Locanda Gaudemus: for three generations they greet travellers

Tasting menu with 4 or 9 dishes, respectively 30.00 Euros or 50.00 Euros. Everything is based on fish, wine not included. This is where my story starts from today, and the main character is Locanda Gaudemus, a restaurant in Sistiana, a fraction of the commune of Duino-Aurisina in the province of Trieste. I chose to start with the price this time because it’s definitely a strong point for this sea inn, where any appetite, even the most insatiable, find relief in their generous courses.

I’d also like to add that at Gaudemus the myth of “Low price=low quality” loses all meaning, because the fish they serve is excellent, fresh and cooked in a nice simple way. The chef uses no more than 5 ingredients for each dish, his cuisine is Mediterranean style with a few influenced from the south of Italy

The history of the inn goes back to 1960 when Claudio Lauritano, patron and chef of Gaudemus, bought the property. The first to work in the kitchen was his grandmother, from which Claudio inherited this passion for cooking, along with the Inn. He was only 16 when he started his new adventure among pots and pans. He was an intern for Claudio Sadler and Gaetano Trovato, he worked abroad as an Executive chef for the Minister of Agricultural policies and thanks to this experience e developed an interest for catering (Gaudemus id known to be one of the best caterers of the area).

After a few years he came back home, in Sistiana, and took his mother’s place in the kitchen and started working to transform the Locanda. He started a project to renovate the building but without changing it’s identity. He used almost exclusively stone and marble, the materials of Aurisina.

After the restaurant he worked on the rooms and on the relax area, where they installed an outside Jacuzzi and a sauna. Claudio worked hard to build up nice service that Gaudemus could offer, without forgetting the important central items like the kitchen and the food.

As usual I’ve carried on too much, but I still haven’t told you what I have to eat. I’ll make up for it straight away with the menu and pictures of what I ate, a real treat…

Photo:  Andrea Zangrando 

Half cooked and half raw sea bass with small vegetables.

Half cooked and half raw sea bass with small vegetables.

Salted codfish paste with olive oil, taggiasca olives, oregano and basil

Tuna hamburger with crunchy leeks and wasabi sauce

Tuna hamburger with crunchy leeks and wasabi sauce

Red mullet tempura with a sweet and sour cream of beans and Tropea onion

Raw scampi

Busera of scampi

Orange sorbet perfumed with zagara flowers

Chocolate cake with mascarpone sauce and strawberry sauce