When you take the last bend, passing through the suggestive rock tunnels that characterize the road that leads to Oro Nero, what opens up before you is a truly breathtaking view of Lake Sauris.

An emerald green body of water surrounded by mountains that changes color depending on the seasons, offering an ever-changing “picture” that becomes hopelessly romantic during the foliage in autumn, enchanted in winter with snow and with wonderfully blinding colors in summer.

Every detail of Oro Nero, from the cuisine to the dining experience, is designed to leave our guests with a memory for life.

(Barbara and Andrea)

After having joined their lives and careers in a previous restaurant in Pordenone, Barbara Antonini, sommelier and maître d’, and Andrea Pilo, chef, have, in fact, decided to move to Sauris, a small village in the province of Udine at 1200 meters high known throughout the world for its renowned ham, where they fell in love with a restaurant facing the lake.

They took it over and thus began a restyling work that led them to inaugurate their new restaurant in July 2021. The chosen name, Oro Nero (Black Gold), symbolizes the union of their souls and characters, but also the original colors chosen for the interiors of the restaurant, which they personally took care of, and which highlight the intense turquoise of the lake.

For the furnishings, they choose tones and materials that literally blend with the view, such as the green velvet seats, stone and reclaimed wood from the trees that fell during the recent Vaia storm.

Andrea’s cuisine is also in total harmony with the surrounding area and starts from excellent raw materials of local origin, such as Prosciuttificio Wolf Sauris ham, a delicious and unmissable entrée, mountain cheeses, Sauris trout, red fruits, farm eggs.

His recipes are traditional ones revisited with contemporary techniques and creativity such as smoked Bao, venison, sweet and sour julienne, poppy seeds and horseradish mayonnaise, Spaghettino Monograno Felicetti, mushrooms, hazelnuts, Illy coffee and truffle and Pigeon cooked twice, its black cherry stock, peanuts and sweet and sour shallots, which are part of the highly recommended Sentieri tasting menu.

In the dining room, Barbara, a member of the Italian Maître Association and the Italian Sommelier Association, has selected over 230 labels that start from the wineries that she loves most in the area, especially the Collio, to embrace the whole world.

The mise en place is very original and reveals Barbara and Andrea’s “secret” ingredient: the smile and the sense of play that accompanies the entire Oro Nero experience. On each table we find, in fact, a Cow Parade cow which symbolizes the transhumance of the herds that literally pass through the restaurant at the end of September to go to pasture, while the bread is served with delicious mountain butter inside the mouth of a giant hippopotamus, just to give a few examples.

The perfect experience? The aperitif on the panoramic terrace in summer or, in winter, at the restaurant’s cocktail bar at sunset followed by a “dive” of sight and palate into the world of the Friulian pre-Alps.

The Secret

Particularly in summer, Oro Nero offers an unusual attraction: seeing in action the Sauris Zipline right above the restaurant. The longest in Europe on a lake, it is a 2.5 km cableway flight of pure adrenaline suspended above centuries-old fir trees, crystal clear waters and fairy-tale landscapes.

Useful Info

Ristorante Oro Nero
Località La Maina 10
33020 Sauris, Udine
Tel. +39 0433 786230

To reach Oro Nero it is recommended to take Provincial Road 73 which connects Ampezzo to Sauris and which, in addition to being the smoothest, is also subject to constant care to ensure its practicability even during the winter period and snowfall.

Tasting menu Sentieri: 85 euro, 40 euro wine pairing
Starters: 18 — 20 euro
First courses: 22 — 28 euro
Second courses: 26 — 32 euro