This historical institution should be on every foodie’s list.
Located in a small town called Rubiera, Arnaldo Clinica Gastronomica is the oldest Michelin starred restaurant in Italy which has held one star since 1959. Mind boggling! The restaurant resides in a 15th century palazzo and once walking inside, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back in time.
The cuisine celebrates Emilian traditions and hasn’t changed in decades. The various trolleys rolled around the restaurant are used to display selections of antipasti and desserts but their main attraction is the meat trolley showcasing various roast and boiled meats. The menu has an à la carte option but we decided to get the “Degustazione Arnaldo”, one of the tasting menus as it had all the dishes that we wanted to try.
The first trolley to arrive was the antipasti, the appetizers, and we both asked for a variety of items.
Antipasti (8/10).
This included various cold cuts: Prosciutto di Parma, Salame di Reggio, and Mortadella. I really enjoyed the erbazzone, a traditional Emilian savory pie with spinach and cheese. The chicken salad with lettuce and a mayonnaise based dressing was also tasty as well as the beef carpaccio with Parmigiano Reggiano.
Cappelletti in Brodo (9/10).
Another traditional dish from the Emilia-Romagna region is of course cappelletti in brodo. In theory, you should be able to fit 6 of these tiny stuffed pasta on a soup spoon. Filled with a savory Mortadella and Parmigiano Reggiano filling, these scrumptious morsels are served in a delightful chicken broth.
Passed the 6 Cappelletti/Tortellini Rule!
We actually learned about this restaurant from YouTube where they showed their signature lasagna with morel mushrooms.
Spugnolata Mignon (Tommaso’s Dish).
Their signature lasagna has a rich béchamel with finely minced meat scraps from the boiled meats trolley so no meat goes to waste. The delicate pasta sheets are layered with the béchamel meat mixture with Parmigiano Reggiano and layers of plain béchamel sauce. It’s topped with a morel mushroom mixture that’s been cooked in olive oil with onion, wine, and tomato. While Tommaso said the portion was a little small, he did say it was a delicious lasagna which was different from what he’s tried before.
Since I don’t eat mushrooms, they swamped out the lasagna on my tasting menu.
Tagliatelle Verdi al Ragù di Prosciutto (9/10).
I loved this green tagliatelle with a Prosciutto meat sauce. The texture of the noodles were perfect and the sauce was extremely flavorful. Basically an umami bomb.
Carrello dei Bollito e degli Arrosti.
This was the boiled meat and roasted meat trolley with a plethora of options from beef, pork, chicken, and various cuts of each.
Various Meats Served with Several Sauces and Mostarda (8.5/10).
I can’t exactly recall all the meats that I picked out but I know I got a good variety of boiled and roasted meat options. It was fun to mix and match the various sauces and mostarda (pictured in the back) and see what paired well with the different types of meat.
Carrello dei Dolci.
We decided to share an array of desserts and the waiter seemed perplexed as I guess most people choose a few but we decided to try pretty much everything.
Dolci (8/10).
This included poached pears with zabaione; crème caramel; zuppa inglese (traditional dessert with custard and spongecake dipped in Alchermes liqueur); budino della nonna (pudding); torta di ciocolato; semifreddo d’Arnaldo; and mousse al cacao.
To dine here was truly a unique experience with its old school vibes and cuisine that hasn’t changed in decades so my rating is an 8/10.