Oresteria: A Window of Ponza Island in Eataly Rome

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 5/08/2019

Oresteria: A Window of Ponza Island in Eataly Rome

Life spent on the coastal town of Terracina and Ponza island, Chef Oreste Romagnolo has created a tower of building blocks that he learned from growing up by the sea, smelling the briny air and tasting the salinity that envelops the food. In the kitchen he puts his memories, knowledge and experiences in representing his personality in the kitchen. The flavors and aromas are individualistic to his own interpretations, an unexpected combination of ingredients which delight the palate. What's exceptional is the unique harmony of tastes that he is able confidently weave together like his Fried Mussels Stuffed with Ricotta Cheese and the Skewered Tuna with Smoked Provola Cheese on a Bed of Lentils.

At Ponza island, he resurrected Mimi, one of the best restaurants in the island in the past, by purchasing it in 1995 and polishing it with his idiosyncratic touch. Thus, Orestorante with its levels of picturesque terraces, was born. The name is an acronym of the Neapolitan word for restaurant and his name. Soon after, Oresteria, a smaller and simpler version of Orestorante opens at the port road of Ponza. Like its mother restaurant, Oresteria also serves its guests with delicious dishes based on fresh seafood caught in the waters of the island.

Restaurant number three opens inside Eataly slated with a temporary residence for a couple of years until the 31st of March 2019. Called Oresteria by Ponza, Oreste has taken the job he is most fond of: sharing the cheerful colors and the alluring aromas and flavors of Ponza on the Roman tables for the locals and the tourists. A laudable ambassador of his island, he replicates the aura of Ponza with the colorful decors he placed and the dishes that he chose to present. At the end of it all, you just want to jump on the next ferry that will physically take you to the origin of all the delightful qualities that he presents.

Ponza can be reached by taking ferries from the ports of Anzio (1 hour and 20 minutes), Naples (2 hours and 50 minutes), Terracina (2 hours and 40 minutes), Formia (1 hour and 20 minutes), Ventotene (1 hour) and Casamicciola (1 hour and 55 minutes).

The entries at the menu can vary, depending on the availability of the fresh ingredients. For the appetizers, expect to spend between €8 to €25, the latter being a platter of different tastings of raw seafood concoctions of Oreste. Another interesting option is the Seafood Soup at €15. Options for vegetable appetizers are also available at an average of €10. For the first dishes of pasta and risotto based on seafood and vegetables, they are between €10 to €14. The main seafood courses are around €16 including a rabbit dish from Ponza at €14. Cheese plates are also available at €10 while desserts are around €8. Although the wine menu created by Oreste's wife, Sommelier Valentina Riccioni has a number of suggestions of wines hailing from different parts of Italy, do try one of the white or rosè wines produced in the island itself. There are only three producers of wine in Ponza and they merit to be tasted and enjoyed with Oreste's dishes.