Corona Reale Trattoria, Moncalvo
A cozy, village restaurant where, after enough local wine, you'll start looking for homes nearby.
Nestled high amid Monferrato’s pastoral splendour lies the village of Moncalvo, a simple town where the residents mill around the cobbled Piazza Garibaldi, sipping espresso by day and jet-fuel-strength grappa by night. Moncalvo’s Wikipedia page tells that its “best known inhabitants” include “La Bella Roisin”, King Emmanuel II’s favourite mistress and, eventually, his wife. All’s well that ends well, then.
There is more to Moncalvo’s bucolic time capsule that captures a period almost estranged from modern, urbane life. The red tiled butcher shop is a scene from the 60s slipped between a vintage drogheria (a sweet shop) and a pastificio that still hand rolls grissini. Each, respectably, closes for two hours at lunch.
You’ll find no less than thirteen churches, one historical synagogue and a seriously impressive market each Thursday, where the pungent waft of basil tingles the nose long before you catch sight of it.
Then there is Corona Reale Trattoria, or “Royal Crown Trattoria”, which implies a regal grandeur that chef Sonia Damarco and the team shun in favour of an Italian countryside casual beauty. Corona Reale Trattoria’s two-floored space flirts with the romantic. The main downstairs dining room is cottage-like, swaddled in a delicious cream where a broad, book-cabinet-style wine display (more on that later), vases of fresh flowers in full bloom and the dainty attention to detail that used to be called a feminine touch.
It meets all seasons feeling fresh in the summer but, as the faint patter of summer rain hits the window panes during our lunch, it is easy to imagine spending cold December here with the warm grip of winter wear pressing against the skin and armed with a decanter of red wine plucked from Corona Reale’s near biblical wine menu. The wine list is so local, you can practically see the bottles being labelled and corked across the neighbouring field.
The amiable staff usher us upstairs (without a booking) where our 19-month-old son rules the roost and runs around without disturbing others— a smart, considerate move for all involved.
On the way up, I stick my neck out like a ferret on patrol roaming the prairie for lunch. Nearby tables groan with crispy fried courgette flowers stuffed with vegetables and sausage, beef braised in anchovies, mustard and local wine, lamb chops crusted and stuffed with Toma cheese and, finally, tumbled piles of fresh tajarin—a thin tagliatelle fortified with 30 egg yolks—humming unmistakably with shaved black truffle.
Corona Reale’s menu features 40+ recognisably Piemontesi dishes with quiet creativity in the details, but never reaches awkwardly for innovation.
There are Cherasco snails in an asparagus and pea stew, hearty potato dumplings steeped in an octopus, olive and tomato ragu and those of the sweet persuasion can plunge a spoon into a rum baba with pineapple and lime jam or the cake with apple, chocolate and amaretti biscuits or baked peaches stuffed with dark chocolate, among other temptations.
An amuse bouche arrives unexpectedly: a tartlet of vitello tonnato puree topped with a slivered, marinated anchovy and a caper berry—a reinterpretation of the classic Piemontesi vitello tonnato that thrums with a pungent heft, salt and the palate-clearing brine of the caper berry. We nod appreciatively as the thicker tartlet shell crumbles like a biscuit. A fried and blistered purple carrot fried ravioli is puffed and dark, lysing with sweet carrot puree.
Our son, no longer satisfied with grissini bribes and Cocomelon, sprints around the spacious (and empty) upstairs dining room as our delightful server pours a brisk glass of La Battistina Nuovo Quadro Gavi. She smiles bemusedly at my 800-and-something days on Duolingo of incomprehensible Italian.
Next, a snug bowl of agnolotti del plin stuffed with nettles and milky ricotta cheese is liberally spooned with cream of ricotta cheese. It’s comfort food of good order. The pasta is plump and rich with the suave, herbaceous filling. My bowl of toothsome durum wheat spaghetti is sweetened with a ragu of sausage, earthy fava beans, pecorino and fragrant mint leaves. It tastes every bit of these sunnier months, but it is overpowered, almost inedibly, with salt; possibly the result of adding both pecorino and the salted, boiling water to the final sauce. This is a shame and puts a dent in the halo Corona Reale was wearing thus far. Yet, there is enough skill, balance and imagination throughout, which, coupled with half a bottle of Gavi and the joy of being on the first day of a two-week holiday across Northern Italy, puts me in a forgiving mood, but others will be less charitable.
We pass on dessert as our son takes on a worrying interest in some Jeroboams of good Barolo, which, if I am going to end up paying for them, I would rather drink them than mop them off the floor.
Corona Reale Trattoria, Would I Return?
Salty spaghetti aside, there is much to love about Corona Reale between its sentimental decor, warm, engaging service, seasonal menu and vast, regional wine menu. It is more refined than Trattoria Losanna. It is more date night appropriate with a hint of special occasion quality vs Trattoria Losanna’s everyday man pastiche. To Corona Reale, I would certainly return, and some more dining is required before entering it into my list of Favourite Restaurants in Piemonte.
Corona Reale Trattoria, Who Should Go?
Moncalvo residents. Visitors to Monferrato within a 30-minute drive. Couples looking for date nights. People looking for a casual, mid-range lunch or dinner that feels special but does not break the bank. Wine lovers who are in the market for mid-range bottles or more obscure regional labels in addition to the big names and usual suspects.
Review information
Number of visits: 1
Number of dishes: 4, two amuse bouche (complimentary), and two pastas, both €18.
Drinks: White wine, €24 and large still water, €2.
Total spend including taxes ex service or tips: €62
Corona Reale Trattoria, Via Boggeri, 22, 14036 Moncalvo AT, Italy. The latest information about Corona Reale Trattoria Vineria is available on their website, Instagram or call +390141917130.
Liam is a restaurant critic, food and travel writer based in the Middle East. He owns EatGoSee and contributes to other publications. You can find Liam on Substack, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky or Facebook.
Much as I love the food and pricing, it's this: "She smiles bemusedly at my 800-and-something days on Duolingo of incomprehensible Italian."