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gastronomie
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food+drink
Giuseppe Amplo and his family are well known
for their warm hospitality at Engelberg’s Al
Monastero restaurant. Since last summer, the
Italian family has also been running the
Bierlialp pizzeria and steakhouse. They didn’t
go looking for this new venture, but the pull to
take on a new challenge was just too strong.
The Amplo family relocated to Engelberg
in 2005 and have since earned a reputation as
welcoming hosts. Af ter hav ing worked at the
Europäischer Hof, Giuseppe Amplo went on
to manage Hotel Miramonti, formerly Hotel
Maro, with his wife Rossella.
But when problems arose
during renovation work and,
coincidenta lly, the former
Gasthaus Engel was put up for
lease, the couple jumped at
the chance to take that over
instead. They opened the renamed A l Monas-
tero restaurant in November 2011. The Ita lian
word “Monastero” in the restaurant ’s name is
an homage to the nearby Abbey and a symbol
of the family’s respec t for tradition. Af ter a ll,
Gasthaus Engel is the oldest tavern in Engel-
berg; it was opened by Abbey monks in 1778.
The couple a lso embraced tradition
when they took over the Bierlia lp. Their pre-
decessors had renamed the restaurant “Au-
bergine”, but “Bierlia lp” had been a household
name throughout the region and beyond for
many years before that. “We readopted the
name ‘Bierlia lp’ because it is traditiona l and
brought the restaurant plenty of success in
years gone by,” explains the new leaseholder.
The menu will a lso remain unchanged – af ter
a ll, it makes sense for Ita lians to ser ve pizza.
But un like A l Monastero, which is an Ita lian
restaurant through and through, the Bier-
lia lp is a lso a steakhouse. “We want to of fer
Mediterranean and internationa l cuisine,
too,” says Giuseppe. Both the Bierlia lp and
A l Monastero have a f ine selec tion of wines
hand-picked by Giuseppe himself. “Good food
and good wine belong together,” he says.
When, in 2013, Giuseppe and Rossella
eventua lly bought A l Monastero af ter hav-
ing leased it for some time and, in spring 2015,
acquired the lease for the Bierlia lp restaurant,
they didn’ t immediately feel up to tack ling
the new venture. That ’s because, with its
large sun terrace, pizza deliver y ser v ice and
enoteca, A l Monastero essentia lly gives them
enough work to be get ting
on with. “But we’re a lways
seeking out new cha l-
lenges,” they say. The couple
have a rea l presence in both
establishments; Giuseppe
believes that the owners
shou ld be the face of a restaurant. Their son
Raf faele of ten lends a helping hand, too. “I
help wherever I can, whenever they need
me,” says the 19-year-old business school
student. Raf faele says he can imagine work-
ing f u ll time in the family business at some
point in the f uture. Or, as he puts it, “My path
will probably lead me there.” Af ter a ll, he has
inherited his parents’ hospitable nature.
The entire family feels at home in
Engelberg. “The loca ls have adopted us even
though we’re not f rom around here,” says
Giuseppe. “We have so many good contac ts.
Because Engelberg is such an open place, with
so many v isitors f rom Switzerland and abroad,
we f it in ver y well with our Ita lian menta l-
ity.” That ’s not surprising, given that any-
one who comes a long and of fers such warm
hospita lity and f ine Ita lian food and drink is
a lways going to be welcomed with open arms.
“Good food and good wine
belong together.”
gastronomie
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food+drink
Die Familie Amplo (v.l.):
Sohn Raffaele mit den Eltern
Rossella und Giuseppe.
The Amplo family (left to
right): son Raffaele with par-
ents Rossella and Giuseppe.
Giuseppe Amplo ist auch
Weinhändler und bietet in
der Enoteca im Al Monaste-
ro ausgewählte Weine an.
Giuseppe Amplo is also a wine
merchant, and a hand-picked
selection of wines is served
in Al Monstero’s enoteca.
Seit vergangenem Sommer
führt die Familie Amplo
zusätzlich die Bierlialp.
The Amplo family has also
been running the Bier-
lialp since last summer.