Alberto Bertani has the smile of a sincere and genuine person: it comes then almost spontaneously to willingly entrust to his hands, sitting at one of the tables of the QB Duepuntozero, the restaurant he has been leading for over two years with his girlfriend Irene Agliardi on the lake promenade of Salò, at the height of Sirena harbor. Originally from Gargnano, 37, trained at the Institute of Hotel Villa Alba and then in the kitchens of some of the most important hotels of the Riviera, Alberto made his big decision in 2009 by opening its first QB, always in Salò but in the high area of the town , in Campoverde. In five years he has increased and boosted its cuisine, getting increasing feedback before moving to the splendid new headquarter overlooking directly on the lake, a few steps away from the Bellerive hotel where he worked for a long time and from whose kitchens arrives also his current partner and collaborator Andrea Selleri. Last year came the Gambero Rosso guide warded the restaurant with its first Fork and a score of 78/100: an important recognition for what is now becoming one of the most interesting emergin places in the Garda restaurants.
“The move to the new location has undoubtedly helped us a lot – says Alberto -. Yet at the start my fear was that maybe I could not being able to transfer my idea of cooking in a bigger place, with about sixty seats against the 30 of the QB in Campoverde. But in the end I succeeded, remaining faithful to my line: which is linked in particular to a strong attention to raw materials and the desire to produce at home every product that comes to the table, from pasta to bread to biscuits, to liqueurs as the Limoncello made with our lemons, or Nocino, the Tantavero produced with berries of Lauro Ceraso. Without forgetting the capers that my father grows and produces in Gargnano “.
And very wonderful are those capers indeed, preserved only with the right amount of salt: the first thing Alberto offers you, with a hint of pride, and that you will find again later in some of the best dishes from a menu where lake fish stands out as the “star”.
“We are on the lake, almost inevitable for us to bring to the table what the Garda has to offer us daily: we have a fisherman with a boat docked right here in front of us and we buy directly from him, especially his exceptional sardines, which I clean before putting them in salt for about ten days and then in oil “.
From this exceptional sardines comes the homemade Saghetti with lake sardines, tomatoes confit and toasted bread with fennel, one of the must-try dishes of QB Duepuntozero: a balanced, tasty mix of flavors between Garda and Meditterraneo which enriches a surprising lake fish tasting menu ath unbeatable cost of 30 euros. In which it happens then to find another strong offer as the roasted whitefish with dried tomatoes, capers Gargnano and lemon confit on chickpeas cream: different flavors, but harmonized in a really exciting way. The Menu continues on the same line of accuracy, solidity and concreteness, ranging from the sea (very tasty and delicate is the Roasted octopus on mashed purple potatoes with Garda capers, and for those who want there is also a good selection of raw fish) to meat (the sumptuous Pluma Pata Negra cooked at low temperature with ancient mustard), and returning to the lake with a classic like the Pike Portesina or with Carpioni bred on Sarca in Trentino.
Even the desserts, of course, are home-made, with a prominent place for the classic Rose cake in addition to the wonderful ice cream and sorbets. The wine list, personally supervised by Irene, focuses on small labels. “I’d rather go in search of realities perhaps less known but of great profile, aiming to propose a network of small wineries which reflect more closely our artisanal philosophy. In total we now have 180 labels: Garda especially, but also Franciacorta, Valpolicella, and the rest of Italy, with a selection of Champagnes again based on pretty small maison”. The service, always led by Irene, is courteous, smiling and precise, all-female, the atmosphere is fresh and minimal, and the final bill confirms the will of Alberto and Irene to offer a really excellent value for money: we are between 35 and 40 euro without drinks, with markups very honest indeed also in the wine list.
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