Osteria dell'Arco

A traditional osteria in the centre of Alba

Osteria dell'Arco is on Piazza Michele Ferrero, in the heart of Alba's old town, a few steps from the main street and the truffle market in autumn. It is an osteria in the Piedmontese sense: Langhe cooking without artifice, fresh pasta made in-house and an extensive wine list, with the Barolo and Barbaresco of the surrounding hills as protagonists. The house identifies with the Slow Food philosophy and marks on the menu the dishes made with products from its presìdi, the breeds and crops the association protects.

It is a good first meal if you arrive in Alba from Turin: you do not need much time and the prices are those of an osteria, not of a starred restaurant.

What to order

If it is your first time in Piedmont, start with La Tradizione (€16): a plate with Russian salad, raw meat beaten with a knife and vitello tonnato, the three starters you will find at any table in the area. There are other seasonal starters, such as Nizza Monferrato gobbo cardoon with fonduta (€14) or Carmagnola pepper with bagna caoda (€12).

First courses cost between €14 and €15: the tajarin "40 tuorli", thin ribbons of egg pasta with butter or with sausage sauce, the traditional agnolotti del plin, fonduta tortelli or gnocchi with blue cheese and hazelnut. For main courses there are offal and stews of the house: veal tripe, cheek in red wine (€16), roast tongue or Langa snails. For dessert, bunet (€7), a cocoa and amaretti flan, or the Monte Bianco.

In white truffle season the menu adds the classics with tartufo bianco at fixed prices: raw meat with truffle at €35, the egg en cocotte at €40 or the tajarin with butter and truffle at €50. It is a way of trying it without ordering a whole tasting menu.

Hours, booking and getting there

The osteria is open at lunchtime, from 12:00 to 14:30, and in the evening. The website itself gives two timetables that do not match: in one place it says it closes on Thursday and Sunday, and in another, Wednesday and Thursday; what it does make clear is that in October and November it also opens on Sunday for the truffle fair. Call +39 0173 363974 before going, especially if you plan on a Sunday or a Wednesday. Booking is by phone, by email or with the website form, and the staff confirm the table.

Alba's centre is closed to traffic. Park in one of the car parks on the edge of the old town and go in on foot: Piazza Michele Ferrero is a few minutes from the Duomo. If you come by train from Turin, the station is a quarter of an hour's walk.