Agriturismo L'alloro - Valentano

Driving out to this rural farmhouse to eat at a family run small restaurant was an enjoyable and, in some ways, unique experience. Our party of five were seated outside as the evening closed in and were greeted and, whilst no menu was presented, we were taken through the available options in a mix of broken English, the occasional Italian word or phrase and some farmyard moos and baas. We settled on fairly straightforward options and sat back in anticipation. The food was very good indeed the produce was fresh and local and was cooked to an excellent standard. Service was friendly and responsive and the setting was superb. The whole experience was set off with a glass of the local bay leave liquor, made on the premises... The only downside was the bill our lack of Italian may have been a factor, but we did feel that what we were presented with had taken advantage of this and the fact that we had been to trusting in the consultative menu discussion that we had been taken through. A real shame, as otherwise I would have rated this restaurant higher...

We had a very nice lunch with good friends on a quiet Sunday afternoon. The family that owns and operates the agroturismo l'Alloro take great pride in their farm produce and cooking which shows in the quality of their food. They collect wild mushrooms from the forest (in season), produce their own vegetables and meat. We had perhaps the best mushrooms ever both with home made pasta (perfect) and best of all lightly fried to perfection. The mille foglie was an excellent example of this dessert. We paid about Euro 30 per perspon for a feast including wine and dulce. Location is very near the lovely small town of Valentano and has a very nice view of the surrounding agricultural landscape. Highly recommended.