Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890

The don of Italian cuisine?

Duck, apple, cinnamon

Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890, a legendary restaurant in Saint Agata, not far from Sorrento has been highly regarded as the very best restaurant the region has on offer. Besides its 2 Michelin stars, it is also part of Relais and Chateau, so it is a very special place without a doubt. As you can figure from its name, the restaurant has been around since 1890, under the same family for all these years. Its famous underground wine cellar was used to hide treasures and fine wines in world war 2. These days, it held some of the oldest wines in the world and is also used for aging cheeses.  

Cuttlefish, pumpkin, ginger and chili

Cappelli, chicken, onion, truffle

Grouper, vanilla, lemon, anchovies

To truly get an idea of Don Alfonso's offering, I opted for its long tasting menu. Unlike many other Michelin restaurants I have encountered, I can see the presentation is fairly simple, nothing too modern or innovative, with a single ingredient as the main focus, with garnishes and sauces surrounding it. I would say there are some excellent dishes, as well as some fairly standard ones. The cuttlefish buttons had a strange chewy texture with not many flavours, and the chilli used within the fish stock kind of overpowered the whole dish. The beef shoulder had a melting texture, with a rich buttery taste. The use of pumpkin and mustard worked really well with the meat, the sweet and umami flavour was remarkable.

Beef shoulder, hazelnut, mustard, pumpkin

Pistacho 5 ways, honey ice cream

Hazelnut, carob, truffle

I would not say Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890 is as exceptional as I was expecting, it was good quality cooking for sure, but far from faultless or eye-opening. I think that is a lot down to the fact that its reputation, along with a special journey that requires 30 mins taxi ride from Sorrento means anything below stunning would be a letdown for me. There was a little imbalance in the service too, the reception and the owners were some of the nicest people I have encountered, but some of the serving staff were acting like robots too. If I judge from the food alone, I would say it is a strong 1 Michelin star level and nothing more.

Food 4/5

What I paid: 
200 Euro per person with wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
190 Euro

Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi, Corso Sant'Agata, 11/13, 80061 Massa Lubrense NA, Italy

https://www.donalfonso.com/