‘A slap-up meal for €12’: my search for the perfect old-school Turin tavern

Turin is one of Italy’s most serious food cities, shaped by the culinary legacy of the House of Savoy and, more recently, the slow food movement. But as a local I’m drawn to something far less formal: the piòla. These were never quite restaurants; they served a quarter-litre carafe of barbera (the tubo) in rooms worn smooth by decades of use, where regulars played cards, argued about football or politics and lingered without ceremony.

Food, when it appeared, was simple and to the point: anchovies in green sauce, hard‑boiled eggs, cold cuts or agnolotti. Many piòle disappeared from the 1960s as Turin grew more refined; some closed, others evolved into osterie or restaurant‑like spaces. Recently the piòla has edged back into view, sometimes preserved, often reinterpreted, and I set out to find those that still capture the originals’ spirit.

Italy, Turin

turin, piòla, barbera, tubo, savoy, slow food, agnolotti, osterie, anchovies, tavern