Ambasciata - QUISTELLO

The food at Ambasciata was the highlight of our most recent trip to Italy, despite a very good list of competition including Dal Pescatore and San Domenico, which were very good (particularly, Dal Pescatore) in their own right. I must admit I had no idea what to expect when booking at Ambasciata, and was a bit concerned when we arrived. We were the only party in the restaurant upon arrival, and only one large party arrived after us. Chef Romano spoke to us from his seat across the restaurant, which was a contrast to the otherwise very formal experience. The decor is like a circus...completely over-the-top and honestly a bit of a mess, with books stacked everywhere, baroque decoration, and angels hanging from the ceiling. The service and decor attempts to be very formal and old-school. Chef Romano initially seemed like an intimidating figure, but ended up being extremely friendly and we ordered through a conversation with him rather than via the written menu. We ordered the pigeon tortellini, tortelli di zucca, and the roasted duck for two with potatoes. The pumpkin tortelli is dish we enjoyed several times over the past few days, including at Dal Pescatore. Chef Romano 's tortelli di zucca were, for my tastes, the best of the trip by a wide margin. The filling here is a bit looser than at Dal Pescatore, and the pumpkin flavor is more intense, without as strong of a mostarda taste. The tortelli are served in a pumpkin sauce rather than solely dressed with butter and parmigiano as we had them elsewhere; the sauce was delicious and further intensified the pumpkin flavor of the dish. While the appearance of the large tortelli, somewhat roughly plated with the pumpkin sauce, was a far cry from the perfect presentation at Dal Pescatore, the intensity of flavor here was much more to my liking. This is a dish that I cannot wait to eat again. The pigeon tortellini are far more subtle, but just as delicious. The spinach pasta pigeon filled tortellini were served in a sauce of butter and parmigiano. The pigeon filling here was divine. The whole-roasted duck is presented ceremoniously in a large roasting pan before being cut up and split for each of us, along with potatoes and some of the cherry sauce. The sauce for this dish ranks among the best I have ever had, combining the complexity of the roasted meat juices with just enough sweetness from the cherries. This sauce along with the roasted potatoes was my favorite part. That said, the duck itself was also very well cooked, and in particular, the crispy skin was a joy to eat. We completely devoured this course. For dessert, I tried the raspberry souffle , which was presented more like an affogato, with a frozen, creamy raspberry mousse topped with a fresh, warm sauce of raspberries. I find it hard to justify the 35 EUR price for a small dessert, but again, this may have been the best dessert of the trip. The intensity of the flavor of the warm raspberry sauce was striking, and there was a nice contrast of texture and temperature. There were several free desserts provided afterwards, which weren 't particularly memorable, but good. We were also sent home w/ a box of several types of cookies, which made for a very unhealthy but very much appreciated breakfast the next morning as we headed to the airport. There is a lot of comment here on the prices. For the most part, we thought the food prices were reasonable in the context of the quality. The pastas were both 35 EUR, and the duck for two was 100 EUR. These prices are in the same range as Dal Pescatore or San Domenico for the pasta and a bit lower on the main course. The dessert, on the other hand, was in any rational way overpriced at 35 eur, as it is hard to justify why it costs as much as the pasta. The wine selection was fairly limited, not that we looked at everything available, but my guess is the wine collection has not gotten close to recovering since the earthquake a few years back destroyed much of their collection. We ended up settling on a Vietti Langhe Nebbiolo, which, at 60 eur, was the most overpriced part of the meal (not by U.S. wine pricing standards, but certainly by Italy standards, even at high end restaurants). In closing, Ambasciata was one of the most peculiar dining experiences we had on our trip....it is an extremely old-school, very expensive restaurant in the middle of a small town, with very questionable decor, that with only two parties dining in the restaurant tries to be a bit too formal for its own good. I wonder how the restaurant can remain open with the vast majority of it empty for dinner service, although hopefully for their sake they are busier on the weekends. That all said, the food here, if a bit less refined than the price point may suggest, was on taste alone by far the best of our trip. Sitting here in NYC now, I crave Chef Romano 's food far more than anything else. We cannot wait to return and encourage others to make a detour to come here.

We were invited to eat at this charming whimsical location. Its warm atmosphere is immediately welcoming unless you are a minimalist! . The restaurant had an amazing menu, even if a bit old fashioned, because women get the menu without prices :-0 Surely, it is a well respected institution of that region but our especially mine experience was not the best that evening. We waited looong hours for our food and in the end got the wrong dishes and for the vegan in our group a large plate of only cime di rapa, as the creative vegan dish that they could conjure up in nearly 1 hour of wait! This was especially disappointing because we had called ahead several days prior to our visit to inform the restaurant that we had a vegan person in our group and we were reassured that the Chef would prepare something delicious that evening. At their prices we were expecting better service and more attention to detail. Since we don't visit Mantova very often it will not be very easy to go back to give them a second chance but if you want a special location with a rich tradition and if you'd like to spend a lot of money do give this place a try. The menu degustazione was 150 Euros.

I have a few words, maybe I don't. there are places to visit, to enjoy, to try and try again. Today I had the chance to have lunch here, in what I shine from definí the bar of stellar wars a unique, magical place. the environment is surreal, gorgeous and warm. the

Among the most scenic restaurants I've ever visited. a true baroque sanctuary of the food and wine of the right hand could eat. I'm just saying they managed to get me a meal of beans, which I hate beans, thanks to superb soup with lobster and black cabbage. great also the rice cyn sausage and saffron of the hyran in pistils. to complete a zabaione cascade on a slice of soft apple pie. the franciacorta that accompanied us. in the room so kind and nice.

Nightsminla quality of the products offered, excellent hospitality and service of staff. a wonderful surprise the proposal of the baba of own production, a masterpiece of delicacy of flavors and aromas.