Risotteria del Borgo Review: Creative Risotto, Saffron and Mountain Cooking in Rovere, Abruzzo
Risotteria del Borgo is hidden inside Rovere, a small mountain village in the province of L’Aquila, at more than 1,400 metres above sea level and close to the ski areas and hiking routes of the Sirente-Velino Regional Park. The restaurant occupies an intimate stone-and-brick space in Largo Pasqualina Nusca, with vaulted ceilings, wooden tables and the compact dimensions of a true village dining room.
The name explains the kitchen immediately. Risotto is the speciality, but not in the narrow sense of offering three predictable variations. Saffron, porcini mushrooms, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, citrus, fennel, ginger, turmeric, berries and blue cheese appear across a menu that moves freely between Abruzzo ingredients and more personal combinations.
We visited in 2026 and found the risotti far more interesting than the generic mountain-restaurant formula might suggest. Some combinations are reassuringly regional, particularly saffron with sausage or porcini mushrooms; others deliberately move into sweeter, more aromatic territory. The best approach is to order different risotti across the table and taste them side by side.
A Tiny Restaurant in the Mountains of Abruzzo
Rovere is part of the municipality of Rocca di Mezzo and sits on the Altopiano delle Rocche, one of the high plateaus of inland Abruzzo. Risotteria del Borgo fits naturally into this landscape: small, warm and built around dishes that make sense after a day in the mountains.
The interior is one of the restaurant’s strongest features. Brick vaults, exposed masonry and restrained lighting create an intimate room without turning rural architecture into decoration. There is little separation between the identity of the village and that of the restaurant.
The current menu remains relatively inexpensive. Risotti generally sit between €11 and €12, while grilled lamb starts at €16 and beef fillet dishes range from €17 to €20.
Saffron and Sausage Is the Risotto to Start With
The risotto with saffron and sausage, priced at €11, is the most obvious introduction to the restaurant.
Saffron has deep roots in the province of L’Aquila, particularly around Navelli, and using it with sausage immediately places the plate in Abruzzo. The spice gives the rice its floral, slightly earthy perfume while sausage supplies fat, salt and depth.
The success of the dish depends on proportion. Too much sausage would bury the saffron; too little would leave the rice without enough savoury structure. Here the combination remains readable, with the creaminess of the risotto acting as the link between the two ingredients.
It is uncomplicated but not banal, and it gives the restaurant a regional anchor before the menu begins moving into more unusual territory. The current menu lists the dish at €11.
Saffron and Porcini Is the More Elegant Alternative
The saffron and porcini risotto, at €12, takes the same aromatic base in a deeper, earthier direction.
Porcini bring forest aromas and a softer texture than sausage, allowing the saffron to remain more evident. The rice becomes richer without relying on meat, and the pairing feels particularly appropriate in this mountain setting.
This is also one of the restaurant’s strongest vegetarian choices. The flavours have enough depth that removing meat does not make the dish feel secondary.
Between the two saffron risotti, the sausage version is more rustic; the porcini version is more aromatic and precise. Ordering both for the table is the easiest way to understand how effectively the kitchen changes the personality of the same principal ingredient.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Radicchio and Gorgonzola Is the Boldest Risotto
The risotto with Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, red radicchio and Gorgonzola, priced at €11, is one of the most distinctive combinations on the menu.
The wine gives the rice colour, acidity and dark-fruit depth. Radicchio adds bitterness, while Gorgonzola supplies creaminess, salt and its characteristic blue-veined intensity.
It sounds heavy on paper, but the bitterness of the radicchio is essential. Without it, wine and cheese would push the dish towards sweetness and excessive richness. Instead, the three ingredients pull against one another: fruity wine, bitter leaves and pungent cheese.
This is not the risotto for diners seeking subtlety. It is the plate to order when you want to understand the more assertive side of Risotteria del Borgo.
Orange and Fennel Show a Completely Different Side of the Kitchen
The orange and fennel risotto, at €11, goes in almost the opposite direction.
Orange brings fragrance and gentle acidity rather than obvious sweetness, while fennel contributes aniseed and herbal notes. The combination makes the rice noticeably lighter than the saffron, mushroom or cheese-based versions.
It is one of the restaurant’s most useful dishes because it breaks the sequence of rich mountain flavours. On a table ordering three or four risotti to share, this is the one that refreshes the palate.
The menu also includes a lemon, ginger and turmeric risotto at €12 and an unusual berry risotto at €11, confirming that the kitchen treats risotto as a format for experimentation rather than merely another first-course category.
The Menu Goes Beyond Rice
Despite the name, Risotteria del Borgo is not exclusively a risotto restaurant.
There are fettuccine with porcini mushrooms and truffle, mezze maniche with porcini and sausage, and a deconstructed white lasagna with mushrooms and leeks. Main courses move decisively towards meat: grilled lamb, beef fillet, tartare, carpaccio and steak.
The grilled lamb, priced at €16, is the most regionally coherent second course. Abruzzo and lamb belong together, and after one of the lighter risotti it makes a much more logical progression than a heavily sauced beef fillet.
The cooking needs little decoration: browned exterior, juicy meat and enough rendered fat to carry the characteristic flavour of lamb. This is a mountain main course that does not require invention.
