Review
Hidden in the Ligurian hills, Osteria du Barba Pe’ is one of those rare places where time stands still. Run by an 88-year-old nonna and her family, this humble trattoria serves heartfelt cucina povera from generations-old recipes, often made with vegetables picked straight from their garden. There is no menu — only what the day and the season provide.
The Cassini family’s story runs deep in the village. Born near Rome to Calabrian parents, Mrs Cassini settled in Liguria as a young woman and opened the area’s first restaurant in the 1960s with her farmer husband. Her grandfather once cooked for army generals during the war, and the original Osteria — first opened in the 1800s — was closed in 1915 when its owner never returned from the front. Revived in 2023, it now opens again for Sunday lunches only, a living homage to Ligurian hospitality and home cooking.
When I visited in late August, nature was at its most generous — the kitchen and tables overflowing with ripe tomatoes, zucchini flowers and wild herbs from the garden.