Ristorante Mulinello

A taste of Scotland in Veneto

TEXT: PAIGE APETINO | PHOTOS © FARDIN

To the uninitiated, Ristorante Mulinello, tucked away in the depths of the north-eastern Italian Veneto countryside, just an hour’s drive from Venice, might look like just another Italian country home.

However, those in the know have been flocking to this discreet gastronomic hideaway for some time, drawn by the restaurant’s highly original combination of classical Italian cooking and super-fresh ingredients – in particular from Scotland.

Salmon connoisseur Andrea Garboli has long been passionate about sourcing organic produce, and was brought in to import fresh seafood for the restaurant from Scotland’s Shetland Islands, using only suppliers with sustainable produce.

The restaurant’s newly appointed chef Mirko Pistorello is also inspired by the natural pinkish hues of burnt-orange capesante scallops, purple prawns and only fish-fed produce. Star dishes include oak-smoked Scottish salmon, cooked at low temperatures and decorated with vibrant edible flowers and herbs, as well as native Sicilian scampi, red tuna from Puglia, prawns imported from New Caledonia, and the infamous Alzata Imperiale selection of crustaceans, molluscs, and carpaccio.

Spread across two intimately lit dining rooms, fish also takes pride of place in the large oval glass counter to the rear, featuring the ‘catch of the day’ of the Italian seas. But it is not just about the food. Director Michieletto Samuele is also Il Mulinello’s head sommelier and expertly pairs the seafood with both local wines from the Alto Adige and Veneto areas as well as top wines from France. One of his top recommendations is a Cavalier Blanc de Blancs, which, he says, gives an exquisite refresh of the palate in between morsels of fish. The sparkling wine accentuates the food’s rich flavours, too. In springtime, there is nothing better than their seasonal octopus “with a glass of Vermentino Ligure, produced by fifth-generation Paolo Basoli’s Cantine Lunae.”


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