Piedmont and especially the Langhe region is easily one of the most amazing agriculture regions of the world with countless delicacies like the truffles or the Barolo & Barbaresco wines. The village of Treiso is located high up among the vine-covered hills close to the town of Alba. The small village is dominated by a picturesque square and you will find one of Italy’s true gems just next to it – La Ciau del Tornavento.

This hillside restaurant will give you some of the most complete Piedmont experiences available. All the best you can imagine from this fine region will be presented to you and accompanied by breathtaking views of the beautiful landscape. Make sure to dine al fresco, weather permitting. The big dining room inside allows great views of the outside scenery from most tables as well.

Chef Patron Maurilio Garola was born in 1958 in the town of Avigliana, just west of Torino in Italy. The Chef is selftaught and worked for about ten years in various kitchens before he started his own restaurant in 1989 – La Ciau. He moved his restaurant to its present location in 1997 and it has been renamed La Ciau del Tornavento. Today, there are two families who own and run the restaurant. Chef Patron Maurilio Garola and his wife Cecilia Monte have it together with Restaurant Director Nadia Benech and her husband Sous Chef Marco Lombardo. Together they have created one of Italy’s best restaurants.

Of course you will find the very best ingredients the region can offer of everything from hazelnuts to mushrooms, but in addition you will also have many seafood courses on display. Chef Garola has worked close with Japanese chefs for many years so you will even have a perfect interpretation of sashimi which is a perfect way of starting your meal. The amazing “Plin di Seirass” which is ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese and surrounded and cooked with a nest of hay is a must. Most of the vegetables are coming from the restaurant’s own organic garden just next to the terrace so you can expect to have herbs, flowers and vegetables way beyond what you are used to get.

There is a wide selection of dishes and menus to choose from so your taste buds will have plenty to enjoy, and all can be had with wines from one of Italy’s most amazing wine cellars. Head Sommelier Luca Ronchail manages a wine cellar of around 1,500 references and 45,000 bottles. Of course with the very best from Piedmont, but all the Italian wines of their collection are mind-blowing so expect nothing but the best.

La Ciau del Tornavento offers a complete package which results in an experience beyond great food and wine – this is a restaurant you keep in your mind and remember as something truly memorable.

Written by Andy