Beyond the Tourist Script

Italy as it is

Monti Azzurri Montemonaco: Dinner in The Sibilini National Park

Monti Azzurri Montemonaco. A rustic meat platter served on a wooden board at Ristorante Borgo Antico, featuring a metal skewer with grilled beef, sausage, and corn on the cob over a bed of roasted potato slices, accompanied by three small white bowls containing sauces and cooked chicory

Montemonaco in Marche is a tiny village with 518 inhabitants. But because the town is in the Sibillini National Park, there are 12-15 dining spots, so tourists after hiking Monte Vettore can easily enjoy traditional Sibillini food.

Deciding where to eat in Montemonaco, we opted for Hotel Ristorante Monti Azzuri also called Ristorante Borgo Antico, which was recommended to us by one of Mauro’s friends.

Hotel Ristorante Monti Azzurri: Honest Mountain Food in Montemonaco

This hotel restaurant (also known as Borgo Antico) is close to Monte Vettore or Monte Sibilla.

  • The Food: Traditional Marchigiana cuisine with a focus on Montemonaco chestnuts, wild boar, and Sibillini mountain truffles.
  • The Experience: A concise, well-executed menu in a small, 2-room setting. Highly popular with locals.
  • The Value: Expect decent portions and fair pricing
  • Pro Tip: Reservations are essential

Address: Via S. Biagio, 1, 63088 Montemonaco AP, Italy

Monti Azzurri Montemonaco

The Menu: Avoiding the Bloat

We booked a table and arrived just after 8pm. Pretty early by Italian standards, but I don’t like eating late, and in the mountains, restaurants might close earlier than those near beaches.

There were already some guests there, and that all the tables were booked in the room where we were sitting. I thought that they were for the hotel guests, but as we saw later on, locals also eat there.

The Hotel Ristorante Monti Azzuri is not big, I think there are 2 rooms. Where we were sitting, there were 6 or 8 small tables, so making a reservation was a good move.

The waiter brought menu – fortunately not the bloated one. I really don’t like restaurants with such menus because I never know what to choose.

Monti Azzurri Montemonaco Specialties: Chestnut Soup and Wild Boar

We skipped a starter, and had just a double main course (in Italy, 1st and 2nd piatto). Mauro opted, as Italians usually do, for pasta with a wild boar sauce.

A top-down view of a plate of wide ribbon pasta coated in a thick, rustic wild boar ragu, served at Ristorante Borgo Antico with two forks resting on the sides of the white plate.

I decided to give a try at a soup. Coming from a country where soups are everywhere, I find the Italian ones watery and besides brodetto (fish soup), which I like very much, the rest (in my opinion), is rather flat and not good at all. Italians just can’t make them.

I ordered a soup made of legumes and Montemonaco chestnuts.

A bowl of white bean and chestnut soup in a dark bowl, served with a slice of toasted bread and a metal spoon. The dish is photographed from above on a light-colored tablecloth.

This time, I was positively surprised – the soup was dense and simply very good. The chestnuts added a bit of sweetness, but it was broken by the neutral taste of the legumes. It was served with a piece of toasted bread. Bread in regions above Rome is made without salt, that’s why it’s bland, but with good soup, even tasteless bread was OK. Mauro was very happy with his pasta.

The Meat Platter and Local Mushrooms

Then we ordered meat. Mauro had beef in sauce (similar to gravy) with porcini, ie Sibillini mountain mushrooms. He really enjoyed it. The meat was soft, sauce rich in taste and flavour. According to him, perfect.

Slices of roast beef covered in a thick brown gravy with mushroom bits, served on a white plate and garnished with chopped parsley. The plate sits on a light-colored tablecloth next to a fork and knife.

I ordered something that seemed small, but it wasn’t. It was a meat platter presented in an fancy way. When it arrived, I was amazed.

In a wooden holder there was a skewer with three pieces of meat, a sausage, and a piece of grilled corn. Beneath it were appetizing slices of baked potatoes.

A metal skewer with grilled meat, a corn cob, and sausage suspended over a black slate board with roasted potato slices. The serving set is mounted on a wooden base engraved with "Ristorante Borgo Antico," placed on a restaurant table with wine glasses and bread in the background.

In three small bowls were BBQ sauce, a kind of green puree, and cooked chicory. I was a vegetarian for years and still don’t know what meat should taste like, but this was very good. The grilled beef didn’t require chewing, the sausage was well-seasoned, and the pork was juicy. Super. We also ordered extra cooked chicory because I really like it.

We had a jug of tap water and a half litre of good house wine. The portions were decent, so our stomachs strongly opposed the dessert, but they accepted a shot of liquor.

Value for Money: The Final Bill and My Opinion

For the whole dinner we paid 60 euros. A very good value for money.

The food was very good, the service was nice and efficient, and the bill was wallet-friendly. I don’t know whether it was the best restaurant or food in Molntemonaco, but my goal was to have a decent meal, and not the best restaurant, and I had it. Is there anything else what I would expect from the hotel restaurant? Not really, that’s why

if I happen to visit this tiny town again, I will go to this restaurant again without hesitation.

Quick Tips for Ristorante Monti Azzurri

  • Reservations: Necessary (only 6-8 tables in the small room).
  • Timing: Arrive by 8:00 PM; mountain hours are shorter than coastal ones.
  • The Name: Look for “Borgo Antico” signage, as it’s the restaurant’s specific name.