Restaurants, cafes and bakeries in Breña Alta

Route de Pont-de-Nant 10, 1880 Les Plans-sur-Bex

+41244981495

Auberge de Pont-de-Nant sits at 1,253 metres at the entrance to the Vallon de Nant, beneath the Grand Muveran. The mountain setting is central to a visit: the inn is a stop on the Tour des Muverans, and the La Thomasia alpine botanical garden is around 100 metres away. Jordi, Maddy-Ann and Marco lead the current team. The kitchen follows the seasons. Its autumn menu includes venison with homemade spätzli, wild-boar parmentier and trout from Vionnaz that is marinated and smoked in-house. A mushroom small-spelt risotto provides a vegetable-focused alternative, while cheese fondue comes with several possible variations. Children have a smaller chalet macaroni dish. These are seasonal examples, so consult the current card before a special journey. Desserts continue the regional and autumn themes, with roasted figs, a raisinée cheesecake and a chocolate dessert with chestnut mousse. A shared hunter's caquelon is offered for at least two people. Reserve a table in advance, since the inn specifically warns that availability is limited during its autumn service. Access needs planning in winter. In summer the road reaches the inn and public parking is available. From roughly November to April, the last two kilometres close to vehicles; guests continue from Les Plans-sur-Bex on foot or with appropriate winter equipment, depending on conditions. Check the current route and opening dates directly, including the scheduled November closure. This is a destination meal in the mountains rather than a town-centre restaurant.

Be the first to rate this place — a photo helps too

Route de Sodoleuvre 6, 1882 Gryon

+41244984006

L'Étable is a mountain restaurant in the Les Chaux area above Gryon, near Taveyannes. Its name reflects the building's original use: a former stable has been converted into a dining room for regional Swiss cooking. A broad wooden terrace looks across the surrounding mountain pastures, providing an outdoor option during suitable weather. The food follows that alpine setting. Specialities highlighted by the restaurant and regional tourism office include mushroom cassolette with rösti, roast pork knuckle with honey and half-and-half cheese fondue. Vegetable dishes and a children's selection broaden the choice. The menu changes with the season, so check which preparations are being served when you reserve. Animals are a distinctive part of a visit here. The small educational farm is reserved for restaurant guests and includes donkeys, goats, rabbits and chickens. The tourism office also describes animals in their own space behind glass beside the restaurant. For families, this gives the meal an additional point of interest without turning it into a separate outing to a distant attraction. In summer, the restaurant can be reached via the Route des Chaux from Gryon or as part of a walk from Taveyannes. It also welcomes winter visitors, with a separate terrace hut offering lighter refreshments. Opening times depend on the season and conditions; check access and food-service hours before setting out. Make a direct reservation for your table, particularly if you are organising a group or fitting lunch around a mountain walk.

255 rue Jean Moulin, 62100 Calais

+33321340000

Aquar'aile occupies the fourth floor of a building on rue Jean Moulin, giving its dining room a broad view across Calais beach and the sea. Ships moving through the strait become part of the backdrop, and the English coast can be visible when conditions are clear. The elevated setting is the restaurant's most immediate distinction, but its menu gives visitors several ways to shape a meal beyond the view. French cooking forms the base, with seafood sharing space with meat dishes and seasonal accompaniments. The published menu includes oysters in different sizes, a prawn salad with crunchy vegetables and coriander dressing, and duck foie gras with peach and ginger chutney and brioche. Tomato with burratina and basil oil offers a different beginning, while melon and watermelon gazpacho brings fruit, verbena and lime into a savoury course. Main dishes range from crisp fish and chips with homemade tartare sauce to roasted sea bass prepared in a Basque style with fregola. Beef fillet with chimichurri and a tuna interpretation of vitello tonnato show that the kitchen does not limit itself to one coastal formula. Desserts come from the restaurant's pastry cooks, and cheese can take the place of a sweet finish. Wine is another substantial part of the house's identity. Its cellar selection includes more than five hundred references, covering French regions as well as producers from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Chile and California. Staff offer guidance with the selection. For guests who enjoy watching the changing horizon during a seated meal, Aquar'aile brings the maritime landscape directly to the table.

