Don Alfonso 1890

Absolutely wonderful food and dining experience. Main point of my review is to let you know that you can reach it by the SITA bus (main line btwn sorrento positano amalfi etc). No need to spend $$ on a driver. Get off at stop name ‘bovio sant’ agata’ (make sure you look at the stops for the time you get on because the bus takes two routes between sorrento and positano and only goes by sant agata half the time). After you get off its an easy (flat :) 15 min walk and clearly marked by signs. Last bus approx 7 – 8 pm so can’t do dinner. And in the late afternoon they only run once an hour, but while we waited, it was a nice chance to chat about everything we ate :)

Open from 20:00. There are lots of parking spaces inside of entity. Valet parking staff will take care of your car when you drive in.
Tonight there were 15 Caucasian and 9 Japanese in total to start with. What an occasion.
I tried ‘The traditional’ tasting menu for 140 euros. It was worthy coming here and I AM stuffed. Managers, servers, sommeliers and chefs are all nice.
I got to see the wine cave before dinner.
The traditional tasting menu is consisted of amuse, 2 antipasto, primo piatti, secondo piatti, cheese, pre dolce, dolce, piccola pasticceria. Deep fried lobster, Deep fried fig, and Deep fried lemon. A little too much of deep fries, though they were somewhat tasty.
For more detail, please see photos I took.
Even though its wine cellar IS incredible, unfortunately the selections of glass wine seemed to be limited. I wanted to have a Bordeaux ish, but they could have served only Madeira ish ones. Was it because of local grape or Lazio cab? It was my first time to decline twice. I don’t know why, but third chianti had also smelled and I felt it like Madeira ish. Maybe it’s because of my nose?, temperature?, or shape of glass? Anyway, a glass of white wine was excellent, though.
Overall, it was a very sophisticated experience in Sorrento, Italy. I loved the service and ambience a lot. Someday, I’d like to come again.

we booked a cooking course through here, and this place is gorgeous. we arrived the afternoon before the course and it was still sunny out. upon arrival, we sat in the lounge/​library area and were treated to almond water and dried lemon peels. then we were shown to our room which was gorgeous and had a huge bathroom. we then lounged by the pool a bit in the garden.
the next day, we had a private cooking course w/​one of the chefs of the restaurant. of course, before that, we had breakfast, which was all freshly baked pastries, yogurt and fruit. the pastries were fabulous. for the cooking class, since my husband is veg, we were able to make a veg version of everything for him and then a regular one for me. our course was a pasta course, and we made 3 separate dishes, all of them delicious. we also took a tour of the wine cellar which holds 25k bottles of wine. the cellar dates back to the 6^th century BC!
after the course (and after we stuffed our faces), livia, the matriarch of the place, gave us gifts of pasta and sauce to take home! everyone here was so lovely, and i felt like a member of the family. ernesto, the son, who is also the chef of the restaurant, also presented us w/​certificates of completion of the course. :)
i absolutely loved my stay here and can’t wait to come back again and again, especially since we didn’t get to eat at the michelin starred restaurant this time!

Here’s the short version… This was unequivocally the best meal of my life, an evening that everyone involved will always remember. We all had the degustazione menu, which was ten small courses served over a period of 4 hours… this is the Slow Food Movement at its very best. Each one was exquisite, so much so that the table (there were seven of us) sometimes became a chorus of people closing their eyes and moaning with the pleasure of the flavors. How can this food DO this to your mouth when 99% of the stuff that you eat can’t? Absolutely extraordinary food.
As amazing as it all was, if I could have taken only a single course with me, it would actually been the simplest: home-​made buffalo mozzarella which has ruined me for this cheese anywhere else. Unbelievably good.
The sommelier, a wonderful man named Maurizio, at our request served a different wine with each course, and the pairings were heavenly. At the end of the meal (it’s now midnight, and we’ve been here since 8 pm), he gave us a tour of their wine cellar, which is one of the largest in Italy… stone stairs descending down, down into what were once Etruscan catacombs, passing chambers filled with Brunellos and Barolos and even — in a dusty little alcove above the stairs — a G H Mumm 1893 champagne. When we emerged back into the restaurant, we were invited to join the owner — a wonderful woman named Livia — in the library, where she introduced us to her friend, a wine-​maker from Asti, and treated us to more wine and unhurried, welcoming chat.
I have eaten at great restaurants all over the world, but this one was in a class of its own. Truly an experience to cherish.

