Ristorante Umberto a Mare

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Family Story Since 1936

Umberto a Mare began in the first half of the twentieth century when two young lovers, grandfather Umberto Castellaccio and grandmother Gaetanina Mattera, purchased a small plot of steep terraces overlooking the sea near the Church of the Madonna del Soccorso in Forio d'Ischia — for a sum of between 700 and 800 lire. On that land, beside a ruin, they built a restaurant with a dance hall, and later a hotel, turning a corner of the island into a place of genuine hospitality. The year 1936 marks the realisation of that dream. In the decades that followed, three of their eight children — Angela, Vittorio and Ottavio — carried the torch until 1994, when Marco Regine and his son Fabrizio took over as the third and fourth generation of the family.

The People Behind the Table

Today Marco and Fabrizio Regine shape the identity of Umberto a Mare together. Marco brings the experience and quiet elegance of someone who knows every nuance of the house; Fabrizio, a trained sommelier, represents the new generation — attentive, deeply rooted in the place. In the kitchen, Executive Chef Vincenzo Pietroluongo gives the restaurant its contemporary voice. A Campanian chef with a strong technical foundation and a clear culinary identity, Pietroluongo interprets the island's sea and seafood through a refined, personal approach that stays firmly grounded in Mediterranean tradition. It was under his direction that Umberto a Mare earned its first Michelin Star in the 2026 edition of the Michelin Guide to Italy — a milestone built on more than twenty years of continuous presence in Italy's leading gastronomic guides.

The Cuisine and the Cellar

The kitchen draws from a profound connection with Ischia: local products, the rhythms of the sea, and a respect for raw material that runs through every plate. The Mediterranean cuisine here is neither nostalgic nor showy — it balances technical precision with a contemporary sensibility rooted in the island's own memory. Tasting menus range from a four-course vegetarian format celebrating land and seasonality, to a seven-course narrative menu conceived as a sensory arc, with rabbit — an Ischian staple — appearing as the protagonist of a meat-focused route that bridges local tradition and modern vision.

The cellar is an equally serious undertaking. With over 1,000 labels spanning local, Italian and international producers, it earned the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in 2024 — recognition that reflects Fabrizio's expertise and the house's long commitment to wine as an integral part of the meal.

Beyond the Restaurant

The property extends well beyond the dining room. Guests can stay in sea-view rooms, access a private descent to the waterfront, and encounter rotating exhibitions of contemporary art — painting, sculpture and photography — displayed throughout the space. The whole forms a place where the Mediterranean, in all its dimensions, is the constant.