1 digue Gaston Berthe, 62100 Calais

+33321346807

Au Côte d'Argent sits at the entrance to the Calais seafront on digue Gaston Berthe, with a panoramic view over the beach and sea. A covered terrace and direct access to the beach make the setting part of the visit, while the nearby Dragon de Calais provides another reason to explore this stretch of waterfront. Chef Bertrand Lefebvre and his wife run a house whose stated philosophy has remained focused on local, seasonal ingredients since 1990. The kitchen describes its dishes as entirely homemade and works with local producers and fishermen. Seafood has a substantial place on the menu. Platters combine crab, oysters, langoustines, whelks and prawns, accompanied by rye bread, mayonnaise and shallot vinegar. Other preparations include oysters gratinated with chorizo and Espelette pepper, sole cooked meunière, turbot with lemon sauce and Calais lobster served with an American-style sauce. The menu also gives diners several routes away from shellfish. Beef fillet with pepper sauce and veal sweetbreads with morels represent the meat dishes, while a separate vegetarian section lists warm goat cheese salad, vegetable cream soup, omelettes, seasonal vegetables and tagliatelle with tomato and basil. Vegetable couscous with quinoa offers another option. Cheese, sorbets and a selection of desserts round out the meal. The restaurant explicitly notes that dishes depend on supplies, a useful reflection of its emphasis on fresh ingredients. For visitors staying in Calais, it combines a proper seated meal with time beside the water, and its range of dishes gives a mixed group more flexibility than a seafood-only address.

20 rue Royale, 62100 Calais

+33321341120

Histoire Ancienne is a French bistro on rue Royale in Calais, with an interior that gives the meal a setting of its own. A Toulouse-Lautrec inspired mural, old-fashioned sweet jars, a zinc bar and collected objects fill a carefully maintained Art Deco room. Rather than building its identity around a sea view, the restaurant looks inward to the details of a traditional French dining room and the cooking that belongs there. Patrick Comte is the chef behind the house. A graduate of the Ferrandi school in Paris, he worked in French restaurant kitchens before opening his first gastronomic establishment in Calais in 1990. He took over Histoire Ancienne in 1996, choosing the more personal language of bistro cooking for this address. His approach combines familiar French recipes with small reinterpretations, keeping the character of the original dishes recognizable. Fresh, seasonal ingredients shape the cooking, and the house presents its food as homemade. The emphasis is on a menu that follows the produce available rather than on an elaborate concept imposed on every plate. One example highlighted by the restaurant is its Brandade du Nord, featured in a television cooking report. The combination of seasonal food, a chef with a long connection to Calais and a room full of decorative detail makes this a distinctive choice for visitors who want to spend part of their stay around a French bistro table. It is particularly suited to someone interested in the atmosphere of the dining room as much as the food.

3 boulevard de la Résistance, 62100 Calais

+33321344230

Le Channel is the Crespo family's restaurant on boulevard de la Résistance in Calais Nord, opposite the marina and close to Place d'Armes. It is a separate address from the cultural venue that shares its name elsewhere in the city. Here, the family brings together French cooking and an extensive interest in wine, with the dining room designed to make both part of the experience. José, Monique, Arnaud and Jérôme Crespo are named in the house's account of its family tradition. The brothers' kitchen experience includes work at the Montalembert and with Joël Robuchon, and the restaurant describes its cooking as a meeting of classical foundations and new ideas. A renovation placed the kitchen prominently opposite the entrance, equipped with induction cooking, a charcoal oven and a plancha. Those different methods give the cooks several ways to develop a dish rather than relying on a single signature technique. Wine is woven into the room itself. A glass panel near the entrance offers a glimpse into the cellar, while a wine library in the small lounge extends the theme above ground. The house lists more than twelve hundred wine references and also describes an exhibition room used for discovering and tasting wines. This makes the restaurant especially interesting for diners who want to give the wine selection as much thought as the food. Its marina setting adds a connection to Calais without making the meal dependent on a beach visit. Reservations are encouraged, and the restaurant provides a telephone contact for arranging a table directly.

