A surprising wine cellar and unforgettable starters. This Abruzzese trattoria is bound to make waves

Cusciano doesn’t even reach two hundred inhabitants. It’s a small hamlet of Montorio al Vomano, in the province of Teramo. Here, Simone Saraceni has taken over a historic trattoria, preserving both the name and its ties to tradition—emphasised by excellent ingredients, a few creative touches in the antipasti, and a truly remarkable wine selection.

A wine cellar worth the journey

At the end of the dinner, the question comes naturally: “Do you select these wines yourself?” – we take the liberty of using the informal tu with Simone Saraceni, born in 1998, who’s been the chef at Il Porcellino in Cusciano for about a year. As he responds, a few people walk by, preparing the indoor dining room for a communion—or perhaps a christening—the next day. It’s a scene that perfectly conveys how this place remains a local point of reference, despite Simone’s youth and his well-founded aspirations.

“I’m passionate about wine, especially French,” he says modestly—the chef who grew up in his grandparents’ bar in Altavilla, also a hamlet of Montorio al Vomano. “At least once a year I go to Burgundy, the Jura or the Loire in person, searching for small producers.” In his cellar are some truly outstanding gems, not only French, and not just wines. On the spirits side, for instance, he owns a practically unobtainable bottle from Capovilla. “I bought the twenty-ninth bottle from a 570-litre batch of distillate, made by Vittorio Gianni Capovilla in 2011, from plums and damsons,” Simone tells us at the end of dinner, when he introduces his partner-in-crime Chiara Balsami.

Fettuccine with mushrooms

What’s on the menu at Il Porcellino in Cusciano

A dinner punctuated by traditional dishes executed with great skill and carefully selected ingredients, perfectly in tune with the wine list. The fettuccine with mushrooms and generous Pecorino cheese are very well done, as are the homemade pasta with venison ragù.

Among the mains, lamb and mutton are essential, but there’s also room for less traditional beef cuts in these parts, such as skirt steak, served in a tomato sauce. Then there are the vegetables—not the usual grilled courgettes, but fire-grilled ones marinated beforehand with a vinaigrette of wild apple vinegar and elderflower, fire-grilled asparagus, and the unmissable fried Fucino potatoes.

Simone is a black belt in frying, thanks to his previous life at La Topperia, his now-closed street food venue, once in the spotlight for its pecora alla callara (slow-cooked mutton stew), which here at Il Porcellino rightfully earns a place as a perfectly breaded rocher.

It’s one of the dishes in the mixed antipasti platter (an absolute must-order), where Simone lets his creativity run wild: courgette flower stuffed with ricotta and red onion jam (the dish we found least convincing), roast beef of Scottona with pickled vegetables, lamb prosciutto with sautéed chard and black garlic mayonnaise, and a stunning coratella (offal).

And to conclude: the bocconotto montoriese, a shortcrust pastry made with extra virgin olive oil enclosing a filling of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo grape compote, dark chocolate, local almonds and lemons from the Costa dei Trabocchi.

A tribute to Abruzzo, increasingly rich in new talent.

Cusciano - Contrada Venaquila, 4 - +39347 663 8197