Founded more than 35 years ago, Ritrovo Ingrid is an institution for the Aeolians. Here, high up, in the square of the Church of San Vincenzo (in the hamlet of the same name), one arrives from the port after a completely uphill walk through splendid alleys adorned with bougainvillea and little shops selling souvenirs and lava stones.
On arrival the (slight) effort is rewarded by a breathtaking view, with the blue of the sea as backdrop, the volcano behind – from this square start the trails leading to the summit of Stromboli and to the Sciara del Fuoco – and by a legendary granita.
Ritrovo Ingrid
Open every day, from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., the venue of the Cincotta family – with Massimiliano at the helm – is essentially a typical Aeolian terrace, one with the panorama: on every side the sea fills the gaze, with the volcanic islet of Strombolicchio and the village below. The establishment is named after Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, star in 1950 of Roberto Rossellini’s film Stromboli, Land of God, who lived on the island with him for a time.
Granitas with a view
A piano at the centre of the room, counters with pastries and rotisserie delights, refrigerated displays with ice creams and semifreddi: the place is also a pizzeria and seafood restaurant in a dedicated dining room, but here at any hour of the day one sits down to refresh oneself, perhaps with a sumptuous breakfast, an iced tea with peach granita, a coffee granita with rich and dense whipped cream, or with a superb black mulberry granita. And again lemon, white fig, almond, strawberry, depending on the season.
The brioche col tuppo, well made, accompany them with dignity, or, why not, are eaten filled with the excellent homemade ice cream. The drinks menu is generous with cocktail proposals, the service kind even in the many busy moments (practically throughout the summer season, in Stromboli, in these times of overtourism). The richly filled cannoli go back and forth between the counter and the tables. Ah, the tables: ceramic, lava stone and wrought iron, each one a work of art.
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