8 rue Jean-Pierre Avron, 62100 Calais

+33321979798

Le Grand Bleu stands on rue Jean-Pierre Avron, beside the Quai de la Colonne and opposite the outer harbour of Calais. Chef Matthieu Colin and his wife Cindy welcome guests to a restaurant whose cooking connects local fishing with a more inventive use of seasonings, textures and accompaniments. Fresh ingredients, seasonal produce and short supply routes are central to the house's stated approach. The kitchen makes its own bread, ice cream and petits fours, extending that attention beyond the main dishes. The published menu shows how the approach works on the plate. Scallops appear with a yuzu and pepper crust, watercress, a parsnip and butternut risotto and finely chopped chanterelles. Turbot comes with a shellfish emulsion and ratte potatoes prepared with sabayon. Starters include beetroot tempura prawns with Timut pepper Parmesan cream and leeks, while foie gras is paired with pear, speculoos and brown sugar French toast. There are substantial alternatives to fish. Confit pork is combined with tartiflette elements, oyster mushrooms and smoked paprika; beef fillet is served with shallots, parsley, bacon preserve and beef cheek ravioli. Regional cheeses give another connection to the surrounding area. Desserts continue the kitchen's interest in reworking familiar forms, with an apple Tatin interpretation of Saint-Honoré and an orange cream macaron dessert among the published examples. The result is a harbour restaurant for guests who enjoy seeing local ingredients taken beyond their simplest preparation, while still being able to recognize the fish, vegetables and French cooking traditions at the centre of the meal.

Località Fridau 1, 11025 Gressoney-Saint-Jean

+393339528419

Ristorante Mont Néry is the restaurant of the Villa Fridau residence in Gressoney-Saint-Jean. Its name goes back to the Locanda Mont Néry, which the family's great-uncles Erwin and Pina Monterin ran in the village in the 1950s. Today Marysa looks after the dining room and chef Boris Melon runs the kitchen. The cooking is Aosta Valley and Piedmontese, built on produce from close by: the valley's cured meats and cheeses, fresh pasta made in the house with a choice of sauces, and game served with polenta. The ice cream is homemade, in flavors that follow the season, and Boris and Marysa are glad to suggest a bottle from the wine list.

Piazza Tache, 11020 Gressoney-La-Trinité

+390125366809

Castore & Polluce stands on Piazza Tache, the square at the heart of Gressoney-La-Trinité, and is open from eight in the morning until late at night. The day starts with espresso and homemade cakes; later the kitchen serves modern dishes made from local produce, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices. There are three places to sit: the terrace on the square, the Castore room - an alpine lounge around the bar - and the quieter Polluce room, where the wine is kept. An AIS-certified sommelier looks after around 250 labels and leads tastings, and in the ski season the day ends with after-ski sets from a DJ.

Località Tschaval 5, 11020 Gressoney-La-Trinité

+390125366157

FZRY - short for FitzRoy - is at Tschaval, where the road ends at the head of the Gressoney valley and Monte Rosa fills the view. A young team runs the bar and restaurant, which has a fireplace and two dining rooms that mix old alpine wood with a modern look. The kitchen reworks Aosta Valley classics with produce from nearby: fassone beef fillet with lime and pink pepper, beef cooked slowly and served with tuna sauce, fresh tagliolini with artichokes and guanciale, or cheek braised in Torrette red wine and served with polenta and glazed shallots. The menu changes with the seasons, and the bar pours cocktails and wines from many regions. Tables can be booked online, by phone or on WhatsApp.

Località Bedemie 11, 11020 Gressoney-La-Trinité

+390125366803

Morgenrot is a chalet restaurant in the meadows of Bedemie above Gressoney-La-Trinité, run by its owner, Giorgio. The kitchen keeps to the Aosta Valley: fondue chinoise, polenta concia rich with melted cheese, and zuppa alla valpellinentze, the local soup of bread, cabbage and fontina baked in the oven. The wine list stays close to home too, with labels from the Aosta Valley and Piedmont. In winter the chalet sits in deep snow and is reached on skis during the day. For dinner a snowcat picks guests up and brings them back down again, which turns an evening meal into a small expedition. In summer it is a walk across green pastures.

