It is no mystery that pasta and pizza are the staple foods of all great Italian restaurants. That’s certainly the case around the Friuli-Venezia Giulia area, where the challenge is in finding the one restaurant that does it best.
Luckily for those who live in Sacile or nearby, there’s Cellini Ristorante and Pizzeria, located in the center of town. Cellini is a very unassuming place, and if you’re not already planning to dine there, you might miss it. However, make sure you don’t, because the food is amazing and the atmosphere is just as good.
Once inside, the place unexpectedly opens up into a beautifully well-put-together interior. The dining room is much bigger than it looks from the outside, and there’s additional seating outside overlooking the Livenza river.
Children are welcome, but the atmosphere lends itself to a more romantic, quiet and elegant setting; one that you might want to enjoy with just your significant other, especially on a late evening.
The menu is not very different than what you’ll find at other restaurants in Italy. It isn’t very big, but the items offered are exquisite and satisfying.
For appetizers, they’ve got the usual: cold cut meats, cheese varieties with or without melon, caprese salad, grilled scallops, etc. Pasta dishes are first courses. The heartier meals are offered as second courses and here, they offer meats prepared in a variety of ways that will not disappoint.
The cheese and sliced meats dish we ordered as an appetizer was delicious. Our main course was the Trentino Dish, which comes with two pan fried sausages, a variety of delicious mushrooms, pan fried polenta and pan fried dobbiacco cheese.
If there’s something on the menu that comes in many varieties, it’s pizza. I ordered the diavola because it’s my favorite. However, this one was better than any I have previously had. The diavola pizza is made with spicy salami, mozzarella cheese and light tomato sauce.
The restaurant also offers a large variety of wines. We had a local one, the Gelisi Antonio cabernet franc, which paired well with our dishes.
Many other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are also available. Coffee and a variety of desserts are also on the menu.
Prices are very affordable for the quality of food served. Our dinner came to under 60 euros, which is around 15 to 20 euros less than what we typically spend at other restaurants for a similar dinner.
The staff is very friendly, professional and most of them speak enough English to accommodate non-Italian speakers. The staff will also provide some assistance with the menu, if you’re having difficulty deciding which dish to order.
llamas.norman@stripes.com Twitter: @normanllamas
Address: Via Pieta 20, Sacile (PN), ItalyHours: Tuesday-Sunday: 12 p.m.-3 p.m and 6 p.m.-11 p.m.Food: Classic Italian pasta dishes, meat and seafood dishes; pizza; salads; kids’ menuDrinks: Full bar with alcoholic beverages; large variety of wines, many local to the area; the usual selection of fountain drinks, juice and coffeePrices: About 7 to 12 euros ($8-$13) for most appetizers and 10 to 20 euros ($11-$22) for most main-course dishesDress: CasualMenu: Italian and EnglishReservations: Phone: 0434 72868; Email: Ristorantecellinisacile@gmail.com