Casale Spighetta - Negrar

The restaurant is in a small farmhouse surrounded by vineyards, tastefully modernized with expansive views of the valley below from the terrace and inside dining. We dined on a quiet, cool evening, so sat inside and enjoyed the view through open french windows. The chef and his sister hosted us personally, and presented top quality inventive Italian cuisine, with some Asian and Middle Eastern influences. The food was as good as a Michelin listed restaurant we had dined in in Verona the same week. We were able to order wine by the glass which was well chosen by the hosts. It is a scenic drive up a winding country road to the restaurant, with a steep drive way to enter, so drive with care!

The restaurant is quite formal and the dining room is not that particular. On the contrary, we had an excellent dinner and all dishes we tried were simply delicious. We were particularly satisfied with quality of ingredients and their presentation on the table, which was very modern and sophisticated. In particular, these dishes were really excellent: tuna cooked in 4 different ways (from raw to cooked), fish and vegetables delicate tempura, scallops that were a special dish of the day. It's very rare to find a good fish restaurant. It's even more difficult in such a place in the middle of Verona countryside. I guess we'd return here again in summer....

This is a gem of a restaurant, a little off the beaten track, but well worth the twenty minute drive from Verona. It is set in beautiful countryside, surrounded by vineyards with a superb view over the surrounding hills: this is Valpolicella country. Angelo, who runs the restaurant with his sister, was an executive chef in various Four Seasons hotels around the Middle East, and his cooking is a reflection of that. He serves wonderfully fresh local ingredients, prepared with Middle Eastern influences. Fish, shellfish, meat, pasta and risotto are all outstanding. We didn't have room for desert, but I am sure they would have been equally special. Some exceptional appetizers included an assortment of fish and shellfish crudités, tempura shrimp, calamari and vegetables, and shrimp fried in a filo-type pastry influenced by Baklava. We enjoyed our homemade bigoli, a thick spaghetti, with rabbit ragout. Our whole grilled monkfish was an amazing main course, prepared with pesto and chopped nuts. Angelo himself visited each table and explained the menu in detail (he speaks excellent English). The only slightly disconcerting aspect of this, is that you don't know the prices of the dishes before the bill arrived at the end of the meal. There is a wine menu, which is fully priced. This is a reasonably expensive restaurant, but, we felt it was very fairly priced and extremely good value for money. The food, wine, ambiance and personal service are far from an ordinary experience at an Italian restaurant. At our first visit, we immediately made another reservation for dinner a few days later. A return visit to a restaurant can sometimes be disappointing as expectations have been raised the first time. Our second visit was even more special than our first. The meal was again wonderful, fairly priced and, overall, a wonderful experience. Very highly recommended.

Our host and winemaker from Zyme Vineyards (also worth a special trip) recommended this newcomer to the Verona area. The drive up into the foothills above Torbe di Negra was worth the trip, easily topping dining experiences in recent memory. For starters, the tuna done four ways was a symphony of flavors, fusing the local and middle-eastern spices familiar to Chef Angelo. The Alexandria-style prawns continued the theme of unique combinations to delight the palette, and heighten the mystery of what ingredients were arousing our taste buds. For a standing-ovation-finish, the creme brulee done three ways was superb, especially the coffee reduction brulee. Chef Angelo was a gracious host, visiting each table and explaining the specials and taking the orders, a personal touch that in itself speaks to the uncommon service and welcome that this ristorante offers the discerning diner. We will be back!

We visited this lovely restaurant on the recommendation of our guide and had a superb afternoon. Ristorante Casale Spighetta is beautifully situated atop a hillside, just outside Verona, with incredible panoramic views. Chef Angelo Zantedeschi came out and personally described his menu which is comprised of fresh local foods. He offers traditional Italian fare influenced by his Middle Eastern culinary experience. We dined on the outside terrace, starting with a beautiful bread basket of warm rolls and grissini. I had a trio of local salami and cheese to start (easily was large enough to share), and then a perfectly prepared sea bass accentuated by fresh yellow mushrooms, while husband dined on gnocchi and a lovely, rich veal dish. We left the wine recommendation up to Chef Angelo and were rewarded with a delicious, and very reasonably priced Volpicella, from a local winery. Decadent chocolate truffles and a small glass of a local liqueur were a perfect end to the meal. We spent two+ hours at the restaurant, and could have spent the entire afternoon sipping wine and enjoying the view. It was definitely the culinary highlight of our trip to Italy.