There weren’t a lot of places open since Sperlonga’s high tourist season had passed. For example, this looked like it would have been a nice place to eat.
Ristorante La Siesta this way.
It had a cute name and a lovely, characteristic atmosphere. But no one was there.
I guess they were all taking a siesta.
This store sign shows a talking gelato cone.
“I can’t go in,” it says.
The rest of it implores,”courteously,” not to bring in any kind of food or drink. If we had some, we wouldn’t.
But we were looking.
We considered sitting here, but there was no table.
And this seat was already occupied.
Eventually we stumbled upon a little place hidden down some steep steps.
The giveaway was the lone table sitting outside halfway down.
This was Gli Archi Ristorante, a wonderful little family-run restaurant that serves only food in season.
The back of the menu must have been translated by Google Translate. But you get the idea.
The outside of the restaurant was very plain.
But the inside was not.
The dining room was beautiful,
but we still wanted to sit outside on that lone table.
The table seemed to be on a relatively flat spot so we claimed it.
Somebody’s ready to eat!
Patience, Gino!
Wine and vinegar.
And there goes Gino, getting into the act again.
Our waiter was a quirky, little old man. He didn’t speak a lot, or even smile a lot, but I thought he was very sweet.
The food was spectacular (which had nothing to do with me liking the waiter).
A fresh salad.
Prosciutto and melon. Yum!
Handmade pasta with calamari.
Have a bite! It’s yummy!
Gino’s pasta.
It doesn’t look like he plans on sharing his.
But at least he’ll give you a toast!
At the end of the meal, the waiter gave us our bill tucked into a large, beautiful card. The front of the card was a stunning watercolor of the outside of the restaurant.
This looks much better than my flat photo.
You can find Gli Archi Ristorante for yourself on Via Ottaviano 17 in the centro storico.
Melinda Trips 2012: Greece and Italy 