LILLO TATINI Restaurant Panicale Umbria Italy Review – Subtle Food with Sommelier Touch

Posted on by Amy Munice with Photography by Peter Kachergis
LILLO TATINI Panicale
Lillo Tatini has a small wine cellar downstairs that seats a maximum of ten people in addition to the main space upstairs. In the summer months the terrace open from Easter to the end of September seats an additional 35 people

Yes, you may have seen a restaurant of this same name in Amsterdam not far from Anne Frank’s home. At least the many Dutch patrons who come to Lillo Tatini in Panicale would. It’s not a coincidence…

Backtracking..

Lillo Tatini has always been a family affair. Twenty years ago Patrizia—not only a gourmet chef, but a sommelier with great expertise in the local region’s wines—created this restaurant in what had been her husband Vittorio’s family’s grocery store for a few generations.

Lillo Tatini is Driven by Passion to Cook with the Best Products of Umbria

Matching the best oils and local produce and other Umbrian products to create the delicacies on your plate is Patrizia’s passion.   Vittorio speaks of his wife’s skillset with obvious reverence. His more day-to-day domain now is managing the three apartments they rent out in Panicale.

It appears their now adult children caught the bug too. Marco, an economist by training whose career had taken him to London and Australia, eventually settled in Amsterdam.

Like his mother he became a sommelier, soon opening La Maschera Lillo Tatini of Amsterdam, importing from the same Umbrian suppliers and using the same recipes. In the beginning Patrizia traveled to Amsterdam to oversea training of those chefs, but not so much now. Their daughter, Bianca, a mother and lawyer by training, also likes to help out at the restaurant.

LILLO TATINI Panicale
burro, capperi e alici (butter, capers and anchovies) - a savory spread for bread that helps start the meal
LILLO TATINI Panicale
Even at the outset you feel the expert touch at work-- the homemade bread is delicious

Vittorio explains that Dutch tourists have always been drawn to the Lake Trasimeno region, frequently coming to the greater Panicale area for camping vacations. Now, many also recognize the restaurant name in Amsterdam. This is the same food but at a third the cost.

LILLO TATINI Panicale
Four dishes as appetizers: a potato lentils with pecorino and truffle; breaded cauliflower and pecorino; yellow pumpkin soup with porcini mushrooms and extra virgin olive oil; and chick pea soup with chestnuts

Foodies from America will likely also find Lillo Tatini to be a gourmet find of great value. It is the subtlety of the small touches that impress the most—the dash of a more peppery olive oil to give the pumpkin soup panache, the way in which veal and porchetta are combined in the tagliatelle with just the smallest amount of bacon so that no one taste gets overwhelmed, or the spice from whole peppercorns in the rabbit dish.

LILLO TATINI Panicale
Two dishes: ravioli with quail eggs and local pork and bacon garnish; homemade tagliatelle with local meats of pork and veal

Three tips about Lillo Tatini from this writer/photographer team to Umbrian tourists: 1) don’t miss it; 2) definitely let Patrizia do the wine pairing—better let her choose your menu en toto; and 3) save room for dessert. In our case the zuppa inglese, a type of homemade pie with currants, was particularly a standout.

LILLO TATINI Panicale
Two dishes: rabbit with fennel, rosemary and garlic with peppercorns and peposa, a veal with pepper, sage, garlic and red wine

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

For more information, visit:

Chiara’s Podere Molinaccio website;

Raffa’s Poggio del Pero website;

LILLO TATINI Panicale
Zuppa Inglese -- with currants

And learn more about the Divertimento Group on Picture This Post.

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