Trattoria Pallotta

A trattoria on the main square

Trattoria Pallotta is in the heart of Assisi, at Piazza del Comune, 3, under the painted arch of the Volta Pinta, a few steps from the temple of Minerva. The house boasts traditional Umbrian cooking since 1860, and in the kitchen is Margherita Balducci. The rooms have vaults and stone arches, like so many houses in the centre. It is the kind of place you go to eat what is eaten in Umbria, without fuss, after the basilica or before climbing to the Rocca Maggiore.

The family also has the Hotel Pallotta, a few metres away, on Via San Rufino.

What to order

The menu changes with the seasons. Pasta is the strong point: the strangozzi alla Pallotta, the house's long Umbrian pasta (€12), or with truffle (€24); tagliatelle with veal ragù (€12), potato gnocchi and meat-filled cappellacci with pecorino di fossa and acacia honey (€15). For main courses, the Umbrian classics: pigeon alla ghiotta with crostone and red onion from Cannara (€24), rabbit cacciatore with torta al testo and vegetables (€18), lamb scottadito (€18) or grilled sausages with potatoes (€13).

To start, the torta al testo, the Umbrian flatbread, with vegetables or Norcia ham (€8), or liver pâté crostini. There is a soup of fagiolina del Trasimeno, a small bean from the lake, with pumpkin (€11). For dessert, Assisi rocciata, zuppa inglese or tozzetti with vin santo, all at €7.

If you do not eat meat, the menu has dishes that seem to be so, such as the chickpea couscous with vegetables or the leek tart, but nothing is marked as vegetarian: ask when ordering.

When to go and how to book

Open all year, at lunchtime from 12:00 to 14:30 and in the evening from 19:00 to 21:30, and closed on Tuesdays. You book a table only by SMS or WhatsApp, on +39 370 369 8913; the landline is 075 815 5273. At lunchtime it fills with people coming out of the basilica, so in spring and autumn book the day before. You are in the heart of the pedestrian centre: if you come by car, leave it at Piazza Matteotti and walk down about ten minutes.