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About us
The majority of the readers of this guide know perfectly well the nature and history of our Association
that is the Unione dei Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo: in 45 years of activity we have been able to get acquainted with many affectionate
and loyal friends and supporters.
Happily, we meet new friends every day, people - Italians and foreigners - who are interested in and fascinated by the deliciously appetizing cuisine of our country. One day, a person may happen to enter one of our restaurants, or to read about us in the media - that have always praised us whatever initiative we are either taking part in or perform - and that person will patronize us right away.
You may also happen to see - on display in one of your friends' house - a collection of our famous ceramic plates that enduringly
associate great meals with pleasant souvenirs namely the "Buon Ricordo". For this reason, we are sure you will soon join us,
and you will be one of our distinguished supporters. Consequently, we are pleased to let you know about us by this Guide.
Our Association - Unione, legally speaking a private non-profit association of gastronomic
entrepreneurs - was founded in 1964 thanks to a group of twelve restaurateurs under the leadership of Mr. Dino Villani.
Mr. Villani was a renowned and popular man of culture and communication whose aim was to take care of and promote the values of the Italian local cuisine.
Supporting, enhancing, and improving what nowadays is called "Regional Cuisine or Local Specialities" is our goal in order to recover recipes based on local traditions and local products so numerous and exceptional in Italy. So far, the values of the genuine Italian cooking have been worldwide acknowledged as well as welcome and prized thanks to our modest help, too. As a matter of fact, we have facilitated the true Italian cuisine to rank among the most popular.
Nowadays, over 120 restaurants belong to our Association of Buon Ricordo. Most of them are located in Italy; still many are to be found in Europe and all over the world. We would like to point out that our Association is not a chain. Actually, our partners as entrepreneurs have had different experiences. They may run their businesses in large cities or in small towns. They may run family-owned businesses or take advantage of professional staff. They may wait on just a few guests or many guests. They may run exclusive restaurants or reasonably priced restaurants.
We must be grateful to this diversity, as it makes the difference to our Association. In addition, this strengthens our Association. In fact, we feel that if all roads lead to Rome, many roads lead to restaurants serving authentic Italian meals.
Basically, our common denominator lies on the observance of local traditions, on the unquestionable quality of food, and on professionally warm welcome to make guests feel at home. These are our basic principles, on the one hand. On the other hand, restaurateurs are free to run their restaurants as they like as far as decoration, laying the table, dishing out, welcoming guests, and deciding on staff uniforms are concerned. They are free to follow their "genius loci"! We have experienced that nothing is more miserable than strict standardization.
We are happy when a new restaurateur wants to join our Association. Nonetheless, new partners are rigorously tested and monitored. In fact, whoever avoids sticking to our fundamental principles - few and basic - may be given a second chance and be re-oriented. In fact, we are aware that running professionally a restaurant is a tough job; though, should any of the restaurateurs refuse to follow our policy, membership will be turned down.
