Traversing the A14 that runs the course of Italy’s Adriatic coast, Abruzzo’s supply of fish restaurants runs deep, so when we heard about the white linen truckers’ favourite by the name of the Boston Motel in Silvi, we thought we must be onto a good thing if they use it as a tasty pit-stop.
As to be expected, this ain’t no charming rustic little fish restaurant; it sits off the old coastal road conveniently situated next to a petrol station for those said truckers. But, walk inside and you’re greeted with hotel-standard dining and great waiter service all the way. Tables bedecked with brilliant white linen tablecloths, a large plasma TV screen to enable all those truckers to catch up with news and sports, and when we went for a Saturday lunch the restaurant was absolutely heaving (plenty of trucks outside, but no we didn’t check the width of the other diners’ forearms!). The majority were groups of men, or single men, dining; not an enormous amount of families so being that Italian men are quite discerning where they eat together, we thought we were onto a good thing.
Antipasti was lovely, lemony fresh & clean, a wide range of assorted shellfish & fish that were all so beautifully melt-in-the-mouth (no chewy squid here) accompanied by a large bowl of steaming mussles – again cooked to perfection. We were with friends and perhaps a little boringly all chose to have spaghetti vongole, again good, perhaps a little too much spaghetti for me, but then portion control here is aimed at hungry men wanting something sustaining whilst they are away from home. The buttery oil sauce didn’t overpower the clams instead complementing them, always nice, and good not to finish the plate with a puddle of cholesterol sitting left looking staring at you.
The same big portion control applied to main courses – we went for an assortment of one fritti misto and one al forno; be warned they are huge platters, so these 2 were more than plenty between the four of us – we couldn’t even finish them sadly. Fritto misto included some more of that lovely squishy squid all in super-light tempura-style batter and completely grease free, the al forno included fish and shellfish kebabs as well as a lot of breaded Adriatic Sole (Sogliola), yum but soooooooooooooooooooo much! Salads comprised a rich assortment of fennel, carrot, lettuce and tomato, again large, one between two more than enough. House wine was excellent; we went for house red, young, with a slight fizz that didn’t overpower all that glorious fish.
Price – €25 per head. 2 courses, a salad and share of 2 main courses with coffee and including 1.5 litres of wine between 4
Value for money – 10/10
Quality of food – 9/10
Contact Details
Via Adriatica Sud, 48 | Silvi Marina | 64029 (TE)
Telephone: 085 9354292 | Website: https://www.motelbostonsilvi.it/
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a very lucky midlife 'mamma' to A who is 12 and juggles her work as a self-employed freelance SEO food and travel copywriter and EFL teacher. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo. she is the founder of the 'English in the Woods' initiative, teaching English outdoors in a forest style school.
