Zio Mamo

A fantastic dinner and such warm hospitality. It had the real taste of Italy.

The focaccia they brought in place of bread was good, and the starter was acceptable for a traditional Abruzzo trattoria, especially since we were hungry. The mushroom tagliatella was tasty too, though a little buttery. The mixed grill was another story: dry, stringy, and overcooked to the point of being almost inedible. And the arrosticini were so far from the region's "rustella" that they should be taken off the menu, in my opinion. They're a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this version does Abruzzo and its people no favors. We'd been invited by someone in our group expecting a home-cooked meal in a typical local trattoria. It became clear pretty quickly that this wasn't what good traditional Abruzzo cooking should be.

The hotel rooms could use renovation. The building itself, right in the center of Nereto, is beautiful, and the restaurant serves excellent traditional food with equally good service.

The food was really good, and the price felt fair for what we got. We dropped in for dinner tonight and were pleasantly surprised. This place seems to put more care into what's on the plate than how things look. The server deserves a special mention, she was attentive, thorough, and genuinely kind. We'll be back.