Often I uncover little gems during my solo travel that I want to keep all to myself. That’s one of the true joys of traveling alone. You can find these treasures and not have to share them with anyone else, be they men…….or in this case, food. I happened upon Trattoria da Armandino quite by accident and found a slice of heaven on the Amalfi Coast.
If you’re stuck in a tour bus, you will never find the tiny borgo in Praiano, but if you happen to be out for a leisurely drive and intent on exploring, then set your GPS to Via Praia 1 in Praiano. That is where you will find friends, food and fantasy.
The ancient borgo and beach of Marina di Praia......Armandino's is the white awning on the right
I parked at the top of the hill and was drawn into the sea. No one was around except the local fisherman and an elderly gentleman sitting with some friends outside Armandino’s. He had a twinkle in his eye and with my broken Italian, I asked if he spoke English. He replied that he spoke seven languages and was in fact, il padrone, Armando! (I think it’s been a long time since he’s been “Armandino”)
Il Padrone e io
From that moment on, I was in his hands. True, there was no one around on this off-season day but Armando and his staff welcomed me as one of the family. I selected my entree but the rest was in their hands, from antipasti and homemade bread to house wine and a trio of dolce to die for. My entree was the lemon risotto with shrimp. I think the shrimp were still swimming 5 minutes earlier because I have never tasted anything so fresh! To top it off, there was a glass of mandarino, an orange liqueur, much like the area’s limoncello but better, oh, so much better. Armando laughed when I told him that I still had to drive back to Sorrento. He told me to walk it off around the coastline and I would feel much better.
Now that's what I call a table with a view!
Sure enough, he was right…………but he never warned me that I would never want to leave. Now I know why he sits and soaks in the life around him, as it comes to him, with a twinkle in his eye. How could anyone be anything but enchanted here and so well fed?
If you go, and you should as soon as possible, tell Armando or Antonia that I sent you. Then maybe you’ll feel a bit of what I have now found in my new friends.
Love love love Praia … it is a little slice of heaven on the Amalfi Coast!! I haven’t been to da Armandino’s yet, but it is next on my list!
Thanks!!
Laura from Ciao Amalfi´s latest blog: ..Tempting Tuesday- Cooling Off in Calabria at Giovino Beach by Cherrye Moore
Thanks ladies and grazie Eleonora for the lovely story on Armando and his wife. They don’t make them like that anymore!
OMG, this has to be the coolest restaurant EVER!!! I’m sold! Thanks for sharing your secret gem. That guys sounds like such a charming gentleman.
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I have known Armandino ever since I can remember. He started at the bottom of the waiter chain in Positano, and I met him when he was working at the Buca di Bacco restaurant. He was the one to wean me off solids, to heal my motion sickness when I’d step off the rocking ferry from Napoli, the one to always give me the best choices on the menu. I’d ask for mussels, and he’d change my order with something fresher.
My family and I embraced his and Carmela’s choice to open his seaside trattoria in Praiano, twentyfive years ago. I had just graduated high school. We’ve been going back ever since, and sending friends who want to experience what the REAL costiera Amalfitana fisherman village philosophy was like.
The years pass, people come and go, and Antonia has grown into a lovely young woman. But this place never fails to welcome us back, like not a day had passed since my early childhood days.
And–despite the white hair–he will always be Armandino to me.
Excellent post, made me want to go back NOW.
Ciao,
E xx
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