Località Bettaforca 6/A, 11020 Gressoney-La-Trinité

+393520972727

Ristoro Colle Betta sits at 2,727 meters on the Bettaforca pass, right where the Sant'Anna-Bettaforca chairlift arrives, in the middle of the Monterosa ski area between the Gressoney valley and the Val d'Ayas. In winter skiers stop on the snow terrace facing the Monte Rosa massif; in summer hikers come up on the trail from Stafal or ride the lifts via Sant'Anna. The hut is large and spread over two floors. The menu mixes Aosta Valley and Piedmontese dishes with pizza, sandwiches and toasts for a quick stop between runs, the cellar holds a good range of wines, and the bar serves beer, coffee and hot chocolate. It is open for as long as the lifts are running.

Località Sitten 16, 11020 Gressoney-La-Trinité

+390125366300

Ristoro Sitten is a mountain refuge at 2,300 metres above Staffal, in the Monterosa Ski area, with Monte Rosa filling the view from the terrace. In winter it is reached on skis or with the Sant'Anna cable car from Staffal; in summer the cable car and a 4x4 shuttle bring walkers up, or it is a hike. Run by the Comola family's company, it works as two places in one. At lunchtime it is a self-service with quick dishes, hot sandwiches and Aosta Valley plates for skiers and hikers; in the evening it becomes a restaurant with regional cooking, and on Saturdays in season a high-altitude dinner with a snowcat ride up after the lifts have closed. There is a wood-fired hot tub outside for those staying the night, and beds for anyone who wants to be first on the slopes.

Moosalpstrasse 357, 3923 Törbel

+41279521495

Restaurant Moosalp stands above Törbel at an elevation of 2,048 meters, combining a mountain destination with a family story that began in 1964. Amadé Kalbermatten and his son Jeremy carry the restaurant into its third generation, while Priscilla shapes its visual identity, including the menus and logo. The building's distinctive sloping roof reflects the shape of an alpine hut opposite, a feature required when the original building received permission. The cooking brings local products into dishes that range from traditional cheese preparations to more contemporary combinations. Raclette is scraped from cheese heated over a wood fire and served with potatoes, small onions and pickles. Another version pairs Valais dried apricots with Johannisberg wine, white balsamic vinegar and curry. The Moosalp rösti combines bacon, figs and melted cheese. Vegetarian choices include cauliflower with tahini, pomegranate, almonds and dukkah, a sweet potato ragout with naan, and a chickpea and beet burger. The menu also includes perch fillets from Raron, veal cordon bleu with Valais ham and cheese, and lamb entrecôte with an herb crust. Balbina's minestrone keeps an earlier generation present in the kitchen. The restaurant has expanded over time to include a conservatory, the Mischabel Lounge, a terrace and the Cantina Carmen wine cellar for tastings and private occasions. Table reservations are available. Access by car follows the road through Törbel; winter visitors coming from Bürchen can use the Alpenschnaager transport.

Moosalpstrasse, 3935 Bürchen

+41279341381

Café-Restaurant Panorama stands on the Bürchneralp above Bürchen, at around 2,000 metres above sea level. Sandra Schwab and Erich Jung welcome guests to a mountain restaurant whose setting looks across the Valais and Bernese Alps. The Bietschhorn is one of the landmarks in the surrounding panorama, while the Rhône valley lies below. The terrace makes the landscape part of a visit, whether the stop follows a mountain walk or an outing in the snow. The kitchen centres on regional mountain food. Walliser platters combine dried meat and mountain cheese, alongside raclette, homemade fondue, rösti and changing dishes. Local wines accompany the food, and coffee with a splash of spirits is another option for a terrace break. The emphasis is on familiar Alpine dishes in an informal setting. The restaurant changes character with the landscape around it: a mountain inn amid walking country in summer and a snowy ski hut in winter. Walks towards the Stand and the wider Moosalp area give visitors ways to combine a meal with time outdoors. Winter activities in the surrounding area include skiing, snowshoeing and sledging. Panorama also has a long connection with the Bürchneralp. Alfons Furrer built the restaurant in 1963, beginning a history that now extends over six decades. Its appeal remains closely tied to that combination of a small mountain restaurant, regional food and a broad view across the Alps.

