Martini Temples

La Posta Vecchia, Ladispoli

Exquisite scenery: a nicely-presented Martini cocktail with its 'accessories' faces the waves of the Tirreno at 'La Posta Vecchia'. The Crodino is Anna's, of course

You can enjoy a fabulous Martini indoors too at La Posta Vecchia, and a roaring fireplace is a welcome bonus

The 5-star hotel 'La Posta Vecchia', near Ladispoli, enjoys a good fame as being the twin sister, so to speak, of the fabulously stylish 'Il Pellicano' in Argentario. Anna and I decided to spend some days there before coming back again at our beloved Pellicano, our of our favorite spots: a real 'home away from home' for the Pasinis.

'La Posta Vecchia', unfortunately, is not on par with its Argentario counterpart. Although the personnel is almost invariably courteous and very professional and the place is quite interesting, the overall organisation is far from spotless and the restaurant absolutely forgettable.
The negligible food, inexplicably endowed with one Michelin star, is frankly disappointing. Moreover, when you arrive quite travel-weary after hours of queues from Rome to Ladispoli, finding that the best part of the restaurant at the corner of the terrace over the sea has been allocated to a large noisy family holding a private Communion party is extremely annoying. 'Normal' guests like us were treated like second-rate customers and confined in the other part of the terrace, windy and narrow. The food was extremely disappointing (more about that on TripAdvisor, but just think of SWEET fritto misto di pesce and you get the picture.)
Well, this annoyances can be temporarily forgotten only if one is served a VERY good Martini cocktail, and we found that Daniele, the Sommelier, is exactly the right guy for this exercise. He did put a bottle of gin in the freezer when I asked for it, at our arrival; he didn't ask what gin but he made a faultless choice putting a bottle of Martin Miller's to rest amongst the ice blocks. Then he was so smart to ask what type of Martini I did like: and he did it exactly as I wanted it. The result (stirred, not shaken; ice-cold; no lemon twists; only one olive, stoned; all this in a perfectly shaped conical stem glass) was very near an Utopian excellence. If only we hadn't been so upset by the stuffy, unacceptably modest cuisine of the restaurant, it would have been placed in an even higher place. The Martini would have deserved it

La Posta Vecchia
The Leading Hotels of The World
Palo Laziale - 00055 Palo Laziale (Roma) - Italy
reservations@pellicanohotels.com
Tel. +39 06 9949501 – Fax +39 06 9949507