Wieviel Sterne soll man hier vergeben? Das Don Alfonso ist tatsächlich sensationell, bestes Essen überhaupt, was aber auch seinen Preis hat. Meine Freundin und ich hatten aber im Don Alfonso unser ganz besonderes Erlebnis: Nach einer schönen Wanderung durch Zitronenhaine kamen wir zufällig nach Sant’Agata und zum Don Alfonso, das uns vom Hörensagen bekannt war. Hungrig wie wir waren, gingen wir in Jeans, Fleecejacke und Turnschuhen ins Don Alfonso, eins der schicksten Restaurants in ganz Italien! Aber wir wurden tatsächlich mit unseren Klamotten reingelassen, saßen dort neben den «Schönen und Reichen» und hatten einen unvergesslich tollen Abend. Zugegeben, etwas komisch war uns schon am Anfang, aber die Bedienungen waren top, sie haben uns genauso behandelt wie die anderen Gäste auch. Wahrscheinlich hatten die Bedienungen ein Gespür dafür, dass wir es nicht nach außen zeigen müssen, dass wir uns ein solches Essen leisten können. Meine Freundin bekam ebenso einen Handtaschenhocker angeboten wie die 2 jungen, extrem gutaussehenden Begleitdamen von einem Herren, der Flavio Briatore sehr ähnlich sah (ich glaube, er war es auch).
Zusätzlich dass die Bedienungen uns gut unterhalten haben und uns ein unvergleichlich köstliches Dinner beschert haben, durften wir nach dem Bezahlen noch den exklusiven Weinkeller besuchen (wirklich sehenswert), außerdem erhielten wir noch ein edles Don Alfonso Kochbuch als Geschenk sowie hauseigenen Wein und hauseigene Nudeln. Wahnsinn! Und dass mit unseren Klamotten, statt abgewiesen zu werden, hat man uns noch besondere Ehre zuteil werden lassen, das Don Alfonso hat hier wirklich extrem viel Menschlichkeit gezeigt und hat sich nicht von dem äußeren Schein und der Regeln des vermeintlichen Kapitals leiten lassen, was in unserer heutigen Gesellschaft leider nur noch sehr selten ist. Sie mochten uns dort, so wie wir waren in unseren Freizeitklamotten, wahrscheinlich gerade desweigen, weil wir eben nicht das übliche überhebliche, herablassende Verhalten der Großkopferten hatten, sondern eben ganz normal menschlich auf dem Boden geblieben sind.
Wir werden sehr bald wieder in die Gegend reisen und mit Sicherheit wieder das Don Alfonso besuchen. Allein das ist schon die Reise wert.

Don Alfonso ist mit weitem Abstand das beste was mit jeh passiert ist!

Wahrscheinlich das Beste Essen meines Lebens. Frisch verliebt mit meiner Frau in Sorrent buchten wir ein Nachtessen bei Don Alfonso — damals eines von zwei Restaurants mit drei Michelin-​Sternen in Italien. Während zwei Wochen schleppten wir unsere Abendgarderobe für diesen einen Abend mit. Was dann aber kam war ein unvergessliches Feuerwerk für die Sinne. Die wunderbaren Ausgangsmaterialien aus Süditalien zubereitet auf höchstem geschmacklichen und ästhetischem Niveau und begleitet durch eine sagenhafte Reise durch die Weine Süditaliens (Don Alfonsos Frau ist die verantwortliche Sommelière). Der einmalige Genuss klingt bis heute nach