list with more than two hundred labels."
In a nutshell, Roberto Pisano's principle is as simple as it is not very obvious, and he stubbornly reiterates it: “If you don't start with a high quality raw material, the dish cannot come out good.” We cannot help but agree with him, because with one eye lost in admiring the beauty of the sea and the other focused on the table, we ate very well.
The dishes
Unsurprising amuse bouche, mouthwatering and varied, before starting with an exquisite grouper tartare served at just the right temperature, with celery and green apple sorbet, tomato waffle, cucumber water and fig leaf oil. Succulent and meaty Olbia mussels, served with potato mousse, sour tomato, mussel water ice cream, dehydrated Villacidro olives and homemade sea bass roe. Also notable is the risotto creamed with pesto ice cream, raw red shrimp tails, and stocks of various fish and crustaceans (moray eel, mullet, redfish, amberjack, shrimp, and lobster), with intense flavor.
Also very good were the tortelli stuffed with eggplant, cacioricotta cheese, served with oregano, fried moray skin and its sauce. Excellent, in texture and taste, the amberjack, matured for 12 days and served with salsa verde, vegetables of the day vegetable brown bottom. Very good the bluefin tuna, also matured but for a few days less, with carrot sauce and brown meat bottom; perfect, in its simplicity, the redfish with potato, chard and its stock.
Desserts also hold up to the overall excellent standard, whether with the homemade lemon compote with white chocolate ganache, cucunci seeds and extra virgin olive oil meringue or the salted caramel, sheep's milk ice cream, apple, raspberry and hazelnut wafer.
La Spigola is open from March to November, and even nicer is to go there out of season, as happened to us. Roberto Pisano concludes our chat by telling us, “If I were asked, ‘Would you leave Sardinia?’, my answer would be, ‘Absolutely not, I love this island, I believe in Sardinia and I feel more Sardinian than the Sardinians!’” Visit him, he is worth it.
Contact
La Spigola
Via C. Colombo, 19, 07020 Golfo Aranci SS
Phone: 0789 46286
