As someone once told me: the best way in Italy to find a value-for-money place for great food at bargain prices is to follow the students. And I have been following this rule for years, so far it has almost always been proven right. In fact, this rule applies to many places all over the world, but that is another story ....
I simply have to recommend this nice little place in the centre of Turin, on the glamourous shopping boulevard of Via Po, near the university buildings. Given its location on one of Turin's busiest and most well-patronized throughfares, I would have expected the prices for a decent meal in this locality to be quite steep. But no, thanks to the presence of a sizeable student body attending lectures in university buildings nearby, many small cafes and restaurants are present which offer delicious buffet dinners at inexpensive prices. And they are really good value for money, even by my stringent standards (and I can be a very fussy customer, mind you).
The cafe with self-service dinner buffet is located at the long arcade that runs along both sides of Via Po. I was first attrcted to it thanks to the sign outside the entrance, which says 'A Drink and Buffet for 8 euros'.
I thought to myself: why not give it a try? Come to think of it, 8 euro is really a bargain, even if I have no idea whether the food is good or not, since a cup of coffee at one of the well-known cafes on Piazza San Carlo is already 4 euro or more for sitting down inside the lounge. A young waitress smiled at me at the entrance. So I asked her in English if I can have a look at the variety of food available at the buffet first before I made up my mind. She nodded and show me inside the cafe.
The cafe has seatings both on the ground level and on the first floor. The decor is simple but elegant, and I like what I saw - both the buffet available and the relaxed atmosphere inside - so I asked the waitress to show me to a table.
This meal turns out to be one of the best I have ever had throughout my long years of travel around Italy and Europe. The waitress, who speaks some English, handed me a drinks list and told me I can choose any drinks I like. It could be juice, fruit cocktails, alcohol, cocktails with alcohol, wine, water, beer, whatever. As I was not in the mood for some fancy cocktails then, I asked her what kind of red wines were available. She recommended some Barbera, one of the most famous Italian reds and a grape variety indigenous to Piedmont. Since I was in Turin, I should try something representative of viticulture in Piedmont, she said, and it was a powerful argument, as the wine tastes heavenly, one of the best reds I have ever tried in recent years. Who says cheap wines can't be good? This ruby barbera, with its delicate balance and wonderful palate, beats the hell out of expensive overwooded Californian and Australian reds.
Now, let's have a look at the buffet table. There is no limit on the number of trips you can make to the table. Neither do they impose any restrictions on the amount of food you can have on your plate at any given time. Which means: you can go as often as you like, an try out as many kinds of food on offer as your appetize desires (and your stomach allows).
For a price of 8 euros per person including a free drink of your choice, the variety of appetizers, main courses, salads, cold cuts and snacks, deserts etc. available are indeed astonishing. There are at least 10 different types of appetizers, breads, cheese, pizza, fish and seafood entrees, oven-baked potatoes with rosemary, vegetables, sausage, several types of pastas, freshly prepared salads, delicious beef steaks, fruit salads, cakes, pastry, ice-cream ...
And the good thing is, unlike some so-called self-service buffet where the food would no longer be replaced once an item was out of stock, the waiters at this delicious little place keep topping up the buffet table with new foods when the old ones were gone.
The big question is. do they taste good? The answer is a big, firm, affirmative yes. By the time I made my third visit to the buffet table, I was already so full with all these delicious goodies that I had wished I had not eaten my lunch that late. After the third serving, I was struggling with my jeans as they have certainly become one size smaller within the past hour or so.
Now I am hungry again after writing this article and looking at all these photos.
The beef steak seems very popular with other diners as well, as when I tried to get a second piece, the original ones were all gone and I had to wait another 15 minutes for the next batch. I was very glad I had entered this place really early (around 6pm), as by 7pm, the whole place was full and people had to wait outside for a table. By the way, some young students who sat next to me ordered alcoholic cocktails as their choice of free drinks, and the size of the cocktails are huge. This place is really a good bargain and I shall return to it the next time I visit Turin, and hopefully it remains as good as I had remembered it!!
Copyrights@2010. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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