Bergamo
Bergamo's Vittorio is set in a country house 9km east of town and, with over 50 years and three Michelin stars under its belt, is up there with the best…
Must-see restaurants in Central Lombardy
Bergamo
More esoteric than your average trattoria, Noi is a chameleonic restaurant that changes it spots between lunch and dinner (they even change the restaurant…
Central Lombardy
On a working farm where cows are raised and asparagus is grown, the owners also offer up fine local cooking with only the freshest in-season ingredients –…
Mantua
At the wonderfully esoteric osteria of the ‘four breasts’, you can pull up a pew (literally, an old church pew) and enjoy yet-to-be-exported Italian gems…
Central Lombardy
In the small village of Borgonato, Due Colombe has earned a stellar reputation for its high-end cuisine thanks to the skills of head chef Stefano Cerveni…
Lake Iseo
The Soardi family has been serving up local dishes since 1948, perfecting deceptively simple treatments of lake fish. It means you can sit on their…
Bergamo
With its wedges of focaccia-style pizza displayed like colourful art in the front window, it’s no wonder this bakery-cafe is perennially crowded. This is…
Bergamo
If you’re staying in the Città Alta, it’s worth letting gravity carry you downhill to seek out this lunch-only, four-table cafe with an out-of-the…
Cremona
For a break from risottos and pastas, this elegant Japanese spot makes a fine destination. Amid vaulted brick ceilings and flickering candles, Kandoo…
Bergamo
Things have changed little since the original wine dealer started here in 1848. Elegant tables with delicate wrought-iron-backed chairs, globe lamps and…
Lake Iseo
On the southern shore of the island, this perfectly located spot serves a mouthwatering plate of mixed grilled lake fish as well as trout ravioli with…
Central Lombardy
A sprawling yellow 18th-century farmhouse, La Coldana seats its guests in bustling dining rooms or out in a quiet garden. The kitchen is a cauldron of…
Central Lombardy
The Bigio family invented the archetypal Bergamese dessert, polenta e osei (cakes filled with jam and cream, topped with sweet polenta and chocolate birds…
Brescia
Near the Piazza della Loggia, La Vineria serves up delectable regional cuisine at al fresco tables under a portico or in a classy dining room with vaulted…
Cremona
Behind the dilapidated facade lurks a diamond in the rough. Some of the vaulted rooms come with ceiling frescoes, dark timber tables come with ancient…
Bergamo
In the upper town, tucked close to the Venetian walls, La Tana remains exceptionally popular for painstakingly prepared Bergamesque dishes served in a sun…
Central Lombardy
Tucked down a narrow lane a few blocks from the Duomo, Botero has earned wide acclaim for its sophisticated menu, excellent service and elegant but not…
Bergamo
Run by two accredited wine sommeliers who have worked for Gualtiero Marchesi in Erbusco, this is a great place to sample regional wine by the glass. The…
Cremona
Il Violino is Cremona's timeless classy option. Smooth service is key to this elegant spot, where you can peruse a menu filled with intriguing names such…
Mantua
After several hours wandering around the gargantuan Palazzo Ducale, getting neck-ache looking at frescoes, you’ll probably appreciate a quick light lunch…
Bergamo
Welcome to the fastest ‘Slow Food’ you’ll ever eat. Service in this environmentally conscious deli-restaurant is best described as breezy: you’ll be…
Lake Iseo
Only those of strong resolve will manage to walk past the al fresco bar at this deli-restaurant on Peschiera Maraglio’s harbourfront without stopping…
Central Lombardy
This agreeable country hotel about halfway along the wild and woolly Taleggio valley has a simple restaurant downstairs where a good number of the…
Bergamo
Boiled cornmeal (aka polenta) might not be the most handy of fast foods, but this small hole-in-the-wall will soon have you grabbing a takeout. Styling…
Central Lombardy
With several dining areas, an outdoor pergola for summer meals, and a privileged position overlooking the surrounding territory, La Collina (aptly, The…
Mantua
Wooden chairs scrape against the tiled floor as diners eagerly tuck into Slow Food–accredited culatello di Zibello (lard) at this 250-year-old trattoria…
Lake Iseo
For an intimate ambience and fine local fare head to this excellent eatery where a barrel ceiling sits above rough stone walls. 'The Bear's Den' is hidden…
Antica Hosteria del Vino Buono
Bergamo
Feast on typical dishes like cheese-sprinkled casoncelli alla Bergamasca (homemade pasta cushions filled with a spicy sausage meat and laced with a…
Mantua
Understand: Tavern 500 isn’t really a tavern and the decor (creamy walls embellished with subtle watercolours) doesn’t look very 500 (the 16th century in…
Central Lombardy
A small elegant spot in La Gera, La Contrada has a small menu of classic, well-executed recipes. Among the reliable favourites: spaghetti with clams,…
Brescia
Al Bianchi is your classic Italian bar with restaurant out back, in business since the callow years of the Risorgimento and probably serving the same…
Brescia
Tucked down Parsley Lane off pleasant pedestrianised Corso Cavour, this is a hidden gem for good home cooking served at tables dressed in gingham. Frilly…
Central Lombardy
Spread about inside what remains of the one-time castle at the heart of Gromo, the various rooms (some with frescoes) here have a convivial air. Mushrooms…
Brescia
Set partly in the stables of a 1610 palace, flanked by columns, La Sosta excels at finely tuned gastronomic creations using the freshest regional produce…
Cremona
A few steps from the Piazza del Comune, this place is full every night with a happy mix of tourists and locals, with more of the latter – always a good…
Central Lombardy
Local products are the name of the game in this busy family-run eatery, barely a five-minute walk from the Rocca fortress, just over a canal. Inside, the…
Cremona
If you’re darting between sights in Cremona, dip into this small cafe where they’ll make up a toasted panino as you wait from a menu with 123 different…
Cremona
La Sosta is surrounded by violin-makers' workshops and is a suitably harmonious place to feast on regional delicacies such as goose thigh and veal liver…
Mantua
The building is as beautiful as the food: a lemon-yellow facade dotted with faded olive-green shutters. Inside, Mantua's gourmands graze on delicately…
Lake Iseo
Behind Gös' nondescript front sits a gleaming microbrewery where happy locals tuck into meat-rich, homemade pasta dishes – try the beef, butter and cheese…
