Store Category: 2. Award Winning

After a few years of management in the city at Belgioioso, since December 2019 Vincenzo and Elisa have been at the head of the new version of their project, Il Gandulin, this time in the country side at San Giacomo della Cerreta.
An agriturismo in the midst of nature, alongside all the products they love using in their preparations.
Simple and local ingredients for an elegant cuisine, with carefully chosen combinations to achieve a contemporary exaltation of the smells and flavours of the farms of yesteryear.
No fixed menu here, just a constantly updated a la carte menu, depending on the seasonality and availability of the raw materials, while on Sundays we offer brunch.
A place that was planned and ‘sown’ with full respect for nature, for her resources and her rhythms. That’s why it’s called Gandulin, which in our Pavian dialect means everything that is a seed.

It is precisely with patience and perseverance that the seed shoots its roots down into the ground, and from little things, big thigs grow: a refined and quality cuisine today, a place of rest, of relaxation and hospitality tomorrow.
We also have special dishes for celiacs, vegetarians and vegans.

Why “il Cuuc”? It’s a simple nickname invented for Davide Palestro, which his family gave him when he was just a boy, when he was beginning to memorise the smells of his native Lomellina in every season. Goose and rice, aromas and hues, dishes brimful of flavours and tradition, which come to you today sometimes in altered form, alongside recipes for every palate, a simple cuisine that tells a story…
Opened in 2006, in january 2019 il Cuuc moved to the historical spaces of the hotel Bottala, right in front of the Mortara train station. This building comes straight out of the gastronomical history of the Palestros, which began with La corte dell’oca (the Goose Court), with Gioachino, known as the Peter Pan of the Po Plains. His son Davide is chef here today, il “Cuuc”, helped by the promising young Gabriele (his 20-year-old son).

Davide puts the smells and flavours of the Lomellina to good use – it’s no wild goose chase! There are few wines, but carefully chosen, with special attention for Oltrepò Pavese drops. Dishes you just can’t miss include: baccalà mantecato, focaccia al nero di seppia, datterini e olive Taggiasche; seasonal presentations and goose-based specialties; Carnaroli rice with garlic, oil and chili and frog stew; ravioloni with braised goose filling, thyme butter and gravy; quartered goose drumstick in sweet sauce; green cabbage bottaggio and, to finish off, a tasty Bonet.
Dishes for celiacs and vegetarians are also available. Closed on Monday and Sunday evening.

Ca’ Vegia is a historic, 19^th-century farmhouse in Salice Terme in the heart of Oltrepò Pavese, just a short distance Varzi, the home-town of Italy’s finest salami-making tradition.
In this wonderful building of stone, terracotta and fine boiseries, we offer fine seasonal cuisine, constantly in search of the very best ingredients both local and international level.
Our mission is highly subjective, of a decidedly artistic character. What makes the difference? We think it’s a matter of attention to detail, will to grow, to have experiences… in a word: it’s people.

Our restaurant boasts a charming terrace for al fresco dining, cool and comfortable in Spring and Summer.
We offer many services, always available 7 days a week! For example, romantic dinners in a private ambience, wine and food tasting, work meetings in a tavern with a projector, white-board and much else besides.
Our rich wine list boasts labels from around the world, with particular attention for selected Oltrepò wines.

The Selvatico family philosophy has never changed over the four generations they have been running their restaurant: “since 1912… it has been a story of hospitality”, without a doubt.
Chef Piera Spalla Selvatico, the lady of the house, takes care of the kitchen together with her daughter Michela, who expertly hand-crafts all the desserts and bakery products with inimitable passion.
If the lady of the house pays the utmost attention to the quality and authenticity of the products that make their way onto the menu, it is her second daughter Francesca and her husband Sergio Daglia who take care of the waiting on table and are always ready to suggest the finest delicacies of local tradition and the right wines to accompany them.
The care the whole Selvatico family takes in making their guests feel at home and the attention shown to every diner is what makes them unique: courteous, warm and professional hospitality.

Anyone who treats themselves to a stay at the Hotel Selvatico will appreciate the atmosphere of peace and quiet, far away from the hustle and bustle, a plunge back in time, without giving up the comforts of a modern hotel.
From the rooms furnished with every comfort, to the intimate shared spaces, to the restaurant capable of surprising with the delicacy of its wine and food, Hotel Selvatico leaves an indelible memory in every guest. From here you also have the chance to appreciate the beauty of the surrounding landscape, ideal for a holiday immersed in nature, with sport, thermal baths, wellbeing, fine food and wine, and culture.
The historical thermal springs of Rivanazzano are just a short walk away from the hotel, and still today are among of the finest of their kind for the treatment of respiratory illnesses, and offer a wide range of wellbeing treatments to truly relax the mind, body and spirit.

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.

The Locanda del Carmine is situated in Pavia’s old town, the ancient capital of the Longobards, where fascinating stories of kings and warriors, intrigues, struggles and conquests lie around every corner. The building which today hosts the Locanda, looking out over Piazza del Carmine, is where the Church of the Holy Trinity once stood, more than 1000 years ago. During renovation work, architectural features from this ancient sacred site such as columns and small niches came to light, and have been preserved and valued: today they are distinctive details of the main dining hall, just like the cuisine offered to the guests, which speaks of history and modernity at the same time.

Indeed, the Locanda del Carmine crew, the two young chefs Alex Agnelli and Giulio Mazzeo, have created a cuisine based on the union of tradition and innovation: the typical ingredients and dishes of Pavian cuisine are reinterpreted in a modern way, exalting their unique qualities, making use of the most up-to-date technology and latest cooking techniques to use traditional flavours to create brand new dishes.

A warm and familiar greeting awaits guests at the Locanda: Lorella, Raffaele, Livio e Daniela know how to welcome their guests with ease and the best of manners, to transform a meal into an experience capable of satisfying all of the senses. The spacious dehors, suitable to both the warm and cool times of year, affords guests the priceless pleasure of looking out over one of Pavia’s most beautiful piazzas, while savouring high class cuisine. As the sun sets, the majestic Basilica del Carmine casts dozens of evocative hues over the whole piazza.

The dishes are accompanied by a rich selection of Italian and international wine labels, chosen by Lorella Soldati, a certified sommelier and wine taster. Particular care and attention is given to Oltrepò vintages, which enjoy a great deal of space on the Locanda’s wine list; while selections of wines from Italy and all over the world, together with suggested food matchings, are far from absent.
For some years now the Locanda has been featured on the certified guide of the AIC (Italian Celiac Association), and is a point of reference for customers with gluten intolerance, who know they can find here products that are not only safe, but fresh and of the highest quality, like the bread and pasta hand-crafted with naturally gluten-free flours.