Beef Fillet Brings a More Conventional Finish
Beef fillet appears in several versions: simply grilled at €17, with balsamic vinegar or green pepper at €18, and with porcini mushrooms or honey and orange at €20.
The porcini version fits the setting best. Mushrooms connect the meat to the same mountain flavours that appear throughout the pasta and risotto sections, while the fillet provides enough texture to withstand a creamy or reduced sauce.
The honey-and-orange version is more divisive. Sweetness can work with beef, but the balance needs to remain tight. It is characteristic of a kitchen willing to move beyond Abruzzo orthodoxy, though we would still choose lamb or porcini fillet before it.
Wine Pairings
With the saffron and sausage risotto, choose Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo if you want to turn a modest plate into a serious pairing. Its depth, acidity and savoury structure handle sausage while allowing saffron to remain aromatic.
The saffron and porcini risotto works beautifully with Emidio Pepe Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. Texture and oxidative complexity follow the mushrooms, while the wine retains enough freshness to prevent the risotto from becoming heavy.
For the Montepulciano, radicchio and Gorgonzola risotto, stay with red wine but avoid excessive extraction: Cirelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Anfora has fruit, acidity and a supple structure that can handle the cheese without fighting its pungency.
The grilled lamb deserves a more structured Abruzzo red. Cataldi Madonna Toni Montepulciano d’Abruzzo brings dark fruit, herbs and firm but controlled tannins, matching the char and natural sweetness of the meat.
Dessert Should Stay Simple
The dessert selection is deliberately short, with the dessert of the day at €5.
A ricotta and chocolate tart is particularly appropriate after risotto: not light, certainly, but direct and recognisable. Ricotta keeps the filling softer than a dense chocolate cake, while cocoa brings enough bitterness to prevent the meal from ending on pure sweetness.
There is no need for a complex plated dessert here. The kitchen’s personality has already been expressed through rice; pastry works better as a straightforward conclusion.
Service, Atmosphere and Prices
Risotteria del Borgo is a small restaurant, and that scale shapes the entire experience. Service is personal and direct rather than formal, while the vaulted brick room makes dinner feel considerably more intimate than the price point would suggest.
The economics are unusually straightforward. A mixed cured-meat and cheese starter costs €12, most risotti cost €11–€12, grilled lamb costs €16, dessert is €5 and bread and cover are listed at €2.
A mixed starter shared between two, one risotto each and dessert come to roughly €24–€25 per person including cover, excluding drinks. Adding grilled lamb brings a complete four-course progression to approximately €40 per person.
For a restaurant with this degree of specialisation and such an atmospheric interior, that is strong value.
Opening hours are limited and appear to vary during the year. Current listings show service concentrated around the weekend, so checking availability before driving to Rovere is essential rather than assuming normal seven-day restaurant hours.
Useful Information
- Address: Largo Pasqualina Nusca 1, 67048 Rovere, L’Aquila
- Area: Rovere, municipality of Rocca di Mezzo, Altopiano delle Rocche
- Cuisine: Risotto, Abruzzo mountain cooking, porcini mushrooms and grilled meat
- Speciality: Risotto in traditional and creative combinations
- Risotti to try: Saffron and sausage; saffron and porcini; Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, radicchio and Gorgonzola; orange and fennel
- Risotto prices: Approximately €11–€12
- Mixed cured meats and cheeses: €12
- Grilled lamb: €16
- Beef fillet: €17–€20 depending on preparation
- Dessert: €5
- Bread and cover: €2
- Typical meal: Around €24–€25 for a shared starter, risotto and dessert; around €40 adding a main course, excluding drinks
- Vegetarian options: Available
- Reservations: Strongly recommended because of the small dining room and limited opening days
- Telephone: +39 339 867 9964
- Best for: A mountain lunch or dinner, risotto lovers and a stop around Rocca di Mezzo and the Sirente-Velino area
- Opening hours: Limited and seasonal; confirm before travelling
Our Rating of Risotteria del Borgo
Food: 8.8/10
A small mountain kitchen with a clear speciality and enough imagination to make repeated risotto dishes genuinely different.
Starters: 8.2/10
Cured meats, cheese and simple vegetable preparations are solid, although they remain secondary to the rice.
Risotto: 9.3/10
The reason to come: saffron, porcini, Montepulciano, citrus and other combinations give the section unusual breadth.
Pasta: 8.5/10
Porcini, truffle and sausage keep the alternatives firmly connected to the Abruzzo mountains.
Meat: 8.7/10
Grilled lamb is the strongest regional choice, with beef fillet offering several richer alternatives.
Desserts: 8.2/10
Simple, inexpensive and appropriate after a meal dominated by creamy rice.
Wine Pairing Potential: 8.8/10
Abruzzo provides exactly the bottles required here, from structured Trebbiano to serious Montepulciano.
Service: 8.7/10
Personal and informal, appropriate for a restaurant of this scale.
Atmosphere: 9.1/10
Brick vaults, stone walls and the tiny mountain-village setting give dinner genuine character.
Value for Money: 9.4/10
Risotti around €11–€12 and a complete meal around €25 before wine are difficult to fault.
Overall Rating: 8.9/10
