Il Fiorile - BORGHETTO DI BORBERA

The restaurant and its chef Massimo are incredible. This is experience really worth 3 Michelin stars! Everything is freshly prepared from the local produce. Every single thing is absolutely amazing! We travel a lot and we like to dine out at home and when we travel. I visited a lot of good restaurants, but can probably count on one hand restaurants that were simply outstanding, that offered culinary experience that we will never forget. Il Fiorile is one of them. If you are in the area go for dinner there, you will not be disappointed!

I was in this restaurant/farm recently for a wedding lunch, a beautiful location situated close to the town Borghetto Borbera. The farm was actually very nice, in the deep countryside, a relaxing environment. I had lunch served by the catering service, I can admit that the food and service were very good. Excellent location with the pool also available.

Nice quiet location a few minutes off the highway. Arrival is well posted. This is a good place to stop by for a meal on the way. Ample shaded parking and covered terrace. The menu is very short but dishes are good, made with quality products and presentation is perfect. Quantities however might be more generous, maybe not the best place if you’re very hungry! Bread and coffee very good. Wine by the glass ordinary. Service and prices ok. A quite recommendable address.

Getting to the restaurant in time was no easy business, Google maps suggested a shortest way that was unfortunately barred by a landslide, OK, we took the longest one that included a VERY narrow bridge (almost a catwalk) on the Borbera river. Anyway we got to the restaurant almost half an hour late, in time for the hors-d'oeuvres. Good vitel tonne' with a peculiar recipe (the meat wrapping the sauce rather the other way round), an interesting topinambour etc. sformato, finally a scenic but not so convincing haddock (on the dry side I would say). Two primi dishes, rice with red turnip and pumpkin and Montebore cheese (I skipped this one, not being a big fan of pumpkin, just tasted the rice, cooking was really OK), followed by agnolotti with roast meat sauce, very good on the whole, the filling perhaps too tasty. The main dish was braised wild boar with vegetables and rabaton, this is a local variety of quenelles typically served as an entry. The wild boar was very good, vegetables OK, the quenelles a little dry and, how can I say? purposeless, but anyway nice. Dessert with some chocolate-filled stuff I cannot remember the official name of (very good) together with some biscuits plus zabaglione sauce (good but a little airy). Oh, sorry, I was forgetting about a chocolate-coated kumquat, a favorite of mine. The Nebiolo wine was OK, OK also the coffee. Quick service considering the day. The bill was extremely reasonable. The venue is nice, parking is a weak spot (not so many places), also the low ceiling enhances noise. But, on the whole, a nice experience.

If you are anywhere in the area you simply must go to Il Fiorile for dinner. It is incredible. Lovely outside dining, delicious wines and splendid, absolutely amazing, cooking. We loved absolutely everything. Please try the homemade liqeurs with coffee. Remarkable food and drink. Remarkable owners, just lovely.