The story
Just outside Pizzo, on the road to Vibo Marina, ME Restaurant sits close enough to the Tyrrhenian to let the catch dictate the menu. The kitchen, led by chef Giuseppe Romano, works with ingredients from the surrounding sea and the restaurant’s own garden. The result is modern Mediterranean cuisine that is both rigorously composed and deeply local.
Romano, originally from Campania, trained in Italy and abroad before settling in Calabria. His cooking is described as complex and exact in its combinations and cooking methods, intelligently daring, sometimes surprising, always balanced. That precision is evident in dishes such as seared local squid with nduja and fennel cream, or the red prawns served on a roasted pepper sauce flavoured with mint and coffee.
The menu changes with the seasons, but certain signatures recur. A Gragnano calamarata with seafood, squid and asparagus tips. Hand-made pasta with basil and a ragù of red grouper. Carnaroli rice from the plain with sea truffle and yellow tomato. Guests can choose from tasting menus focused on the sea or the land, or order à la carte.
Pastry is overseen by Eleonora, Romano’s wife and co-owner, who also welcomes guests in the dining room. Her desserts – made entirely in-house – close the meal on a note of quiet craftsmanship.
ME Restaurant has earned a place in the Michelin guide as a Recommended restaurant, a recognition of the kitchen’s consistency and the clarity of its vision. The dining room is open daily for lunch and dinner, with outdoor seating available in warmer months. It is a restaurant that lets the ingredients speak – and the flavours of Calabria come through clearly.
Recognition
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