On the island of Capri, we dined at one of the most unique restaurants we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing --
Da Paolino.
Wow! This stunning restaurant is in the middle of a lemon grove, with huge lemons hanging off the trees all above and around you. There were so many lemons that I was slightly worried that one would fall down and hit one of us, but no incidents occurred. Don't worry about rain either -- the restaurant has a retractable roof to switch from dining indoors to al fresco as needed!
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Caroline and Brandon at Da Paolino, dining under the lemon trees. |
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Da Paolino koi pond |
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Lemon Trees at Da Paolino |
I started with an excellent mojito, and they brought me some GF bread and crackers.
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GF crackers at Da Paolino |
The waiter was very helpful in going over the menu with me. They had both GF spaghetti and penne pastas available, and I chose to go with the penne in a lemon cream sauce. It seemed appropriate to go with something lemon flavored, after all. I worred that the lemon would be overpowering, but instead it was very subtle and delicate. Lovely.
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Penne in Lemon Cream Sauce |
I thought that there would be nothing on the dessert buffet for me, but amazingly there were a surprising number of things I could eat. I was incredulous as the waiter took me through and showed me a creme caramel, panna cotta, chocolate pudding, coconut cookies, and two types Torte Caprese (gluten free almond cake) -- lemon and chocolate. There were also large bowls of beautiful berries and mounds of whipped cream.
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Dessert Buffet at Da Paolino |
The Torte was a little dry, but was improved by adding the whipped cream. The creme caramel was just ok, and the chocolate pudding was a little too rich for my tastes, but the panna cotta with raspberry sauce was a real winner. Eating the torte was probably a bit risky from a cross-contamination standpoint, but the pudding/caramel/panna cotta were in individual dishes, which is really nice.
I left in physical pain from eating so much, and I only regretted that I couldn't go back for more! If you are in Capri, this is an experience not to be missed.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6C8otZOYEkitd-iFlbhODCAPldGr9A8p4xHd7VHkducufdLUlhdE7PAU7KZzZLK8oHCXURHTHkbTRHiXuWfOLq387Q-dfnbpFbYMJTIwpHZL5dB9fTLwMgO3CDE6zSNnN2gPUE3v-TQ/s320/lemon+tree+caro+and+colin.jpg) |
Colin and Caroline at Da Paolino |
Sandy
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