At Bagno Santa Lucia, a restaurant on the Marina di Castagneto Carducci in Bolgheri, you eat right on the beach. Seafood cuisine, of course, with proper wine pairings.
We are in Marina di Castagneto Carducci, to make a long story short. on the sea of Bolgheri, where the sunset, always colorful and striking, invites you to enjoy joyful glasses. In summer it is possible to dine directly on the beach under one of the many gazebos overlooking the shoreline. Only caution: make reservations well in advance and always by phone, because sell-out is the order of the day here.
At the head of it all is. Alessandra Toninelli, daughter of art. His parents and uncles ran a well-known Castagneto trattoria-pizzeria where local winemakers, at the beginning of the new millennium, organized wine tastings pairing great Bolgheri wines with jazz. Alessandra is an expert sommelier and takes care of the room and the cellar with a comprehensive proposal. He attended advanced training courses at the Tessieri School in Ponsacco with Stefano Cipollini. His right-hand man is Roberta Di Pietro, creator of a traditional cuisine with an almost maniacal attention to the quality of the raw materials and to the cooking that must keep the original flavors intact and the textures right.
Bagno Santa Lucia is by the sea and seafood cuisine obviously prevails over everything. Cooking fish is much less easy than people think: famous star chefs prefer to fillet and vacuum pack the best flesh from their catch, but the result after cooking is not comparable to using fresh. Even with large fish, such as grouper where some maturation is necessary, the cook’s skills and sensitivity clearly emerge. The pleasing succulence of the squid and shrimp espadella and the perfection of flavors and textures of sea bream and gurnard are an exhaustive demonstration of this.
Strictly seafood menu at Bagno Santa Lucia seaside restaurant in Bolgheri
The menu, as we said, is set mainly on seafood, although there are vegan and gluten-free proposals. In addition to the classic appetizers of crudo, small fries, and octopus salads, it should be noted that the squid and shrimp steamed squid with zolfini bean and roe is a mouthwatering preparation not to be missed, with its explosion of seafood flavors. Another intriguing appetizer is the bocadillo with foie gras and shrimp crudité.
Among the first linguine with clams and seafood or luxurious linguine with lobster, but also paccheri with clams, shrimp, dates, and basil dominate. Sometimes it is also possible to come across an austere black rice on cuttlefish with marked marine scents. For the seconds it is necessary to carefully study the fish cart and choose according to one’s taste from sea bream, sea bass, snapper, gurnard, capon, St. Pierre. In case there are tracine, prawns, scorpionfish, do not miss a succulent seafood soup, say a cacciucco, even if we are not in Livorno city. Alternatively, crispy fried food will please every palate. The accompanying vegetables all come from Castagneto’s trusted gardens. The choice of dessert is as classic as the decomposed millefeuille with custard and salted caramel.
Alessandra proposes the correct wine pairings. Bolgheri, where the invasion of the sometimes very standardized Vermentino has recently given way to the Bolgheri White with use of more interesting grape varieties, constitutes the main pairing with the catch. Alessandra’s basement, however, allows excursions to the rest of Italy and even France and also leaves room for the ever-increasing followers of red wine with fish with an excellent selection of labels.
*Santa Lucia Bath is closed from mid-November to mid-February. In season closed on Thursdays. From June 1 to September 30 always open lunch and dinner.
Prices in line with the quality of the catch, facility and service.
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