Ronalpstrasse 26, 3935 Bürchen

+41279341680

Ronalp brings together a restaurant, a smaller Stübli and a terrace on Ronalpstrasse in Bürchen. The kitchen combines dishes from the Josper charcoal grill with Valais specialties and familiar Swiss cooking, accompanied by wines from the canton. Fresh, minimally processed ingredients are central to the approach, which extends from individual dishes to celebration menus and buffets. The main restaurant accommodates up to seventy guests. For a more intimate setting, the Stübli offers an alternative room devoted to specialties from Valais and elsewhere in Switzerland. Outside, the terrace overlooks the children's ski area in winter and the minigolf activity in summer. Its seventy seats give the outdoor space a substantial role in the house. Breakfast is another part of the offer. The buffet includes breads, rolls and croissants, assorted cheeses, meats and smoked salmon, homemade bircher muesli, yogurt and dried fruit. Seasonal fruit salad and eggs prepared to order complete the selection, alongside coffee, tea and milk drinks. Ronalp also arranges weddings, family gatherings, baptisms, first communions and company occasions, with menus tailored to the event. The building combines its dining spaces with ten guest rooms and a wellness area. A bus stop is about twenty meters away, while the children's ski facilities, playground, minigolf and walking routes are close by. This concentration of village activities makes the restaurant a practical meeting point for visitors spending time around Ronalp.

Ronalpstrasse 86, 3935 Bürchen

+41279342434

The restaurant at Bürchnerhof welcomes both hotel residents and people coming just for a meal in Bürchen. Its dining room looks toward the Bietschhorn, while a sunny terrace offers another way to enjoy the mountain setting. The hotel stands in the Moosalp ski and walking area at around fifteen hundred meters above sea level, with ski slopes beside the property and walking routes forming part of its surroundings. Sophia and Gregor lead the house, bringing together their experience and ideas with a team that includes a dedicated kitchen staff. Their approach puts personal hospitality and support for local farmers and suppliers at the center of the experience. The restaurant's regional connections become especially tangible through its producers. Bread comes from the Zenhäusern bakery, which supplies freshly made loaves for the table. In Bürchen, Sandra and Matthias Gattlen raise Galloway cattle at the organic Trieguhof. The house also introduces Anita Heynen, whose work involves medicinal herbs, traditional recipes and herbal preparations, and Gisela and Thomas, who brew local beer. These connections give the restaurant a relationship with the village beyond its mountain outlook. Alongside the restaurant, the building has a bar where residents and local people meet. With twenty hotel rooms, the dining spaces belong to a small mountain hotel while remaining accessible to outside visitors. It is a setting for travelers who want their meal to connect with the place they are visiting, through both the landscape and the people supplying the house.

Talstrasse 9, 3930 Visp

+41279484030

Mon–Sun 09:00–23:00

Staldbach stands on Talstrasse in Visp and combines a restaurant with spaces for family meals, celebrations and larger gatherings. Several smaller dining rooms provide places to sit together, while larger, divisible rooms accommodate weddings and other events. A sheltered terrace offers an outdoor alternative, and the grounds include a large playground and a velodrome for children. Parking is available beside the restaurant. The kitchen works with seasonal dishes and regional ingredients, alongside a menu that travels beyond Valais. A local sharing platter brings together dried meat, ham, sausage and mountain cheese. The house cordon bleu uses Swiss veal filled with Valais mountain cheese and ham, accompanied by fries and vegetables. Fish choices include Swiss char with beurre blanc, pike perch with saffron sauce, and perch from Raron prepared with almonds. Vegetarian dishes have their own place on the menu: homemade ricotta and spinach ravioli with sage butter, mushroom risotto, and a burger with a plant based patty and raclette cheese. Rice bowls combine vegetables, mango and teriyaki sauce, with several different toppings available. The address also has a longer history in local hospitality. A small restaurant with a boccia court operated here in the 1950s, followed by a much larger leisure and hospitality complex in the following decade. That earlier establishment eventually closed and was demolished. Today's restaurant continues the Staldbach name in a newer setting, with separate spaces that suit both an ordinary meal and an occasion shared with a larger party.

