A nice finish for the cousins...

Last night was the end of our "summer of hosting" and we decided to go out in style. We took Jenny and Benoit to one of our favorite restaurants, Il Giardino. It's considered to be one of the best places to eat on Corfu, (but unfortunately has a very "modest" internet presence!) The cuisine is definitely Italian, but not the spagetti/pizza type of Italian, at all!

We arrived 'early', which is to say 8:30 pm, and they were just finishing the set ups on the tables. (As we left around 11 pm, groups were arriving for their dinner!!)

We had a wonderful silly evening and ate marvelous food and washed it all down with delicious wine.

The restaurant is located just across the street from the entrance to the Archaeological Museum of Corfu. It has a rather unprepossessing narrow front, and the interior is simple, tasteful, and not very large (where you eat in the wintertime). The real attraction is the garden in the back, open in the summer, which is enclosed by the surrounding buildings and quite lovely. The restaurant is open all year round (but NOT the garden) and the service is always superior.

The prices DO reflect the great service and excellent cooking. I believe the rating system of their internet link is a bit out of date as with drinks and wine- a starter, main dish and dessert can more realistically run you 45-50+ euros/person. It's IS possible to eat for less there, but you'd feel cheated if you couldn't at least imagine you could order what you wanted!

We ordered specialites of the house (my favorite standby: the Il Giardino Salad with Brie cheese and pears and a lovely vinaigrette)


T had the always delightful paper thin Proscutto with melon, and Benoit chose the fresh Mozzerella with fresh tomatoes.


Jenny decided to try the Baby Marrows with Parmesan and they were delicious!


For the main course, Jenny had a tagliatelli tossed with marscapone, ham, and Parmesan creamy sauce. Benoit had a lovely rosy Penne with tomatoes and vegetables.



I decided on a take off of the "fresh", off the menu, serving of the day and went with a linguini with mussels and baby clams in a white wine and garlic sauce. It was as delicious to savor, as beautiful to look at!

T had a medium-rare, fillet with a wonderful balsamic sauce.







To wrap things up, since T had the dessert honors last evening (with the flaming Crepe!) I splurged on dessert and had the homemade Gujarat chocolate ice cream with hazelnuts - Benoit had the panacotta with blackberry sauce.

(Sadly, it was so good we all gobbled it up before I could take a picture!!)

We finished up the meal with cups of espresso and cappuccino, and fortunately, as T had to park at a bit of a distance, had a gentle slow promenade by the sea to get back to the car.
I know a good time was had by all; I was there too!


This morning T took them to the airport for their flight home to Brussels. The charter flight might be a little bit of a hassle, but I know they went home with great memories of a lovely vacation with us.

~~~