Enjoy my list of Verona restaurants for the best local of food and wine – Buon appetito!
For a long time my Verona travels were short and busy as they took place during Vinitlay, Italy’s International wine expo, which limited my cultural exploration. But in 2017, I connected with Sara and Virginia, some amazing Verona travel guides. Now my trips to Italy’s City of Love center around cultural exploration, so I have plenty of tips and tricks plus Verona travel experiences! Hit me up for your Verona travel planning – and all the outlying areas like Venice, Lake Garda, and more!
During all my Verona travel – and, often thanks to Sara and Virginia – I’ve been able to eat my way through the city. I update the guide as often as I can, but it was getting a bit much to do directly on the site. Then, I found this cool interactive platform that makes it easy for me capture all my favorite Verona restaurants with a map to make it easier for my readers to find their way!
Click for my Interactive Travel Guide to Verona Restaurants! All mapped out!
Below, find a few of my favorite places and things to know on Verona dining – traditional foods, some breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas, but the comprehensive guide offers 32 Verona restaurants and dining spots, from gelato to coffee bars, fine dining to cocktail bars, lunch and dinner!
Buon appetito!
Traditional food in Verona
Let’s start with traditional Verona dishes. From there, see my list of the best places to eat, punctuated by Sara’s ‘best of’ picks for typical Veronese foods.
Foods of Verona: Primi
Verona produces the top rice variety of Vialone Nano. So, try some risotto dishes when you visit:
- Risotto all’Amarone: The base comes from the powerful regional Amarone della Valpolicella wine; a rich red wine made of grapes dried for three to four months before fermentation. The wine gives intense flavors and aromas of dried fruits, tobacco, and dried spices.
- Risotto al Tastasal: Sausage-based risotto with ground pork, salt, and tons of pepper.
- Risotto al Radicchio: The bitter Italian vegetable of radicchio is the base here. Onion, pancetta, and / or red wine give it a sweetness that keeps you coming back for more.
Verona Pasta:
- Bigoli: The Veneto region’s signature pasta, bigoli looks like giant, thick spaghetti. Traditionally buckwheat flour was used to make bigoli, but today its got a darker finish from wholewheat flour. Variations around the Veneto region show up in the sauce. In Verona, bigoli is topped with duck (anatra), donkey (asino), and horse (cavallo) sauces.
- Gnocchi: In Verona, you traditionally see potato dumplings it served with horse meat stew. Yes, horse is a popular food in Verona. Let’s discuss.
Horse in Verona cuisine: Horse meat is often served as bistecca di cavallo (horse steak), sfilacci (shredded and cured), and pastisada (braised). The latter variation dates back to the 5th century AD. After the great battle between Italy’s King Odoacer and Ostrogoths’ King Theodoric, thousands of fallen horses littered the land. The starving locals ate the meat.
The size and texture required some creative thinking to tenderize it. So, it was marinated in red wine with spices and vegetables, then slow-cooked. The recipe has passed through generations.
Other main courses include beef cheek, veal liver, and cod.
Polenta: In Verona, the polenta is served soft and creamy, fresh off the stove or left to cool for half a day, then cut into squares and grilled slightly.
Verona Restaurants
Bacco Wine Shop
I was charmed by owner Franco of Bacco Wine Bar. His passion is wine. Good wine. Really good wine. And, lots of it. And, that means food is important, too. He does not disappoint with either.
A tasting at Bacco Wine Bar could be the highlight of your entire trip. It’s a teeny tiny little space that bubbles with character and happiness.
Set up your wine tasting there through Sara and Virginia – Franco doesn’t speak English, so make sure you get his great stories via their translation. Then, visit him often during your Verona travel – for a tiny shop, he packs in the wine!
Find it! Vicolo Santa Maria in Chiavica, 3/B, Verona
Verona Insider Dining Tip:
The locals don’t dine in the eateries surrounding the Arena (Piazza Bra). It’s just too darned expensive and crowded. They recommend heading to Piazza delle Erbe for Verona restaurants.
Verona Restaurants: Aperitivo and Dinner
This is just a few of my favorites. Follow the link above or below for the complete Verona dining guide – it’s even got a map!
Trattoria Tre Marchetti
Absolutely my favorite Verona restaurant! During a spontaneous overnight trip to Verona years ago, I found it near my hotel just behind the Arena. The menu features traditional cuisine of Verona and a great wine list.
Everything I’ve had here is amazing and the ambiance is fantastic. And, clearly, it’s a favorite all around. Two years running during Vinitaly, our table was reserved for Mr. Antinori of Marchesi Antinori. Not bad.
Find it! Tre Marchetti
- Address: Vicolo 3 Marchetti, 19 / B – 37121, Verona
- Phone: +39 045 8030463
- Reservations: Recommended
Scapin
Our amazing dinner experience here was hosted by a wine producer during Vinitaly 2015 – perfect wine and food. They brought salted butter for the bread — even the Italians were fighting for it. And, the cellar has an ancient Roman wall.
Pick up goodies to take home from the front-of-house gastronomia.
Find it! Scapin
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- Address: Via Diaz 20-22, Verona
- Phone: +39 045 800 3552
- Reservations: Recommended
After hours. Thanks to our gracious host, @lapria.winery. #vinitaly2015 #workhardplayhard #geometric
Antica Bottega del Vino
A favorite place for a glass of wine, and not just for us. It definitely gets a best Verona restaurant label. During Vinitaly and just about any weekend it is standing-room-only.
Find a great wine-by-the-glass selection, unique flights as well as lunch and dinner of traditional food of Verona. Sara of Romeo and Juliet Guide says they have the best risotto with Amarone in town.
Find it! Bottega del Vino
- Address: Via Scudo di Francia, 3, Verona
- Phone: +39 045 8004535
- Reservations: Recommended
Best Verona restaurants: Tips from the locals
I am slowly working my way through Sara’s best Verona cuisine recommendations. If you get to some before me, let me know what you think!
Antica Trattoria Pero d’Oro
- Address: Via Ponte Pignolo, 25, Verona
- Phone: +39 045 594645
- Sara Says: Traditional fare – the best bigoli in town!
Re Teodorico
Find it! Re Teodorico
- Address: Piazzale Castel San Pietro 1, Verona
- Phone:+39 045 834 9903
- Sara Says: Great typical food of Verona and gourmet pizza with an amazing panoramic view of Verona from the terrace.
- Reservations recommended
- Open for lunch and dinner
A huge thanks to Sara and Virginia of Romeo and Juliet Guide for the tips on the best Verona restaurants. On their full-day walking tour, experience some of these locations as well as traditional food in Verona.
Don’t forget to to get the complete Verona dining guide on Thatch Travel, complete with an interactive map of 32 locations, from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to take-out, pizza, cocktails, gelato, and more!
Click for my Interactive Guide to Verona Restaurants.
If you have some favorite Verona restaurants we should add to this list, please drop a note to let us know!
Check out our other Restaurant Guides:
