19 Sep Eating Abruzzo’s Most Famous Dish at Perilli Arrosticini

It’s 7:30 on a Sunday night and Luke and I are the first customers to arrive at Perilli Arrosticini: a family-run restaurant famous for its lamb skewers. 

The staff are still in their pre-shift meeting, but one of the cooks waves us in, yelling “Benvenuto! Buonasera! Buon appetito!” He smiles as he takes his place behind a long charcoal grill—fanning the flames in preparation of the hundreds, if not thousands, of kebabs (arrosticini) he’ll cook tonight. 

These skewers are made up of 1-inch cubes of lean mutton laced with 25% fat, brushed with local olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper. They’re turned by hand over coals until charred; served hot, dripping with juice. Like most Italian cuisine, it’s a simple dish, made delicious by the use of quality ingredients. In this case: local sheep that roam Abruzzo’s hills and mountains.  

When Luke and I first arrived to the region, we quickly realized that arrosticini was the area’s most popular menu item—listed as a secondi option, after antipasti (meats, cheeses, and fried dough; often complimentary) and primi (pastas). But at Perilli Arrosticini, they skip the pasta, knowing full well that people are there for the skewers. 

We decide to order 10 kebabs each (the amount most people seem to get), an antipasti platter, a plate of grilled vegetables, ½ liter of red wine, and two desserts (ricotta and pear semifreddo and a nutella panna cotta). Courses are dropped off by friendly waiters who ask “A posto: Is everything ok?” Everything is more than okay, and our response (in broken Italian) delights the staff. 

Located in the countryside, surrounded only by vineyards and hills, I doubt Perilli Arrosticini sees many tourists—despite the rave reviews online. Locals, on the other hand, pack the restaurant as we finish our meal: large families with children, hip 20-somethings, an elegantly dressed elderly couple, a woman with a fluffy dog poking out of her purse.

Outside, cars line the street and smoke billows from the arrosticini window. Luke approaches with his camera and one of the chefs puffs out his chest. “I’m famous!” he jokes in Italian, to the cook beside him. When we leave, they both yell for us to have a good night, and that they hope to see us again soon. They will. 

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Details:

Perilli Arrosticini

Address: Contrada Casabianca, 1, 64035 Castilenti TE, Italy

Phone: +39 366 493 9900 (reservations recommended)

Hours: 7:30pm-midnight, Tuesday-Sunday (closed Mondays)

Price: 1 euro per arrosticini (our bill came to just under 50 euros)