Osteria Dintra u Strittu - Amantea, Italy

Rating:  7 / 10

A 7/10 in Italy is no trifling matter.

Having driven from Cosenza and stopped at numerous old villages with majestic vistas, hunger made it's presence felt and restaurants were decided upon. Being a sunday in Italy, things become slightly more problematic, but this osteria came highly rated and was thankfully open. 

A cheery woman pointed us to a table, simple stool seating in a spartan room. Menu's rendered, drink orders taken and subsequent silent shifts to behind bar counter for preparations. 

Meals arrived in unison and shone with promise. A vegan option, a vegetarian lasagna and a carnivores delight in steak and mash. 

My steak was cooked a couple shades over mid-rare, but the flavours were on point. The mash was decadently buttered and smooth and the onions added acidity to cut the richness. I spooned samples of the other two dishes and rested in the knowledge my table-mates also enjoyed good meals.

After paying, the joy of noticing the areas most famous gelateria was barely 40 meters down the road made all of us do miniature skips before embarrassment drove us to deep regret and marches of the scorned.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.