Osteria Arbustico
Paestum, Italy
⭐1 Star
The Experience
From Michelin Guide
Housed within the Royal Paestum hotel, this elegant, contemporary restaurant boasts an attractively simple and minimalist ambience in which owner-chef Cristian Torsiello’s cuisine takes centre stage. This 40-year-old chef (originally from Valva, a district of Salerno where the Osteria was first opened) showcases creative ideas and techniques in his search for perfect combinations. His deceptively simple dishes always allow the flavour of his locally sourced ingredients to shine through – his iconic spaghetti with saffron is a perfect example. For this dish, he prepares dried Gragnono pasta in the same way as a risotto, using a broth made with one-third beef stock, one-third parmesan cheese and one-third onions. He then blends this with sour butter and Abruzzo saffron to create a dish that is truly delicious and seemingly simple, despite its complex preparation. The wine list continues to evolve, boasting some 600 labels and including a few rare regional wines.
Unique Things
From Visitor Experiences
Minimalist and geometric dining area reflecting culinary philosophy: The restaurant's dining space was completely renovated between 2020 and 2021 to be elegant yet minimalist and geometric, adorned with precious objects but maintaining an essential style. This design mirrors the restaurant's approach to cooking—complex yet understandable dishes without unnecessary sophistication.
Innovative vegetarian cold pasta dish: Osteria Arbustico features a unique vegetarian dish of spaghetti cooked in tomato water served cold with yellow pepper cream, oregano, curry, and chives. This chilled pasta is described as fresh, enveloping, exotic, and summery, showcasing the chef's skill in making a cold dish equally enticing.
Intriguing dessert combining unusual elements: The dessert "Ricotta, Lemon, Carrot Molasses, and Coffee" is notable for its creative combination of buffalo ricotta with capers and lemon, creamy carrot molasses, powdered coffee, and a vanilla film with a texture reminiscent of milk coagulation, offering a distinctive and memorable finale to the meal.
Ingredient Stars
From Visitor Experiences
The most honored or signature ingredients at the Michelin-starred Osteria Arbustico in Paestum are:
Local vegetables, especially zucchini: Used in the signature dish "Zucchina alla Scapece," which features zucchini scapece cream, glazed zucchinis with extracts from their stems, and a lightly cooked zucchini flower. This highlights the focus on fresh, local vegetable flavors and the influence of refined culinary techniques.
Black truffle: Featured in the dish "Leek, Potatoes, and Truffle," where it complements the earthy taste of grilled leek extract and potato mayonnaise, showcasing the balance of local produce with prized regional ingredients.
Hare (game meat): Used in the "Hare Tartlet," combining hare ragout, taggiasca olive paté, apple, and radish with vinegar, topped with grilled hare loin slices. This ingredient reflects the restaurant’s skill in elevating game with finesse and balance.
Sun-dried tomatoes from Mount Vesuvius: Noted for their exceptional quality and used in a tomato juice reduction, these tomatoes represent a celebrated local product that enhances dishes with intense flavor.
Extra virgin olive oil from single-cultivar Nostrale olives: Used to accompany savory pastries and other dishes, emphasizing the importance of high-quality, traceable local oils in the cuisine.
These ingredients are significant as they embody the restaurant's philosophy of valorizing local, zero-kilometer products with authenticity and respect for the Cilento territory, creating dishes that are both rooted in tradition and elevated by refined culinary techniques.
Menu & Pricing
Current Offerings & Prices
Tasting Menus
- Tasting Menu: €180 (6 courses), €220 (8 courses)
Signature Dishes
- Spaghetti with Saffron: €45