Cuisine: Traditional Italian, Piedmontese.
Visit: November 2012
Price: High (the crème de la crème of the Italian upper class gathers here for lunch and dinner, so the prices are high).
Turin is the “City where Italy was created”. It was at the Ristorante Del Cambio, where Giuseppe Garibaldi, Cavour and Mazzini often discussed the possibility of uniting North and South Italy in the 18th century (Risorgimento movement). The restaurant’s location across from the first Italian parliament is not a coincidence when history is considered. Until today the back wall table overlooking the parliament building, that Cavour – one of the fathers of the nation – used to sit at, is the VIP table that is highly desirable to reserve.
Atmosphere: Del Cambio is the place to be seen in Turin. Its elegant interior, historical importance and a view of the first Italian parliament are the restaurant’s strong assets attracting not only curious tourists, but also the local society. Carla Bruni is one of the current personalities reported to be a big fan of Del Cambio. It is so pompous that one would think that dressing up is imperative, but that is not entirely true. The locals are quite casual so wearing a light sweater and jeans is totally acceptable.
Food: High quality ingredients, authentic recipes and lots of flavour. Some people are surprised that such a popular tourist destination serves great food. Just the fact that you are in Italy, where great food can be found virtually on every corner, helps though. Del Cambio could make average dishes, but it chose to treat its customers with excellent quality ingredients with a gentle touch of luxury. The crisp and fresh grissini wrapped in a cloth on each table are a good sign of tasty things to come. Moreover, each dish has a slightly local adaptation.
I loved the Vitello tonnato – slices of veal with creamy tuna sauce and capers. It was authentic, yet slightly different since the veal was more thick and served on the sauce instead of the usual underneath. The meat was generous and delicate, the sauce rich as it should be, the only drawback was the scarcity of capers that add more zesty freshness to this intense starter.
During the autumn truffle season you can savor a number of dishes prepared with the white truffles from Alba. From scrambled eggs, cheese to meats, all of them sprinkled with this precious and aromatic fungus. The pastas are tremendous. Homemade ravioli or taglioni are great with the truffle seasoning.
They have great deserts and coffee so you can treat yourself or reinvigorate after a big meal.
Drinks: The mostly local wine list is very good. We went for a glass of local white wine and were more than satisfied with the sommelier’s choice. The wine went well with our dishes.
Address: Piazza Carignano 2, 10123 Turin, Italy
Contact: +(39) 011 54 66 90; email: cambio@thi.it
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