Trattoria Sottocastel, a place to feel at home and recharge your batteries

Arbizzano in Valpolicella is the town that hosts this small restaurant, a welcoming oasis of family tradition and home cooking.

Arbizzano in Valpolicella is just a few minutes by car from Verona and is home to the Sottocastel trattoria. It is a small restaurant, seating 40, a welcoming oasis of family tradition and home cooking. It is also a wine and food establishment where the hosts still find the time to sit at the table with their guests for a chat.

Before becoming a cook and restauranteur, Signora Vania worked at butcher’s specializing in horsemeat and when holidays came around she would often open her house to friends and relatives, cooking for never less than 20 people at a time. It was not long before she transformed her passion for cooking and hospitality into an enterprise and life style, with Trattoria Sottocastel becoming a reality in 2007.

Maria Vania Benico and Gabriele Quintarelli, husband and wife, have worked together since then and proudly still display the chalkboard that has their first menu.

The offerings are Vania’s creation and she prepares them with the help of an assistant chef. “My stove has six burners and an oven. I do not have any modern gadgets nor do I want them”. She also does the shopping and selects local products from producers who are her neighbors and ensure the prime ingredients are fresh and seasonal. The dishes are for the most part typical to the area like guancia stracotta all’Amarone (jowl stewed in Amarone) with soft polenta. There are also dishes that are influenced by other parts of Italy and the world like the tasty and enticing Spanish pork dish pluma di patanegra. The pasta is homemade every day using 12 eggs, not one more or less. Another traditional plate are the potato gnocchi, which are of course also homemade with perfect consistency and size, served with a rabbit white ragù sauce seasoned with rosemary. Wonderful!

Gabriele is in charge of the wine, about which he is passionate. Over the years he has selected some 20 different types, mostly local, as well as some sparkling Champagne, Trentodoc and Franciacorta. Valpolicella wines dominate the wine list, including lesser-known but representative gems like Valpolicella Corte Matio or Valpolicella Le Banchetta, which on the labels says: “this wine is born from the dreams of three friends… 1,000 bottles were produced”. Then there are others that are always good to find on a wine list like Zymè and Tedeschi. Gabriele has personally selected each wine, choosing the ones he likes and which, at Sottocastel, he enjoys suggesting to his guests.

This restaurant is a true find where the average per-head cost is between 25 and 30 euros (depending of course on the wine). It is a perfect place to get your fill of tradition, to feel at home and be pampered, somewhere to recharge your batteries.

Sottocastel is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday through Saturday as well as for Sunday lunch but only during the winter.

Given the limited seating and its growing and well-deserved popularity, it is best to reserve. Phone: 045 602 0855.

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