12 Best Restaurants in The Dolomites, Italy

Just off of the Strada del Vino (Wine Road), this charming eatery and wine bar lets you indulge in seasonal dishes while sampling some of the biodynamic wines produced by one of the Trentino area’s most well-known vintners. When the weather’s nice, dining in the pretty courtyard among lemon trees, with mountaintops visible just behind, really lives up to the “paradise” name.

Inside an elegant country house perched atop a steep hill and set amongst the vineyards, about a 10-minute drive south of Trento’s center, talented chef Edoardo Fumagalli creates thoroughly modern cuisine that pairs perfectly with the Lunelli family’s sparkling Ferrari wines. Choose from three tasting menus, which feature local ingredients such as Garda lemons, ricotta from the surrounding farm, and Dolomite trout roe; for lighter appetites, the more casual bistro next door offers á la carte dishes.

South Tyrol native Egon Heiss uses ingredients from Castel Fragsburg’s gardens as well as produce from nearby organic farms, and meat and fish from area producers, to create his beautiful versions of hyperlocal dishes. Delicious items on Prezioso’s five-course tasting menus may include potato dumplings with alpine cheese, alpine salmon, and lamb from the Funes Valley—traditional cuisine elevated by modern preparations and artful presentations.

In a pretty Art Deco setting inside Hotel Elephant, wunderkind chef Mathias Bachmann whips up beautifully presented and creative Italian cuisine with an Asian flair in his nightly six-course tasting menus. Dishes change with the seasons, but if they're on the menu, don't miss the nori tartlet with asparagus or Hokkaido wagyu with miso and black applesauce.

Most of the ingredients, including fabulous handmade cheeses and butter, used at this charming Michelin-starred organic dairy-turned-eatery (whose name means “healthy pasture”) come from the family farm, Agriturismo El Brite de Larieto, perched 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) above the sea. Out of this local bounty, chef Riccardo Gaspari and his wife Ludovica craft impressive and highly personal dishes you’ll find nowhere else in the Dolomites, such as the signature spaghetti with mountain pine oil and scent of the forest ice cream.

Reinhold Messner's restored farmhouse, which is below Castel Juval, holds an old-style restaurant serving traditional local dishes. Not to be missed are the smoked hams and flavorful cheeses provided by the farm outside; they are well paired with the estate's Castel Juval wine.

The sterile surroundings of this restaurant, a short walk from Via dei Portici, belie its culinary delights—namely, rustic regional dishes reenergized and prepared with precision. Three-, five-, and seven-course tasting menus change according to the chef's whim and the season, but they usually include a modernized vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce), delightful homemade pasta and dumplings, and decadent meat dishes such as veal stewed in Lagrein, the area's renowned red wine; vegetarian options are also available.

In a laid-back, welcoming setting at the Rosa Alpina hotel, chef Norbert Niederkofler oversees one of the Alto Adige's most highly regarded restaurants, where seasonal products sourced exclusively from the region are transformed into delicacies on a 12-course tasting menu. Servers thoroughly explain the provenance of the seemingly simple yet multilayered dishes, which can be paired with wines from all over the world, though there's a slant toward small local producers.

The more casual little sister to long-standing favorite Vögele serves coffee and croissants for breakfast, plus all manner of focaccia, ice cream and cake, and aperitivo (think stuzzichini, or savory Italian snacks, and Aperol spritz) all day long. The prime spot on bustling Piazza Walther is perfect for people-watching while catching some rays.

Ask locals where they like to dine out, and odds are they'll tell you Vögele, one of the area's oldest inns, where the menu features Tyrolean standards such as canederli (bread dumplings) with speck and venison. The classic wood-paneled dining room on the ground level is often packed, but don't despair—the restaurant has two additional floors.