Bonifacio Viii - SERMONETA

Staying in Sermoneta, been all over the region and the restaurants struggle with gluten free food. Visit Bonifacio (which is IN Sermoneta and when asked about GF was told “sure, we do lots of GF”. And they did, oh boy did they ever. The location is perfect with an amazing view of the hillsides and the hilltop village of Norma. The service was friendly and English is spoken although we still did try some Italian and they were sympathetic and supportive to our terrible efforts. The last night we were in Sermoneta we went back to Bonifacio. Lisa had GF Fettuccini, I had beef cheeks in wine (they’d been soaking in wine for nine hours… ..so good. It’s a family run business and we got to meet the family who were warm and friendly. Andre was our main waiter both evenings and honestly after only a short time it was like we’d known him for years. The staff took time to make sure we were happy with our meal. Also the Amora liqueur that they make and sell is delicious.

Was there for pranzo on Mother’s Day. 1 pm reservation, which is normally when restaurants begin serving pranzo. I was shocked to see that the restaurant was, at that hour, almost full, and and people were already through their pasta course! So, make reservations! The food was creative, traditional. 4 of us shared 2 orders of their signature mixed antipasto plate. It was more than enough! Tried to get the recipe for their onion marmalade, but could only get the very knowledgeable waiter to tell us it was red onions, cooked in red wine for 6 hours with a bit of sugar, but could not get the rest of the “secret ingredients” from him. The only thing I did not like was a spicy fontina-type cheese, but everything else was excellent. 3 of us had pasta courses: e dishes were a fresh tomato sauce with ground pork and almonds over “strozza prete” pasta — a hand rolled pasta made with flour and water. The other pasta was fettucine with artichokes — it was all good. Another person had a steak, rare, with potatoes. Desserts were home- made and delicious! Creme Catalan (what we call creme brulee), a semi-freddo with amaretti and rum, and tiramisu. Dinner was €116, which I feel is reasonable considering location and quality of food.

We went there with a couple of friend on an ugly day but the warm welcome with an italian prosecco changed our mind. The appetizers were phenomenal, goot the pasta and the meat good as well, but not exceptional Overall, we had a very good lunch and I reccoment the place

Dinner at end of sunday. Nicely situated. Unfortunately outside was full. Very good filé but other food medium. Spagetti Carbonara very little Carbonara. Table beside full of ants.

Excellent food, excellent service.. Beautiful surroundings What more can you ask for.. Staff speak and understand English extremely well