Cantina della Stella

Peasant Cooking at the Edge of the Forest

At the edge of the Valle Andona forest, Cantina della Stella has been making agnolotti and seasonal dishes the way they have always been made — by hand, from memory, without fuss. Old-world peasant cooking of the Piedmontese countryside: the dishes that predate the restaurant as a concept, that were being made in farmhouse kitchens in these valleys long before anyone thought to charge money for them. The room looks exactly as it should — heavy wood, worn surfaces, the kind of interior that was not designed but simply accumulated over time.

The menu follows the season; the agnolotti are always there. The pasta parcels are small and plump, filled with braised meat and served simply in broth or with butter and sage, depending on the time of year. The rest of the menu changes: in winter the braised and slow-cooked dishes dominate, in summer the kitchen lightens. Open weekends only; reservation recommended to avoid turning up without a seat.