Allmei 5, 3930 Visp

+41279466161

Buon Gusto is a restaurant and pizzeria on Allmei in Visp, hosted by Daniel Kühnicke and Ibis Hasipi. Its dining room combines modern furnishings with rustic details, while an open kitchen lets guests watch their food being prepared. There is also a bar for coffee, an aperitif or a glass of wine. Outside, a covered terrace provides another place to eat, with a lounge corner for a more relaxed gathering. The restaurant lies a short walk from the town centre, across the Landbrücke, and has parking for guests arriving by car. Italian dishes form the core of a broad menu. Starters include vegetable minestrone, bruschetta, buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes, and thinly sliced beef with rocket and Parmesan. Pasta ranges from spaghetti with garlic and chilli to vegetable cannelloni baked with mozzarella. Risottos bring together ingredients such as mushrooms, seafood or saffron, while the pizza selection includes a simple margherita, grilled vegetables, and combinations with cured meat. The kitchen also prepares fish and meat dishes, including mussels in tomato sauce and beef fillet. Vegetarian tartare adds another choice beyond the vegetable pasta and pizzas. Gluten-free penne, spaghetti and pizza are available. The wine selection includes local and international bottles, giving diners a choice alongside the Italian cooking. Dessert and ice cream have their own separate menu. Tables are reserved by telephone, using the restaurant's direct contact number.

Märtmattenstrasse 1a, 3930 Visp

+41279468181

Mon–Tue 11:00–14:00; Wed–Fri 11:00–14:00, 18:00–22:00; Sat–Sun Closed

Suphanya Thai Restaurant is a mother and daughter business on Märtmattenstrasse in Visp, serving Thai cooking to eat in or take away. The family has run the restaurant since March 2018. Suphanya is both the owner and the cook, and her cooking draws on ingredients and flavors from her home region of Korat in Thailand. Changing lunch menus sit alongside an à la carte selection, with both mild and hot dishes available. The team offers guidance on choosing flavors, and a vegetarian lunch option is part of the regular offer. The menu starts with vegetable spring rolls, marinated chicken skewers with peanut sauce, breaded prawns and filled dumplings. Papaya salad brings together chili, garlic, cherry tomatoes and peanuts, while coconut soups offer combinations with chicken or prawns, mushrooms and Thai seasonings. Curry choices include red, green, yellow, panang and massaman, with different meat or seafood options. Noodles and fried rice provide another route through the menu, and a separate vegetarian section includes vegetable dishes, curries and preparations with optional tofu. Homemade iced Thai tea combines a Thai tea blend with milk and sugar. Guests can reserve a table by telephone or through the restaurant's online reservation button. Paid parking is available in front of the restaurant at the Müra parking area. Cash, cards and Twint are accepted, although Postcard is excluded. The combination of a family dining room, takeaway service and a broad choice of spice levels gives visitors several ways to explore the kitchen.

Kantonsstrasse 12, 3930 Eyholz

+41279462288

Mon–Tue 06:30–23:00; Wed–Thu Closed; Fri 06:30–23:00; Sat 09:00–23:00; Sun 09:00–17:00

Hotel-Restaurant Eyholz stands on Kantonsstrasse between Visp and Brig. Hosts Claudine Heldner and Philipp Heinzmann both come from Eyholz and returned to their roots after gaining experience elsewhere. Their connection to the building reaches back into childhood: a grandparent ran the establishment for thirty-two years. That family history sits alongside several distinct spaces for eating, drinking and celebrations. The traditional tavern section retains its bar, with coffee, sandwiches and a bistro menu forming part of its offer. A separate dining room accommodates forty people, and a glass partition allows a smaller area for meetings or groups of up to twelve. The seasonal kitchen gives particular attention to Valais ingredients and dishes. Gommer Cholera encloses onions, potatoes, leeks, cheese and apples in pastry, while saffron noodles come with Parmesan, lemon and chives. Meat choices include beef entrecôte, pork cordon bleu with organic mountain cheese from Goms, and an Angus burger with raclette cheese and caramelised onions. Desserts include chocolate cake with a liquid centre and lavender panna cotta. Outside, the garden terrace offers seating beneath chestnut trees as well as an adjoining area away from the trees. The Stall-Bar provides a different setting for private gatherings, spread over two floors with a small bar below and space for up to twenty people above. Its own sound system, projector and toilets make it suitable for birthdays, association meetings and company celebrations. Guest parking and table reservations complete the practical arrangements.

