La Fonte - Ristorante Vineria Enoteca Acqui Terme

La Fonte has a great deal going for it. One of the best positions in town, overlooking a steaming Roman pavilion that tourists photograph and locals ignore. A wine list that champions the region without gouging the diner. A room that is elegant without trying too hard. Service warm enough to produce an off-menu bowl of buttery tagliatelle for a two-year-old mid-tantrum without being asked twice.

It also has a kitchen that cannot stop adding things.

Anchovies arrive beneath batter so thick their character never surfaces. Artichokes, crisp and greaseless, are wrapped in like gauze in batter. A scorpion fish, described as firm, arrives soft — laid on soft courgettes, finished with soft splodges and nipples of beetroot purée. A celeriac marinated in chocolate, soy, miso and grapefruit somehow tastes of none of them.

The ideas are there. The restraint and discipline aren’t.

This is the most frustrating kind of restaurant to review, not to mention experience. You just want the restaurant to get out of its way.

The full Uninvited Opinion including what to order, what to skip, and where to eat instead is now on Substack. Link in bio. Less