A flagship of Campania’s seafood cuisine, where the undisputed quality of the raw material goes hand in hand with the care of the surroundings and the professionalism of the service.
It all began 30 years ago when the Testa brothers, divers and fishermen, opened a place in Monteruscello, near Pozzuoli, where they would gather to eat what was left of the daily catch with friends.
It was only with the new generation, Daniele and Simone, Domenico Testa’s sons, that the restaurant took off and became the region’s leading seafood restaurant, where the undisputed quality of the raw material goes hand in hand with the care of the surroundings and the professionalism of the service. Punto Nave is a model of haute cuisine, a point of reference for fans of gastronomy and seafood cuisine that goes well with vegetables and everything seasonal, combined then with a wine cellar that touches on 1,300 labels, representing primarily Campania and then the rest of the world, where there is no lack of a focus on Champagne and in-depth coverage of Burgundy.
The catch comes from the company-owned boat “Angela Madre,” which sails from the shores of the Campi Flegrei and generally fishes in the sea of the Gulf of Naples, Procida and Ponza. But not everything, of course, is the fruit of Punto Nave’s fishing, such as some crustaceans that arrive from elective areas of the planet for the type of species (oysters are the example: from Brittany to Normandy to Japan, passing through Italy). There are also many ingredients on the Punto Nave table that come from artisans/fishermen/farmers scattered around the world, without limiting themselves to zero kilometers, since excellence is not only local.
The Testa brothers, with Simone at the stove and Daniele and his wife in the dining room, run this treasure trove of gastronomic beauty that stands out like an oasis in Monteruscello, the plain that was developed in the 1980s following the last bradyseism.
The glamorous environment with fashionable decor, divided into several zones and rooms by walls of refrigerated display cases, creates a warm atmosphere. The kiosk nestled in the garden at the entrance, where to stop for an aperitif, is reminiscent of fish markets.
Don’t hesitate to try the tartare, the plateau of crudes that varies from season to season, then the oyster tasting (with one in particular: “la secret de symphonie” called the rarest in the world because of the mysterious method of aging). These alone are worth the stop. Then Percebes from Galicia, King Crab from Alaska, sea lemons, mussels from Mont Saint Michel, urchins and lots of native catch. Then Beluga caviar and fine salmon.
Among the first courses, I would like to point out the tuna genovese, with broken ziti from Gragnano, then the vermicello with mussels, piennolo tomatoes and provolone del Monaco, and the ever-present spaghetti with real clams.
Frankly, Punto Nave is much, much more than what I was able to tell, because Daniele and Simone’s passion drives them to delve deeper and seek out varied raw materials of the highest level, for a cuisine that tastes of the sea and smells fresh, which makes this restaurant great.
