If you happen to be in Trieste do not miss the opportunity of a visit to the Antica Trattoria Suban for any reason in the world, an excellent restaurant located in the San Giovanni district, a resting and transit area for the traffic that once took place between the plateau of the Karst and that wonderful city that is Trieste. The Antica Trattoria Suban is not only a champion of Italian food and wine with the right international scope but it is a real piece of history, recognized not by chance by Popes, political leaders, personalities from the world of art and entertainment and sports wizards.
An identity card would be enough to reveal the magic of the Antica Trattoria, founded more than 150 years ago and since then always managed by the Suban family which has now reached the fourth generation while the fifth is already appearing. If a trattoria goes through two wars and three centuries but remains in the hands of the same family amid a thousand historical vicissitudes, it means that we are facing a unique reality. How unique were its origins that truly bear the sign of destiny.
The Ancient Trattoria in fact, it was born in 1865 thanks to the winning of five lucky numbers on the Vienna wheel of Giovanni Suban (a surname that means mayor in Slovenian) who with that little treasure laid the foundation stone of a restaurant whose ownership and management has been handed down from generation to generation with the aim of carrying on the Trieste's gastronomic tradition, capable – like the city – of expressing the spirit of Central Europe and of gathering and integrating cultures, customs, religions and customs of the most diverse origins.
Just take a look at the menu to realize the particularity of the Antica Trattoria's culinary offer: from the jota carsolina, a fabulous soup that the manager's imagination offers as a surprise in cups of coffee that leave the customer amazed the first time, to Istrian drumsticks with chicken stew, and from palacinke alla mandriera to horseradish soup to remain with first courses and from veal shank to goulash with and without polenta and Dalmatian specialty pasta to go on to main courses, without forgetting appetizers, desserts (from the rigo jancsi to the sweet palacinka and the sweet semifreddo del Papa, created on the occasion of Pope Woytila's visit in 1982) and of course the wines, with particular attention to those of the area and nearby Slovenia.
It is no coincidence that the guest book that has discovered the Antica Trattoria in various eras leaves you speechless. The visit of Pope John Paul II in the XNUMXs was the consecration of the Antica Trattoria Suban but illustrious and transversal customers followed one another both before and after. In the guest list they stand out the signatures of the President of the Republic, Francesco Cossiga, of his cousin and secretary of the PCI, Enrico Berlinguer, the Prime Minister Giovanni Spadolini, the secretary of the MSI, Giorgio Almirante, personalities from culture, art and entertainment (from Rita Levi Montalcini to Vittorio Gassman and Lucio Dalla, from Enzo Tortora to Uto Ughi, from Renata Tebaldi to Gino Bramieri, from Gigi Proietti to the Pooh and Sting) and sports (from Fabio Capello to Bernie Ecclestone).
Mario Suban, exponent of the fourth generation of the Antica Trattoria, 84 years old brought to the big time, loves to talk above all about sportsmen, thanks to which the restaurant has made a leap in quality, has collected a lot of awards and has appeared in the limelight international. “I still remember – he says with a touch of emotion – when Paron came to us, the unforgettable Nereo Rocco, who in 1947-8 led Triestina to second place in the Serie A standings behind Grande Torino. Cesare Maldini often came with him and sometimes Gianni Brera. Then there was the generational leap in the seventies when Fabio Capello, who was then playing for Juventus, came to eat here with his teammates when he went on holiday to Grado. One year we gave him the “Stinco d'oro”, a lucky charm that he liked very much”.
More recently it showed up Bernie Ecclestone, the great boss of Formula 1, with which the diplomatic incident came close but which revealed his entire class on that occasion. He showed up without a reservation and without revealing his identity one evening when the restaurant was packed and Mario Suban, who hadn't recognized him, was about to dismiss him, albeit reluctantly. It was his son-in-law who warned him and told him that he had to perform some miracle but that he could not show Ecclestone the door, who was already on his way back to the city by taxi. Of course Mario found the last few chairs in the kitchen and found an unexpected place for the wizard of motoring who is still grateful to him.
But nowhere is it written that quality cannot be democratic. The Antica Trattoria is not only a piece of history and an oasis of good taste and delicious Trieste cuisine but it is a restaurant which, despite the celebrity of many customers, has always remained down to earth and which has had and has the wisdom of charging affordable prices. Which of course makes it even more enjoyable. Seeing is believing.
