Poster: A snowHead
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I am off to Maddonna di Campiglio in a weeks time and would appreciate any up to date recommendations for eating (and drinking!) both on and off the mountain. Many thanks in anticipation of snowheads vast experience!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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OK, I've been meaning to write about this for a while. I'll get working in it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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foxtrotzulu, that would be great, as we're off to Madonna di Campiglio next week as well. Any recommendations of nice pistes (blue probably to start with) for us to regain our ski legs would also be much appreciated. We're in the Hotel Italo so I think our nearest lift is the Spinale.
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Restaurant fiat at top of spinale nice but a bit glamorous. Rustic restaurant near middle of groste ok. All through blues off groste great cruising. Didn't a eat in town but bar Suisse great to people watch and they give a huge portion of nibbles with drinks, enjoy
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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CAVEAT - I've only been to MdC the once, and that was 9 months ago now, so please treat any recommendations with a pinch of salt.
To make my life easier I'm going to start by cutting and pasting some restaurant tips given to me by Dominic Cocozza, a truly delightful guy who runs Enchanted Holidays - a small TO that ONLY deals in MdC. Quick plug for him as his service was great. A real pleasure to deal with.
Hi James,
Madonna di Campiglio has restaurants in abundance, but I seriously suggest you try some of our mountain refuges for dinner.
The three I would recommend are Chalet Fiat at the top of Monte Spinale, Cascina Zeledria and Malga Montagnoli.
All are reached after 5.00pm by snow cat, from Campo Carlo Magno.
Each refuge has its own pick up point, which can be reached in just a few minutes by taxi.
I suggest you ask your concierge to organise everything for you, including taxis to take you to the snowcat pick up points.
In the town centre there are two very inexpensive family restaurants, and the food is good.
One can purchase wine by the half or full carafe.
These are Ristorante Belvedere and Ristorante Le Roi – both are within easy walking distance of your hotel
One very good restaurant is located behind Residence La Posta – this is Ristorante La Posta, again in the town centre, and almost opposite the front door of the Hotel Miramonti.
Another excellent restaurant is the Stube, located in the Hotel Diana, just a few minutes walk from your hotel.
If you want to push the boat out one evening, I can highly recommend the Stube at the Bio Hotel Hermitage, but you will need to take a taxi (approx 5 minutes)
This is a Michelin star restaurant, and, as one would expect, comes with a price tag.
If you would like to try authentic South Tyrolean fare, then below the Hotel Chalet del Sogno, you will find Ristorante Vecchia Sarca (not for the faint hearted or if one is watching the weight).
Lots of hearty stews, venison, rabbit, local lake fish and the obligatory polenta – this restaurant is renowned throughout the region for its authenticity.
One restaurant my wife and I use on a regular basis is Antico Focolare, approx. 500 meters from your hotel. They have a very extensive menu and the food is good.
A very good pizzeria can b reached from your hotel, but I wouldn’t recommend walking – a short taxi ride will be the best bet.
This is Ristorante Papagalo.
If you like wine, then you may like to try the Ferrari lounge, just across from the main piazza in an arcade on Via Pradalago , with another right on the piazza.
The piano bar on the ground floor of the Hotel Majestic Mountain Charme attracts a crowd most evenings, serving everything from cold beer to cocktails.
If a cold beer is all you want then next door to this hotel you’ll find the Franz Josef Stube bar (not really for children).
OK, that's the view of an expert and someone who has been going to MdC for about 25 years. Here are my additional observations:
Le Roi - Excellent pizza place in town. This was our favourite. Wonderful busy, bustling, friendly atmosphere. Great value.
Belvedere - Also good, (Pizza/pasta etc.) but a definite second to Le Roi
Antico Focolare - Very good. A little more upmarket than the Le Roi, but well worth a visit or two.
La Cantina Suisse - memory failing me a little here. Also quite good. But rather pricier and food not AS good as elsewhere.