Frazione Bilegno 67, 29011 Bilegno

+390523862103

Mon Closed; Tue 12:30–14:30, 20:00–22:00; Wed 12:30–14:30, 20:00–22:00; Thu 12:30–14:30, 20:00–22:00; Fri 12:30–14:30, 20:00–22:00; Sat 12:30–14:30, 20:00–22:00; Sun 12:30–14:30

La Palta stands in Bilegno, a hamlet so small that the restaurant describes itself as a hidden gem behind uneven walls — set among gentle hills, kitchen gardens and old houses in the province of Piacenza. The building gives nothing away from the road, which is part of how the place presents itself. The cooking is ambitious rather than rustic, and the house says so in its own words: the eyes come before the nose and the palate. Unexpected combinations are the method. Two dishes stand for the range — tortelli con la coda, the tailed parcels that are the signature pasta of Piacenza and are folded here in the traditional way, and black ravioli served in an exotic broth that belongs to no local tradition at all. The kitchen is run by a female chef, and the house describes eating here as travelling between the smells of home and inspirations from far away. Gift vouchers for a lunch or dinner are sold through the restaurant's own site. Service runs Tuesday to Saturday, lunch from half past twelve to half past two and dinner from eight to ten. On Sunday there is lunch only, and Monday it is closed. Booking is advisable: the room is small and the restaurant draws people from well beyond the province. You will find La Palta at Frazione Bilegno 67, 29011 Bilegno, Piacenza.

Via Creta 6, 29010 Vicobarone

+390523868263

Mon 12:00–14:30; Tue 12:00–14:30; Wed Closed; Thu 12:00–14:30; Fri 12:00–14:30, 20:00–22:00; Sat 12:00–14:30, 20:00–22:00; Sun 12:00–14:30

Antica trattoria Del Tempio stands on Via Creta in Vicobarone, a hamlet of Ziano Piacentino in the Val Tidone. The name is the owners' own and says what kind of house it is: a trattoria, and an old one — the everyday restaurant of an Italian village rather than a destination built for visitors. The opening hours describe how it is used. Lunch is served every day except Wednesday, from midday to half past two. Dinner exists on Friday and Saturday only, from eight to ten. A kitchen arranged that way is cooking for people who eat their main meal in the middle of the day, which in this part of Emilia is still most of them, and it means a visitor planning an evening here on a Tuesday will find it closed. Vicobarone sits in the Colli Piacentini, the wine hills between the Po plain and the Apennine ridge. The province is known for three cured meats with protected status — coppa, pancetta and salame piacentino — and for Gutturnio, the red grown on these slopes. Ziano Piacentino is one of the centres of that production, and Vicobarone is one of its hamlets. We hold no website for this trattoria, so nothing is described here about its cooking. The telephone is the way to ask, and to book. You will find it at Via Creta 6, 29010 Vicobarone, Ziano Piacentino.

