Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Restaurante Turcotto, Anzio, Italy

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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On our first visit to Anzio, Agustus, our taxi driver, told us about a restaurant we must visit.

For some reason, the recommendation didn't stick with us. It was our first trip to this part of Italy, we were dealing with jet lag, and we needed to get things like ATMs and our cell phones worked out.

We were gobsmacked with the history of Roman Emperor Nero's villa, and being on the actual beach of Anzio's Landing in WWII.

There were pizzerias to visit, harbors to view, and seafood with pasta to eat.

Fast forward to our second visit, and Augustus once again mentioned Restaurante Turcotto.

Oh.

Ok.

This time we heard him and went to lunch there.

Three times!!

WHAT A FIND.

The sign at the front of the restaurant

The sign at the front of the restaurant is set up for people to take selfies and thereby advertise the restaurant to their friends.

The sign reads:

Discover all the secrets about our cuisine since 1816. Thanks to eight generations of great chefs who have succeeded one another from father to son to reach the present day.

Anzio is increasingly becoming an important gastronomic destination, and the Garzia Family laid the roots of the important Portadanese culinary tradition.

View of the Tyrrhenian Sea from the Restaurant

The restaurant is framed on one the right side by the ancient ruins of Nero's imperial villa and on the left side by the remains of the arm of the ancient Neronian port.

"Portodanzese" cuisine is choosing fish directly from the boxes of fishermen at the port. It couldn't be fresher that that!

Apparently, the Garzia family know everything about fish - absolutely everything - and we were about to be "Wow'd".

On our first lunch here at Turcotto, we were seated in a dining room away from the Terrace.

When we asked to be placed outside, our waitress said "No, it's booked."

But... there were only 2 tables occupied.

Oh well. That's ok. We're here to eat, and this was the view a bit from our table where we were seated.

It was still pretty nice!

Fresh Ciabatta bread served in a silver bowl

When the waitress came to deliver the fresh Ciabatta bread, Billy handed her his "Chef de Cuisine" card and she took it back to the kitchen.

The mood changed positively after that.

Being former restaurant owners ourselves, we know about seasonality of fruits and vegetables.

Here in Anzio, we learned about the seasonality of fish!

Apparently, there are times of the year when certain fish are too strong in flavor or too fatty to put on the plate.

Turcotto only wants the best.

The starters and sharing menu

For our first meal we ordered an Octopus salad and a special soup (recommended) that the restaurant is known for.

You will notice the item 4th from the bottom saying "Assaggini Turcotto". Assaggini translates to "taste it" - so we found out later on our 3rd visit - that this is a very popular and incredible array of 15 appetizers that give you a full board idea of flavors of the restaurant.

Octopus salad

The octopus of course, was perfectly fresh and the olive oil and lemon was simple but delicious.

Foods in Italy are straightforward, but high quality.

A dish doesn't have to be complex, but rather have the items on the plate stand out on their own.

The meal was delicious and the scenery pleasant enough that we decided to give Turcotto another try.

Sea view tables on the terrace

On our second visit, we were escorted to the terrace room right away.

Apparently Billy's Chef de Cuisine business card had done the trick, and we had moved up in the seating arrangement.

This was the view from our table.

Lovely.

Pasta and Entree menu

This time we ordered the Ravioli with sea bass, some mussels and a local DOP designated bottle of wine. We shared these dishes and later on, shared an entree.

Bottle of Feudo white wine

Feudo Antico vineyards are on a small plot of land in the heart of Abruzzo. It is Italy's smallest DOP and the first designation of its kind in this region.

When viewing a map, Abruzzo looks to be in central Italy, but it is considered to be in Southern Italy, as is Anzio.

One of the claims to fame of this winery is that the fruit and wine come into no contact with wood whatsoever, only concrete and glass. This guarantees the purity of the fruit, and its flavors, straight from the vineyard then direct to the glass.

With the exception of Reserve wines, these makers want to allow the wine to express its natural qualities without coming into contact with wood which they feel would distort it. Only wild fermentation is used for the organic wines with minimal processing and no filtering.

Mussels

These mussels were different from other styles of presentation. There was seasoning and flavor, but no broth. This was also new to us.

We love being pleasantly surprised when it comes to food.

Ravioli with seabass

This sea bass stuffed ravioli with a creamed pomodoro sauce was our second course.

So much flavor packed into such a small plate.

We were on a roll!

Waiter showing us one of our entrees to share

After finishing our shared appetizers, we then asked the owner what he recommended.

Without missing a beat, Enrico suggested a dish of Turbot.

A European flatfish, Turbot is highly valued for its flavor and texture.

 Since we shared it, the waiter came out to show us the main dish, then went back to the kitchen to divide it into 2 portions.

Shared portion of Turbot

Each portion of our shared dish was creatively and carefully placed on a dish.

