Ristorante Prato Gaio, Montecalvo Versiggia (Oltrepò)

The “Prato Gaio” story began in 1890, when the Daprati family opened a tavern and a bowls court in a little hamlet called Versa, near Montecalvo Versiggia. In the early 1900s Maria Daprati married Giuseppe Liberti: it was the beginning of a succession of generations that have worked continuously to provide hospitality for the upper Versa Valley. Around 1920 a dance hall was opened near the tavern, which made Versa the most sought-after place in the valley for an entertaining night out. A primary school teacher from the nearby village of Volpara called the dance hall ‘Il Prato Gaio’ (The Gay Lawn) to underline the joyful atmosphere.
In 1970 the present-day building was constructed: under the management of Teresita Ester Ghelfi and Vittorio Liberti, the Prato Gaio came to be a shrine to good times in Oltrepò tradition. In 1990 Giorgio Liberti took the torch from his father Vittorio and from his brother Mariano and, with the experienced and sensitive Daniela Calvi at his side in the kitchen, continued to renew the family lore in cuisine and hospitality at the Prato Gaio.

The Prato Gaio restaurant is truly a hymn to local gastronomy, to the tune of rediscovered recipes from the past, local ingredients, and wines of the highest quality, all chosen with the utmost care and attention.
The Prato Gaio signature dish is the “Duls in Brusc” (dolcebrusco in Italian). It is a traditional sauce made with egg yolks, anchovies, capers, lemon, vinegar and sugar, which accompanies the meat of farm animals out of the stockpot.
The wine list (“the Gaia Carta”), like the menu, is an authentic love song to Oltrepò. Only the best local wines feature in a list that is 100% Oltrepò: a bold choice, and a proud one, which values small producers capable of great products, helping to make them better known.