In one of the most beautiful galleries in Turin opens the wine bar by Costardi Bros

We had announced the news some time ago. Galleria Subalpina, a scenographic passage with a Parisian flair in the heart of Piazza Castello, is becoming once again one of the most frequented places in the city centre, with the evening opening of the Caffè Baratti restaurant, joining Arcadia and Sfashion Cafè, the new location of the Luxemburg bookshop with Italy’s smallest literary café, the Via del Tè shop, the Gilibert antiquarian bookshop, and the Romano cinema. At No. 21 of the Galleria, La Dispensa has opened – the missing piece: an innovative project that brings together a wine shop, delicatessen and cocktail bar, all under the banner of culture.

A project by Compagnia dei Caraibi, founded in 2008 in Vidracco, near Turin, with a vast catalogue of emerging national and international brands and proprietary labels, including Vermouth Carlo Alberto. La Dispensa originally opened here in the Galleria, next to the Cinema Romano, as a wine shop in 2021. Over the years, the project has expanded with a cocktail bar in Pallanza, on Lake Maggiore, and an e-commerce platform offering over 1,000 selected labels. And now, the 2.0 version: wine shop, cocktail bar and gastronomy in the Galleria.

How the space is organised

Chiara, who manages the new two-storey space, describes the layout fluidly. On the ground floor is the wine shop. Deep blue walls (a classic reference to the blue of the House of Savoy) and shelves of Piedmontese wines, wines from the Elemento Indigeno project by Compagnia dei Caraibi, spirits – particularly gin and the iconic vermouth. And the triumphant main deli counter in collaboration with the Costardi Bros. Christian Costardi, who oversees the Scatto restaurant in Piazza San Carlo, had long dreamed of a deli-with-kitchen. “I wanted to reinvent the pantry as a kind of magical childhood place. Now it’s open for lunch, aperitifs, and who knows, maybe dinner too.”

His dishes are the typical classics of Piedmontese tradition – vitello tonnato, insalata russa, ratatouille “like in the film”, anchovies in green sauce, marinated cutlets – and then meatballs, chicken, whipped cod, and sweet semolina like his grandmother used to make... Traditional recipes to enjoy on-site or take away. Upstairs, behind glass windows overlooking the wrought iron and glass architecture of the Galleria Subalpina, is the cocktail bar.

The counter is at the centre, and on the “new” La Dispensa’s drink list are great classics and vermouth, including in the form of vermutti served straight, low-alcohol long drinks created by bartender Simone Minniti, always designed to pair with the food, and with intriguing names such as Filo conduttore, based on gin, or Schema Preciso, with cucumber, lime and tzatziki. The dishes – which come from the kitchen just behind – are also designed for sharing and change daily (but you can also select directly from the counter), including the now-iconic rice tin by Costardi Bros, now in blue. Christian Costardi also teases an autumn risotto with vermouth. Around, suspended over the Galleria in glassed niches, are tables to share the food and drink experience.

The big gamble? Contamination

Edelberto Baracco, CEO of Compagnia dei Caraibi, explains the group’s strategy, which focuses on strengthening the e-commerce platform and opening new physical locations for direct consumer interaction, storytelling and feedback. La Dispensa is “a different, creative, lively space, marked by contamination and creativity, and the collaboration with Costardi Bros offers a new gastronomic experience in a space of encounter and exchange, to share stories, ideas and experiments”. A space for studying or working during the day, for an aperitif with friends in the evening, to enjoy a communal table in a historic location that becomes a perfect urban refuge, open Tuesday to Sunday, from 11am to 9pm (summer hours, with later evening openings planned for autumn).

Art, culture, music

Good food and drink, but also art, culture and music thanks to collaborations with major events such as Germinale, the annual travelling and widespread art event of Basso Monferrato, and with the art and music festival Contaminazioni, held in the Cuneo mountains. These events will now have their own space in the city, right here in the Galleria. And there will also be tastings, presentations, collaborations with the Luxemburg bookshop right across the way. Everything is “fluid and evolving”, in a space open to flavour, culture and cross-pollination. A new creative chapter in the renaissance of Galleria Subalpina.