Borghese with ‘4 Restaurants’ arrives in Naples and rewards the best restaurant on the seafront
Reading time: 4 minutes
Alexander Borghese came back to Naplesthe capital of the region that he loves so much and where on many occasions he has come to record his best-known broadcast ‘4 Restaurants’ broadcast on Sky and during which he puts four restaurateurs in competition to win the title that he puts up for grabs from time to time. Bourgeois it had already stopped in the Neapolitan city in the second season (2015-16) of its successful format, but on that occasion it had awarded the ‘best innovative pizzeria’ in the city. This time the title to be assigned was that of ‘best waterfront restaurant’.
Logically there were four restaurants in the competition: ‘Osteria Pignatelli’ with Giulio (the placid) director and manager for two years of the restaurant in the Chiaia area which intends to offer true traditional Neapolitan cuisine; then ‘the square’ with Alessia (the capatosta) on the seafront among the tourist restaurants of the city, always with a traditional cuisine proposal; Still ‘Osteria del mare – fish and champagne’ with Ivano (the street urchin) in Piazza San Nazzaro, a young chef who offers innovative cuisine; in the end, ‘Grandma Tittina’ where Marianna (the manager) still on the Caracciolo seafront who proposes an idea of family cuisine that combines tradition and innovation. The special category of the episode was ‘spaghetti with clams’the dish that deserved special attention and ‘special’ scores.
The episode started from the restaurant ‘Grandma Tittina’ with Marianna as hostess. A problem related to sitting a chair immediately arose which the manager was quick to resolve. Then a pinch of cork was found in the glass of white wine. Then it was time to check the cut of the ziti, served with the ‘Genoese’, and on which doubts had been placed whether it was done manually or not. The first restaurant was accused of a lack of innovation in the dishes offered and not even the category ‘special’ found the consensus of the diners who, however, liked the desserts.
Then it moved on toOsteria Pignatelli on the Riviera di Chiaia, chic living room of the city, but without a panoramic view, according to fellow restaurateurs, where the ‘placid’ Giulio acted as host. Some problems are found in the cod dishes and a doubt is raised about the marinade of the salmon. But everyone likes the ‘special’ dish, even in its variations. While Borghese particularly likes ‘pasta and potatoes’.
Third restaurant in the sequence was ‘the square’ on the waterfront with a splendid view of Vesuvius where Alessia was there to welcome guests. The restaurateurs didn’t like the unnecessarily artificial location. Problems have arisen about the origin of the prawns and the texture of the ‘parmigiana’. The ‘spaghetti with clams’ was not appreciated. And unfortunately an unwanted ‘guest’ was found in a dish. But the dessert brought back a smile among the diners.
Last restaurant in the race was ‘Osteria del mare – fish and champagne’ in Piazza Sannazzaro, where there was Ivano, the only chef competing among the four restaurateurs. The location was not liked by restaurateurs who found it unsuitable for the type of restaurant. The first proposals in the dishes were not appreciated at all, finding many defects. But then the judgments improved on the latter.
In the end, after having discovered the cards and having viewed and compared the scores that the restaurateurs have attributed to each other, in truth with an excess of severity, it was Alessandro Borghese’s turn to confirm or overturn the judgments and attribute to ‘Osteria Pignatelli’ the palm of ‘best restaurant on the seafront in Naples’.
Apologies to those who have read the article to the end as the ending was spoiled, in any case we can suggest that you enjoy the Neapolitan episode of ‘4 Restaurants’ anyway.