When one of my favorite restaurants in Torino, Consorzio, decided to open a new, more casual place, I was pretty sure I was going to like it. What I didn’t realize is how much I would love it.
The new place, Banco Vino Alimenti, is around the corner, still in the quadrilatero neighborhood. While Consorzio was never super fancy, it was a real restaurant, and pretty hard to get a reservation at one of their dozen or so tables. Instead, Banco Vino Alimenti is much more casual , both in feeling as well as menu. In fact, the evening I was there it felt as if I had stepped, happily, into someone’s private party. But in a good way.
Although I had called and reserved a table, on a weeknight in the middle of January, I needn’t have. And in fact people came and went all evening long. And when I say people, I actually mean men. I was the only woman there the entire night. Which should have felt odd, but didn’t. And all those men were obviously in the wine and/or restaurant business, stopping by for a drink, or a bite or both. It all felt so intimate that I kept thinking I knew one of the guys at the table next to mine until I realized he was the winner of last seasons Italian edition of Master Chef. It’s that kind of place too.
The space is bright and cheerful and the entire length of one side is taken up by a counter, or banco which the name refers to. Half of the counter is a bar, with stools, and the other half displays all sorts of cheese, cured meats and other good stuff. Of course there is huge red Berkel slicer.
While I was looking at the menu, trying to decide what to order, a slice of mortadella appeared before me. Actually, I knew it was coming, since it was so aromatic it turned my head. Cut on the aforementioned slicer, paper thin, it was served with a dollop of salsa verde.
The menu is a mixture of small plates, and none are too expensive. The waiter, Giacomo, kindly helped me to decide what would work, suggesting (very wisely) some of the best of their dishes
I started with a little panino filled with slow cooked pork, and spread with a paprika mayonnaise, served with raw scallions and on a steamed bun. It was soft, and crunchy, and salty and sweet. I’m not sure how they packed so much into a little panino. A glass of Sauvignon was perfect with it.
Next up was slow cooked, lacquered pork ribs with a slightly spicy mayonnaise. Outstanding. Like finger licking good. The meat was perfectly cooked, falling off the bone, in a salty sweet sauce that ( I know I already said this) had me licking my fingers. Giacomo, chose another wine to pair with the fatty ribs and it was perfect. It had a very odd nose, very oxidized, but the taste was anything but. And the sharpness paired perfectly with the sweet fatty pork: Casina degli Ulivi’s biodymanic Semplicemente Vino: Bellotti Rosa.
Even though I was beyond full, I finished with a cute little ice cream sandwich, unlike any I’d had before.
This was arguably some of the best food I’ve had in a long time and very representative of the new trend in dining that’s going on not just in Torino, but in Italy in general. High attention to quality and inventive, creative but absolutely delicious food served in an unpretentious and relaxing setting at a fair price. Yay!!!
I was up in Torino in late January, finishing up my newest app, Eat Torino. I’m happy to say it’s now officially finished and for sale!! It is part of my app Eat Italy, which is a free app and available for download on iTunes. Eat Torino can be found as an in-app purchase. I’m still adding a few things to it, but wanted to get it up sooner rather than later, since so many of you were asking. If you buy it now, don’t worry, you’ll keep receiving all the updates (coming very very soon).
Banco Vino Alimenti
Via Mercanti 13, Torino
+39.011.764.0239
Hours: Open Monday – Saturday 12:30pm-12:30am. Sunday: 12:30pm-4pm.
For more information on dining in Torino and Italy download my app, EAT ITALY. EAT ITALY is a free app, and contains guides to Venice, Milan, Rome, Florence, Torino and Umbria (and an ever expanding list of regions and cities) available as in-app purchases for both iPhone and iPad
Elizabeth.Our family is going to the Ceglie Messapica area and we were hoping you could recommend a few good family restaurants in the area.Thank you.Ron Severino
Loved Cibus! And I have a few others on my blog if you search Puglia.
Hello Elizabeth,
I bought your Eat Rome app when it first came out. I am trying to find out how to get Eat Italy ( free) and then purchase in app all the cities, including Torino. I went to the App Store and cannot find any of your apps there although it does indicate that I bought Eat Rome. Is there some way I can find out how to make this work?
Thank you
Karen Gillis
May 24, 2016
Hi Karen, You have to search for Eat Italy in the app store. If, by any chance, you are searching from your iPad, you have to make sure you have the settings set to “All Apps” (not just iPad apps). Then it should certainly show up. Once you download Eat Italy, you will be able to purchase all six city apps. Here is an exact explanation of how to do this:
When you search for certain apps on the app store with your iPad it will only return a listing of apps designed for iPad. To include iPhone apps in the search, enter a keyword or app name in the search field at the top right, press Search, tap the “iPad Only” button at the top left of the menu bar and select “iPhone Only.” This will now expand the search to display both iPhone and universal apps in the results.
Once the iPhone app is installed you’ll notice that it will automatically scale up to display full size on the iPad screen, causing the buttons, fonts and graphics to look proportionately larger than normal. While it may not look pretty, everything will function just the same. And if you want to decrease the size of the app to normal iPhone size, press the 1x button in the lower right corner of the screen.
All I have to say is YUM…oh and I am so glad things are going the way of great food but casual…it just seems like way more fun!
can I purchase ur apps for an android phone
I”m sorry, but no android. Unfortunately I had it for sale as android in an earlier version and no one (or almost no one) ever bought it. So it’s just not worth the money to develop an android version. As it turns out, Android users, for the most part, expect free apps and aren’t willing to pay for content. I may be offering an e-book version, though, so sign up for my newsletter for news about that
I ate at Consorzio twice last week; some of the best food I’ve ever had. I wish I’d realized their new place was open on Sunday (why didn’t they tell me?). My meal at another of your recommendations (Sotto la Mole) was somewhat disappointing — in part because they were overwhelmed with too few staff and too many (and rather demanding) customers. I’m so glad to have had your app.
You should definitely try to make it to Banco Vino, if you are still in town. Too bad you had that experience at Sotto la Mole. I actually had a similar experience at Consorzio one night, during the Salone del Gusto, since they were totally slammed with too many guests.