Ristorante Il Principe, Pompei

Ristorante Il Principe in Pompei is a unique dining concept that combines serious gastronomy with archaeology, positioning itself as the restaurant most deeply engaged with the ancient Roman culinary tradition that the excavated city of Pompeii illuminates. The restaurant — in the modern town of Pompei, close to the excavation site entrance — has developed a menu partly inspired by the food identified in Pompeii's frescoes, carbonised remains, and in the texts of Marcus Gavius Apicius, the 1st-century Roman cookbook author whose De Re Coquinaria (On the Subject of Cooking) preserves recipes from the world that Vesuvius buried in 79 AD. The Marcus Gavius Apicius tasting menu recreates ancient Roman preparations using modern ingredients calibrated to produce flavours that the ancient sources describe: combinations of honey, garum (the fermented fish sauce analogous to colatura di alici), dried fruits, and spices that challenge modern palates accustomed to the conventions of Italian cooking as they developed after the Roman period. Alongside this historical curiosity, the kitchen also serves a straightforward modern Italian menu featuring Campanian ingredients executed with skill: spaghetti with colatura d'alici (the modern descendant of garum), buffalo mozzarella, and local seafood. The restaurant is popular with archaeologists, academics, and visitors to the Pompeii site who want their cultural experience extended into the dining room.