dawn3793

We will be in Positano for 5 nights at the beginning of September. I've read a number of posts on this board that recommend dining at La Tagliata and Il Ritrovo, which we are very interested in doing. A couple of questions:

(1) My understanding is that La Tagliata will come pick you up at your hotel and drive you up to the restaurant -- is that correct? Does Il Ritrovo offer a similar service? (Does it need to? I'm not entirely sure where these two places are located -- my impression is that they are up in the hills above Positano, but maybe I am wrong?)

(2) What are your thoughts on reservations? I'm guessing they are probably a good call at least with regard to Tagliata (since they will be providing transporation). How far in advance did you make them (e.g. before you went to Italy or once you arrived)? Did you have your hotel handle the reservations, or were you able to converse with the restaurant directly in English?

(3) I looked at the photo galleries on the restaurants' websites, and both dining rooms seem to be pretty casual such that I could wear a sundress and maybe a cardigan and my husband maybe jeans and a polo without looking out of place. Agree/disagree?

(4) What can we expect the damage to our wallets to be? I think I read one post saying that dinner at La Tagliata was 35 euro a person, but I wasn't able to find any prices on either website. And do they take credit cards, or do we need to be armed with euros?

Thanks!!!

remdog99

If we are talking about the same resto, then read on....

For those who venture to it in the future (and you should!), you first go to the town of Arcidosso, and then follow the signs at the roundabout for il bagnoli. About a 2 min drive later, you will find yourself in the small hamlet of il bagnoli. Just look from the resto, it’s hard to miss given the small size of the town. We walked in and were immediately enchanted by the large open pit hardwood grill, where the owner was grilling at any given time massive t-bone steaks, veal scaloppini, or huge strips of bacon, all local. We waited for a menu for a few minutes, but never got one, then the waitress, who appeared to be the owners wife, came with her pen and notepad and told us the menu. We ch9se from what we understood, which was the mushroom soup (loaded with porcinis and topped with crushed chestnuts, both from the local surrounding forest) and crostini antipasto for starters. The antipasto was glorious, and the soup even more so. Then out of nowhere appeared another bowl of soup which we understood came as a suggestion from our waitress, a leek soup (which we later found out from the cook from Boston that it had fresh clams cut up in it—unique and deelish!).

We were full at this point, so as you would expect in Italy while on vacation, we succumbed to the secondi—we wanted the veal scallopini from the grill but apparently we were misunderstood and ended up with a massive t-bone, cut up for us into about 10 healthy slices. Grilled with nothing but salt on either side, it was incredibly tender and oh so juicy. I actually got more of an appetite for it as I had each bite. We also ordered fried mushrooms as a contorno—expecting mushrooms fried in butter or the like, they turned out to be beaded porcini’s (we suspect the breading was some kind of semola-based batter) and then fried. Really good!

Rounded out with an insalata verde topped with franci olive oil (the BEST olive oil in Italy), a couple of espressos and chocolate mousse, we were more than stuffed but with no regrets! As we wondered what the bill would be, our guess was pretty much right on at 41 euro. Incredible value in our opinion (we’re from Montreal, so the total in CAD was around $55, all in).

As lunch hour wound down, a woman who had been cooking emerged from the kitchen and asked us if we spoke English, in English. And it was then we learned she was from Boston and was helping them out here for a while until she opens her own resto (which she said would be Spanish tapas since all the other resto’s around serve the same Tuscan menu). She has been a chef for 35 years and owns 2 resto’s in Boston, one of which is called Punicella. We learned from her that the meats we ate as well as all the meats being grilled were all hand cut by the grillmaster himself, and all from local farms.
Worth the detour? You betcha!

Trattoria La Tagliola
(0564) 967351
Bagnoli di Arcidosso (Gr)
Closed Mondays

ekscrunchy

You are not talking about the same restaurant. The OP is asking about two well-known places on the Amalfi Coast.


http://www.latagliata.com/

http://www.ilritrovo.com/

To answer your question, I would not expect a restaurant to come and fetch you and bring you home, although I know that some will do just that. Imagine how many in staff that requires.

If it were me, I would book a week ahead in high season. Italians generally do not book so far ahead, but these are two very well known and well-touristed places in a touristic zone. Why take a chance?

I am sure that many diners will dress the way you describe, but if I were your husband, I would wear something nicer than a polo shirt for dinner. This is Italy, after all, where la bella figura is important.

Il Ritrovo takes all credit cards. The price range in the SlowFood guide is given at 35 euro per person without wine, water or service.