While exploring Abruzzo, we enjoyed much of the region’s characteristic rustic fare, but we also discovered several chefs elevating traditional dishes with refined techniques and creative ingredients. The following restaurants provide a delicious taste of Abruzzo by marrying long-standing conventions with modern ingenuity.

La Bandiera

This wonderful family-owned restaurant, set on a hillside outside of Civitella Casanova, embodies the pleasures of eating in Italy. Chef Marcello Spadone and his wife and children cook with vegetables from their own garden and employ the province’s best produce to create dishes like shrimp tartare with pine nuts and green apple, maccheroni alla mugnaia con sugo di pomodori (hand-pulled single-strand pasta with tomato sauce) and veal with celeriac purée and a vermouth reduction. The service is charming, and the wine list is outstanding.

La Bandiera
Contrada Pastini 4, Civitella Casanova. Tel. (39) 085-845-219