Antica Neviera House

We chose this place because my family wanted typical Abruzzo food, but Antica Neviera has changed management and is now called Olyas. We weren't told this when we phoned to book the day before. Once there, the current owner said the restaurant offered a seafood menu or a meat menu, but no typical Abruzzo dishes. I think they should have let us know when we reserved. Since it was already 1:45 PM, we stayed and ordered two first courses and two second courses. Everything was excellent and cooked well, but we still wanted the food we'd come for. It left us feeling scammed.

We only stayed because we mainly needed a place to sleep, and thought we wouldn't get a refund since there were towels and hot water. The host would surely have rented it again anyway. On arrival in the afternoon, the steep steps through tall grass already gave us a bad feeling. Inside, there was a cramped main room, a bathroom, and a tiny bedroom with a bunk bed. There was no kitchenette, so no breakfast. The fridge was switched off and empty, and neither it nor the microwave worked. The place smelled bad and felt cramped and unlivable, with damp walls and sheets that seemed second-hand, maybe even third-hand. There's no Wi-Fi, and the nearest useful bar is 300 meters away. The TV only had sound on RAI channels. No toilet seat, a leaking shower, and no closet. There were towels and hot water, at least. We called the owner about the faulty TV, and found him annoying and arrogant. We weren't asked for our document or given a receipt.

The hand-cut platter of local cured meats and goat cheeses was generous and delicious, and the spaghetti alla chitarra with cacio e pepe was just as good. The portions were plentiful, carefully prepared, and tasty, with fair prices and excellent value. A pleasant surprise in a romantic, refined setting. The owner and staff were very kind and helpful, and I'd gladly return.

The location is beautiful, but the food didn't live up to it. The appetizers were the one good part of the menu, though they came two hours before the first courses. Those dishes were inconsistent: some had plenty of pasta but only three mushrooms, while others were mostly mushrooms with very little pasta. The sides arrived about 10 minutes before the meat, and the salad and frozen fries were lukewarm or cold.