STORIES

The Garda 100% tasting menu was created in 2017 to orient the most curious guests, interested in learning about the products of the lake and its lands, in a simple and fun way. We therefore created a path among the dishes on the menu that best enhanced our excellence, to make the essence of our territory known through tastes, textures and aromas.

"The lake oyster", for example, created by chef Costantini in 2018, immediately became our best "welcome": the most identifying and iconic flavors of Garda in a single bite, to be tasted with the same voluptuousness and reverence that it is usual to have for the oyster.

Over the years this gastronomic project has gained following and enthusiasm, becoming "something else". Today Garda 100% represents, perhaps more than any other tasting menu, the soul and identity of our restaurant and our cuisine.

Origins, tradition, local excellence, memories of our family, intuitions and contemporary interpretations of the chef: all this is 100% Garda today.

Chef Costantini says:

“I have been living and working on Garda for more than 10 years. So do I feel like a lacustrine? No, I remain proudly Friulian, but totally involved and fascinated by the delicate refinement of the products of these lands. To use a photographic metaphor, my great passion, I like to work on the gustatory half-tones typical of these elements to obtain the sharpness and complexity of a black and white photograph à la Ansel Adams"

From 2022 we have therefore decided to make Garda 100% even more iconic and original. It no longer includes a simple selection of dishes on the menu but gains total autonomy from the rest of the proposal. It is enriched with creations that live solely within this menu, also giving space to dishes that have become symbols of the chef's cuisine over time.

Here are some:

The tench "Pastissada", for example, is a fun "Gardesana" reinterpretation of a traditional Veronese dish: the Pastissada de Caval. You eat playfully with your hands, inviting you to experiment with a playful and informal aspect.

"Pike and caviar with almond miller", instead recalls one of the lake fish most loved by popular tradition, usually disguised in flavor by important condiments; here instead it is ennobled with the precious flavor of caviar.

"Carpione “au bleu”, butter and citrus broth", finally, thanks to an ambitious recovery and breeding project, a unique raw material is back available: Carpione. An indigenous fish from Garda appreciated since ancient times for its delicacy. Andrea Costantini proposes it again, inspired by his most classic and traditional preparation. The pulp, served very thin at the table, is just warmed by its broth, embellished with light citrus hints. The reference to boiling is barely mentioned, delicate and elegant like the flavor of this delicious salmonid.

"'Nduja di carpa" plays between different consistencies, alternating the crunchy character of the crusco pepper with the enveloping character of the 'nduja di carpa; the latter fish, typical of the lower lake, has sweet and buttery meat which recalls the usual spicy accompaniment typical of the famous Calabrian recipe.

Then there is the Raviolo with chickpeas and drizzar and bitter herbs which aims to enhance the most famous single cultivar of extra virgin olive oil from Garda Veronese, now known throughout the world for its extraordinary bouquet of flavours, which range from almond to the scent of grass freshly cut.

Or the whitefish au gratin, veal brains, celery and lemon, a 2015 dish that has become a classic by chef Costantini; he started many creations on the theme of pairing fish and fifth quarter, managing to combine local excellences such as whitefish, Verona celery and Garda lemon in a perfect balance.

Have we intrigued you? Garda 100%, like all our menus, evolves with the seasons. Today we propose it to you so CLICK HERE!

La Cucina Italiana dedicates an interesting article to Andrea Costantini's research into lake fish. Click HERE to read the piece.