Donevandro

The story

Donevandro Restaurant in Popoli, Italy – Contemporary Seasonal Cuisine

Donevandro, Popoli – A restaurant where art and cooking meet

In the small Abruzzo town of Popoli, Donevandro is a restaurant that feels more like an artisan’s studio than a conventional dining room. Chef and owner Pierluigi came to cooking late, after years spent painting and showing his work across Italy and Europe. Tired of the pace of Milan, he returned to his hometown to create a space where his two passions could finally merge. The restaurant’s name honours his grandfather Evandro, a fisherman’s son whose entrepreneurial dreams never came to pass. It is Pierluigi’s way of paying homage.

Alongside him is Eugenia, a graduate in linguistic mediation whose love of travel and nature led her to the world of hospitality. Together, they run a place that the Michelin guide has recognised with a Recommended rating, praising the sincerity of the project.

A philosophy of trust and seasonality

Donevandro’s cuisine is contemporary and seasonal, driven by a deep respect for ingredients and a refusal to waste food. The menu is not a fixed list of dishes. Instead, guests are invited to trust the kitchen: you tell them what you cannot eat and how many courses you would like, and they take care of the rest. The approach recalls the old inns where you ate what the land and the season provided.

The restaurant describes itself as a “laboratory of ideas – visual and culinary – where taste intertwines with memory, art, and beauty.” The tasting format is offered in three sizes: two, four, or nine gestures, each followed by a sweet. Prices start at €50.

The atmosphere

Those who come to Donevandro, the restaurant says, “should make peace with time, eliminate all anxiety, and enjoy their evening in tranquility, between one conversation and another, between a wine and a champagne, between a smile and a dish, between a breath of serenity and a painting.” It is a place that asks for nothing but your trust, and in return offers a journey through the flavours of Abruzzo, shaped by the hands of a chef who once painted.