We have noticed that sometimes in Italy entrees of fish or meat are served on a bed of lettuce. These meals are not considered to be salads, it is simply a custom of this country.

The lettuce is warmed by the items in the entree and the juices marry with the greens.

Fish and meat menu

Here you see the Pesce Bianco of the day (which included our turbot) for $60Euros a kilo.

Well, needless to say after this meal, we waddled home to our hotel just a block away.

But once again, because the food has been so spectacular and different from the norm, and the vista was outstanding, we decided to go back one last time before we left town for Salerno.

200th Anniversary poster

A little more history here - the ninth generation of this restaurant family is growing, with Enrico junior, Giulia and Lucrezia ready to take the reins of the place founded by their great-great-grandfather Gaetano.

Gaetano came to Anzio from Toledo, Spain and was called "The Turk" because of the red fez he loved to wear. Today, that red hat remains a distinctive sign of the restaurant located near the remains of the "Imperial Villa" from the Roman era. Emperor Nero was a native of Anzio.

Billy and Akaisha at the best table in the house

At our second meal in Turcotto, we noticed that several tables had ordered this particular dish that kept coming out from the kitchen -- item after item after item.

What was this?

We had asked our waiter who told us it was the Assaggini "Turcotto - a selection of 15 creative appetizers which changed depending on the day it was ordered.

Well, we had to have THAT.

Being Foodies, having 15 different items from one menu at once would be THE way to taste a variety of flavors, and the way to end our time in Anzio and at Turcotto Restaurant.

At the price of $25Euros - this set of appetizers was the best deal going.

So this time when we arrived at the restaurant, without a second thought, we were brought to the best seat in the house.

We were seated right at the Terrace edge with an unobstructed view of the ruins of the Port of Nero and his villa.

We proceeded to order the Assaggini appetizer and a bottle of wine, sat back and was ready to be amazed.

Chopped octopus on crisp

We will show you several of these appetizers - each with their own flavors and presentations.

We had no idea of what we'd be receiving, so each plate was a surprise.

this one was chopped octopus on a crisp, with drizzled virgin olive oil with fresh greens.

Fried fish appetizer

This  one was a piece of fried fish with slivers of squid on another kind of crisp, placed on a bed of fresh greens.

Seafood stuffed egg muffin

This appetizer was served cold with a dressing on an egg-style muffin.

Of course there were greens and virgin olive oil once again.

Shrimp with watercress

Another cold tasty bit this one was shrimp with watercress, a raspberry sauce underneath and some shaved almonds.

This arrangement of hors d'oeuvres ranged from hot, cold, fried, crunchy, sweet, and savory to reasoned and careful use of some spices that made the tasting intriguing.

Needless to say, the experience was a delight.

Various fried yummies

Served on brown paper squares to absorb the frying oil, it was hard to know until one bit into the item what it might be.

Fish stuffed roll with apricot glaze

A white rice pastry roll stuffed with seafood and an apricot glaze on top.

Billy and I are sharing each canapé and the ones we couldn't break into two pieces, we simply chose the ones we'd eat entirely by ourselves.

There was plenty to go around, believe me!

Crispy fish appetizer

Bread crumb encrusted whole sardines.

The texture and flavors did not disappoint.

Rum Baba with fresh cream and pralines

After these delights, we had a small mixed salad that we also shared.

Asking the waiter which desserts he recommended, he offered two.

We took them both.

And both were simply exceptional. 

Fresh coconut ice cream with mangos

Having been raised in the Midwest of the United States, we never knew real, fresh coconut.

The packaged and dried versions that one would find in the local super weren't even a distant cousin to what one can find in the tropics.

Coconut ice cream on a bed of crunchies with mango syrup made one's taste buds dazzle.

Our bill

This was our bill for the 3rd meal we had at Turcotto.

Our little salad was $4Euros, our wine was $15, and the coperto (in lieu of tipping) was just $2Euros each.

Totaling $67Euros, our meal came to about $72USD.

The view, the wine, the complex flavors and the memory of an experience that will last our whole lives.

Definitely worth it!

Daughters of Enrico Garzia

Maria and Ermelinda (the 8th generation) are chefs and bakers as well as FISAR sommeliers.

What talent, what class, what a lifetime of creative enjoyment and expression.

Enrico Garzia in his kitchen

And Enrico himself in the kitchen.

Would we recommend for you to have a meal at Ristorante Turcotto?

Absolutely!

__________

Ristorante Turcotto

Riviera Vittorio Mallozzi, 44

00042 Anzio RM

Closed Thursdays and Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings

Open daily 10AM - 2:30PM, 7-9:30PM

Tele: 06 984 6340  or 06 984 5295

Website: https://www.ristoranteturcotto.it/ 

email: infoturcotto@gmail.com

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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