Mountain Restaurants:
Rifugio Viviani Pradalago - Upstairs is a great restaurant. Informal, but with great food. Downstairs is a bar which serves great hot chocolate with rum. The location makes this an excellent place to meet mid-morning if you are on that side of the mountain. It is also v close to the main ski school meeting point and above loads of nice easy blues.
Chalet Fiat - Most of the locals are pretty rude about Chalet Fiat and reckon it a question of style over substance. It does have a huge sun terrace, but service was poor/non-existent and it seemed expensive. To be fair we didn't try the restaurant properly, just chips etc. on the terrace, and it does look fun to go up in the evening (driven in a Fiat 500 up the mountain - or something like that). It's certainly not the welcoming family restaurant that we like.
Rifugio Stoppani - Up at the top of Groste and a great location. Self-service downstairs, and waiter service upstairs. The wives on our trip don't really 'do' self service, so we went upstairs. Delicious food, wonderful service from a proper old-style waiter. This was our favourite place.
Rifugio Boch - Good location over on the Groste side. Good place to sit outside for a quick beer etc. We did have lunch here, but other than the fact that it was good (self-service I fear) I can't remember much about it.
Cascina Zeledria - Only just above the village, so you can reach it at night by snowcat and taxi. Food etc. was good, and the snowcat trip was fun. It was quite pricey and the Saturday night that we went (24 March in Low season) we were the only ones there. Quite pricey. I'd definitely go back but probably for lunch first.
General point about restaurants: The food in MdC is good. Very good. If I had one small complaint it would be that they don't always do the simple food one sometimes craves. i.e something like an omelette and chips or a big mountain salad. Do fill your boots with all the wonderful venison.
sugarmoma666, Nice pistes to regain your ski legs......
In my very limited experience I would say that the piste grooming in MdC is exceptional and that the runs in MdC are generally easier than the piste colour might suggest. In our first afternoon we accidentally missed the turning onto the blue home and found ourselves about to ski down a black (v unusual as the piste marking and directions are infinitely better than in France). Stupidly we elected to walk about 150 yards back up a steepish slope rather than take our two children who were yet to find their ski legs (and falling over like ninepins) down the black. Big mistake. The blacks we skiied were a doddle. I skied more blacks thatw eek than in the rest of my skiing career put together. Moral? Don't be frightened of supposedly difficult runs. Even the supposedly vertical 'Schumacher Shelf' had 11 year olds with only 3 weeks experience hurtling down it.
....... sorry glass/bottle of wine calling. I'll carry on later. [Further discussion of easy blues moved to a PM]
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm sure others have far greater knowledge of MdC restaurants than I. Anyone else care to contribute/comment?
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Another vote for Antico Focolare in the town. Great food and wine, very good service.
On the mountain:
Rifugio Stoppani at the top of Passo Groste is, whilst quite modern (in a traditional style), very pleasant indeed (they do excellent hot chocolate and rums), and recommended already.
Rifugio Dosson at the top of Monte Spinale is very good value for fill-you-up carb type food.
If you head over towards Marilleva definitely seek out Rifugio Orti on black 25 (you can get a chair there and ski out on a blue). Amazing goulash and a roaring fire. This place would be my mountain pick.
If heading over to Folgarida, there is a place at the top of Monte Spolverino well-known for their pizzas (they are good). Can't recall name, but its the only place there - at the top of the old 3-man chairlift.
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foxtrotzulu, thanks for taking the time to pop that down in writing. I'm quite pleased to hear that you felt the piste markings in MdC were good, as on our previous 2 experiences of skiing in Italy they're been borderline dreadful.
Cacciatore, since I (and some of my group) love goulash, I think we'll be making a beeline to the Rifugio Orti. How is black 25? (i.e. is it a proper piste that you can ski on, or somewhere where someone stuck some black poles and a video camera for a laugh?) It always seems a shame to take a chair when there's an opportunity to ski.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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All the blacks in the area are proper pistes. Only Spinale Direct in MdC is ever left ungroomed as far as I can tell, and it's still a proper run, just left tough and unbashed.
Agree about the pizza at Monta Spolverino - the huge ones to share are fun and tasty, and the view is amazing!
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