Osteria Zanchetti in Valmetauro

Luca Zanchetti’s traditional inn in the northern part of the Marche region offers spot-on, carefully prepared dishes with distinct flavors.

Fossombrone is an important town in the heart of Valmentauro, in the northern part of the Marche region. On a side street off the main road heading up hill you will find a small courtyard with a tall fig tree growing out from one of its side walls.

Osteria Zanchetti is composed of two rooms above and the courtyard below, which is lovely in fine weather. Everything is done with care and in a style that recalls the 1920s. The cuisine, on the other hand, while based on traditional and basic ingredients, is modern and well-thought out. The ingredients include Slow Food Presidium legumes, cod and barnyard animals and these are subjected to the inventiveness of the chef-owner, Luca Zanchetti, who had vast experiences in Italy and abroad before finally returning home to what he describes as his ideal destination and to homemade recipes.

The menu changes often and consists of just one page subdivided into starters, first course, second course and dessert. The dishes are not many but they are very well described and not at all expensive. Among these we tried the baccalà (cod) with local organic vegetables; crunchy wild peas with farm ricotta and marinated anchovies; homemade cappeletti pasta with black pepper pecorino cheese; tacconi (a local noodle) with sauce and organic borlotti beans;and  pheasant with vegetables sweetened with Sambuca.

All the dishes were cooked to perfection, presented with care and were distinctly flavorful, made with ingredients that you can taste. I can’t say anything about the desserts but I imagine they are just as good as the other dishes we tasted. The chef joined us at the end of the meal and told us a bit about his professional life, which was extensive and distinguished. We were joyously serve by a young lady who put up with our quips and jabs.

The wine list is not long but rational and not expensive. It is subdivided according to their distance from the inn and the winery that made the wine. On Thursdays, customers can bring their own wine.

An average meal costs between 30 and 35 euros a head, excluding wine.

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