VITTORIA

You should spend a few days in the Asti area to experience the classic cuisine. Vittoria is one of these and is unmissable, not least for its unique creativity, rooted in tradition. Today, three generations work in the kitchen, under the smiling guidance of owner Aldo Strocco. But it's the creativity of young Massimiliano Musso, the grandson who works in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother, that has given this relais restaurant a new lease of life.

And so, from a renewed and joyfully creative menu, enjoyed in the formal à la carte dining room (there's also a larger one for groups and ceremonies, as well as rooms and a pool, and the brand-new Bistrot Ca' Vittoria open for lunch on the flower-filled terrace), here are the rabbit fillet and foie gras with soy milk mayonnaise, Taggiasca olives, and confit cherry tomatoes; Grandpa Aldo's vegetable terrine with tomato and carrots; seared red mullet with shrimp, aromatic herbs, an almond milk emulsion, and oysters with saffron cream; the evolution of eggplant parmigiana; and celeriac and purple potato tart with bagna cauda cream and cardoon (starters €20). For starters (€18), try smoked aubergine buttons with burrata cream, confit cherry tomatoes and aromatic herbs, gobbo agnolotto (a historic dish), Felicetti single-grain spelt linguine with scampi and foie gras foam, purple potato ravioli with crunchy vegetables and 24-month-aged Parmigiano Reggiano cream, and Carmagnola grey rabbit tortelli with gurnard ragù, shellfish bisque and orange zest. The honey- and soy-glazed suckling pig with marinated chard, grapefruit jelly, and green pepper jam may be brilliant, but the sumptuous dish for us has always been the pigeon baked in foil with its stock, foie gras, crispy legs, and porcini mushrooms. Alternatively, there's the sea bass fillet with a vegetable brunoise and aubergine and basil cream, the Piedmontese Fassone fillet with mint mayonnaise, and the crispy salami with a quarter of veal, turnip tops, and grape must (main courses €24). Massimiliano started out as a pastry chef, so don't miss his delicious Sacher torte, chocolate-glazed pear clafoutis with Roquefort ice cream, licorice ganache with chocolate glaze and lemon biscuits, mint and chocolate semifreddo, and gianduja cake with white chocolate cream (desserts €13). The "Terre Alfieri" menu is €65, while the "3+" tasting menus are €60 and "5+" are €75.