Ristorante Hotel Villa Crespi

Go on a Culinary Journey…

When incredible architecture and beautiful nature complement each other an amazing ambience is created. When you add mouth watering and innovative food along, one can be transported to heaven at least for a short while before continuing with our day to day existence on earth. One of the ways to have such a surrealistic experience is to have a meal at the Ristorante Hotel Villa Crespi.

Ristorante Villa Crespi is a 2 star Michelin rated restaurant situated in the unique Villa Crespi in Via Fava in Orta San Giulio (NO), one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. It is situated very close to the beautiful lake amidst an ancient forest. The Lake Orta is a beautiful lake in Piedmont.

Villa Crespi is a different Villa compared to those you generally see in Italy. It has been built using Arabic architectural aspects. Its original owner, Christoforo Benigno Crespi, was a rich and successful businessman who had several connections with the Middle East. He spent many of his years there and this influenced him in constructing a villa in the late eight hundreds using oriental architectural styles, art, rich silks, damasks and artifacts from the region.

Villa Crespi has opulently decorated frescoed turquoise ceilings. The walls are covered with stucco – hand embossed copper moulds. Exquisite marble is also used as a building material throughout the villa. Green marble from Polcevera, red marble from Levanto, prized marbles from Spain and France are all used to add a sense of opulence to the villa especially in its bathrooms. The villa is filled with columns, archways and elaborately patterned floors.  Stables for horses, a greenhouse for exotic plants were also constructed. The property is enclosed by a huge wall with magnificent iron gate and also has a forty eight metres tall minaret offering a fantastic view of the lake. There is a small terraced garden which is nearest to shore of the lake.
 
In the late eighties Villa Crespi was converted into a luxury hotel. Ristorante Villa Crespi is a place for fine dining and gourmet food. It is considered as one among the finest of Italian restaurants. It uses high quality silverware, glass ware and linen. Each table adds elegance and luxury to the extravagant dining area with its high ceiling and decorated walls.

Ristorante Hotel Villa Crespi displays the talents of its inventive Mediterranean specialist chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo. Using mainly local produce, the chef has transformed this restaurant to a highly rated restaurant as it has two Michelin stars as well as high rating by other prominent food connoisseurs includingGambero Rosso.   

The food is mainly innovative modern gourmet food- Mediterranean style. There is a tasting menu as well as a la carte dishes. Although fish is used in many of the dishes the chef also uses meats from Piedmont, all specialty Italian cheeses, shrimps from San Remo, red mullets from Sicily and truffles from Alba. A lot of emphasis is placed on the freshness of ingredients and the best of quality and availability of raw materials. They prefer to use organically grown fruitsand vegetables. The pastas are also fresh and home made in traditional styles.

Some of the more famous dishes on the menu include raw shrimp, caviar cream egg yolks with salad onions, lobster, peaches and liver fat, gray rabbit of Carmagnola, different combinations of cod, squid, oysters, scampi, sea urchins, seaweeds fresh from the sea and of course fresh truffles from the neighbouring forests. The marine dishes featured on the menu may not be available daily as they are purchased daily and depend on the local catch. The breads are freshly baked and you can feel their warmth as they are just removed from the oven. There is a wide selection of cheeses. Many pastries, both traditional and innovative ones, served in unique combinations also feature as part of the menu. You can order sweet chocolate, various fruit combinations, fresh sorbets, ice creams, dessert Villa Crespi and many small pastries.  The dishes are beautiful presented and cater to finer palates rather than just being traditional Mediterranean dishes.

At Ristorante Hotel Villa Crespi  you can indulge in a large variety of coffee blends, different types of teas, different types of tisanes, many spring and mineral waters and a fairly large wine list. The wines are stored in an underground cellar. The wine list is long and includes over thousand premium vintages. The list includes Italian white wines, French white wines, international champagnes and sparkling wines and of course the popular Italian Reds.  

The restaurant is generally closed on Mondays and on Tuesdays only dinner is available. Many credit cards are accepted. As it is also popular with the “fine diners” from Milan and other close cities it is advisable to book a table in advance. Elegant and formal dressing is advised. Enjoy a meal at Ristorante Hotel Villa Crespi and you get a multi purpose deal –good food/ different architecture, luxurious and fairytale atmosphere and the beauty of nature in the surrounding alpine forest and Lake Orta.