Reviews

"Sorrento serenade" - Kylie Lang (Brisbane News)

In this southern region of Italy the modern world takes its cues from the past writes Kylie Lang.

American novelist Jamaica Kincaid once said:  "If I actually ran the world, I'd do it from the kitchen”.  If Alfonso Iaccarino did this, the world would be full of passion, creativity and respect – and we'd all eat incredibly well.

Alfonso is the leading man at the Don Alfonso, a two-Michelin starred restaurant founded by his grandfather in 1890, on the picturesque  Sorrentine Penninsula.

Although Alfonso does less of the cooking these days, his love of pure flavours and refinement has rubbed off on his 38 year old son Ernesto who, ever so calmly, turns out artful creations such as marinated sea bream with yoghurst sauce and candied lemon (with lemons from the family's organic farm) and Il Vesuvio di rigatoni, a tower of pasta inspired by nearby Mount Vesuvius.

Even the kitchen is a work of art, with hand-painted Vietri tiled walls and gleaming surfaces of stainless steel.  It is the most beautiful- and cleanest – commercial kitchen I have ever seen.  The same care and attention to detail is replicated in the pretty white and pink dining room where Alfonso's wife Livia and elder son Mario warmly look after the guests.

Eating at Don Alfonso is an experience everyone who loves good food should do at least once.  The Americans at the table next to us flew in from Florida purposely to have lunch. It was their fourth visit in as many years.

Brisbane chef Nicola Robertiello, who was executive chef at Dell'Ugo New Farm before landing a job in the Iaccarino kitchen, is soaking up all he can.  What impresses him most is the dual commitment to innovation and preservation of tradition.

The cellar comprises three rooms, the first dating back to the 7th century, the second to the 5th, and the last incredibly is a hangover from the 6th century BC.  Snugly underground at the bottom of a precarious flight of ancient stone steps, conditions couldn't be better for a stash of Sassicaia.  Don Alfonso also has an on-site cooking school and boutique hotel, both exquisitely decorated in bubblegum colours and more of those scrumptious tiles from Vietri.

It's no wonder Don Alfonso is considered the jewel of Sant'Agata Sui Due Golfi , a village 10 minutes drive up the hill from Sorrento and close to Positano and Amalfi.

Qantas Inflight Magazine - April 2009 (page 139)

Dell’ Ugo serves cut-above, authentic Italian dishes in a buzzy dining block along New Farm’s major approach road. It absorbs the character of the street, so it’s fun and lively on a Friday evening – it’s not the place for a love tryst – and at lunchtime more redolent of Italy: vital and indulgent. Although the mood is open and inclusive, part of the dining area can be enclosed around a square table for a group of up to 22. Daily specials such as linguine alla vongole are recommended because the star ingredients always shine. That said, it would be a shame not to explore the menu. Past items such as duck maryland, stuffed with shallots and muscatels, in a honey-and-star anise broth, give you some idea. Professional service adds to the outing.