Wharf Approach, Leeds, LS1 4BR

+441132430090

Mon 12:00–23:30; Tue 12:00–23:30; Wed 12:00–23:30; Thu 12:00–23:30; Fri 12:00–00:30; Sat 10:00–00:30; Sun 10:00–22:30

LIVIN'ITALY sits under the railway arches at Granary Wharf, on the canal side of Leeds station, and is three things in one space: a bar, an Italian restaurant and a deli. The arches give the room its shape, and the house makes a point of the fact that it is Italy lived rather than staged. The family business began in Milan in the 1980s, with the founders' parents and what they describe as a love of good food and honest hospitality; the Leeds house opened in 2012. It has been consistently named among the best Italian restaurants in Britain since. The four words the family uses for what it does — passion, tradition, integrity, simplicity — are worth repeating because the menu follows them: ingredients chosen for where they come from, dishes meant to be shared. Because the deli and the bar sit alongside the kitchen, the same address covers a morning coffee and a Negroni after midnight. Food can also be collected to take away, and gift vouchers are sold on the site. It opens at midday during the week and at ten at the weekend, running to half past eleven, and to half past midnight on Friday and Saturday. Granary Wharf is directly under Leeds station — a covered walk from the platforms. You will find LIVIN'ITALY at Wharf Approach, Granary Wharf, Leeds LS1 4BR.

Mill Hill 7-8, Leeds, LS1 5DQ

+441135190584

Mon 12:00–14:00, 17:00–22:00; Tue 12:00–14:00, 17:00–22:00; Wed 12:00–14:00, 17:00–22:00; Thu 12:00–14:00, 17:00–22:00; Fri 12:00–14:00, 17:00–22:00; Sat 12:00–22:00; Sun Closed

Tharavadu is a Kerala restaurant on Mill Hill in the centre of Leeds, and the distinction matters: Kerala is the far south-west coast of India, and its cooking — coconut, curry leaf, tamarind, a great deal of fish — is not the north Indian repertoire that most British curry houses serve. The house motto is pure devotion to quality and authenticity, and the kitchen holds to the one region. It opened in June 2014 and the recognition followed quickly. In 2015 it was named best Indian restaurant in Leeds at the Oliver Awards and placed in TripAdvisor's top ten Indian restaurants in the United Kingdom. In 2016 it appeared in the Michelin Restaurant Guide and in Harden's, and took the Oliver Award again. The restaurant describes itself as part of a wave of serious kitchens that changed how Leeds thinks about Asian food, which is a fair claim for a room that arrived before most of them. Service runs Monday to Friday in two sittings, lunch from midday to two and dinner from five to ten. On Saturday it stays open straight through from midday to ten. On Sunday it is closed altogether, which catches people out. Mill Hill sits between the station and the city square, a few minutes' walk from Leeds railway station, so this is one of the easiest addresses in the city to reach without a car. You will find Tharavadu at 7-8 Mill Hill, Leeds LS1 5DQ.

East Parade 9, Leeds, LS1 2AJ

+441133406666

Mon 12:00–23:00; Tue 12:00–23:00; Wed 12:00–23:00; Thu 12:00–23:00; Fri 12:00–23:00; Sat 12:00–23:00; Sun 12:00–23:00

Six by Nico on East Parade does one thing, and it does it differently every six weeks. The whole offer is a six-course tasting menu built around a single theme — a place, a concept, an idea — and when the six weeks are up the menu is thrown away and a new one replaces it. Recent themes have included Circus and New York. That format is the reason to know about it in advance rather than to walk past it. There is no permanent card to fall back on: what you eat depends entirely on when you come, and a dish you liked will not be there next time. It also means the room rewards a second visit in a way an ordinary restaurant does not, and the house publishes what is cooking now and what is coming next on its own site. Booking is effectively required, and vouchers are sold and redeemed against the experience — the house asks that a voucher balance be checked before arrival rather than at the table. Groups and private events are taken. It is open every day from midday to eleven at night. East Parade runs parallel to Park Row in the middle of Leeds, minutes from the Town Hall and a short walk from the station. You will find Six by Nico at 9 East Parade, Leeds LS1 2AJ.

South Parade 15, Leeds, LS1 5QS

+441132422795

Mon 17:00–22:00; Tue 17:00–22:00; Wed 17:00–22:00; Thu 17:00–22:00; Fri 17:00–23:00; Sat 12:00–23:00; Sun 12:00–20:00

Sukhothai is a Thai restaurant on South Parade in central Leeds, and it has been open since 2002 — long enough in a city centre to have outlasted most of what opened around it. The house describes what it does as Thai fine dining, which here means the cooking treated as a kitchen discipline rather than as a takeaway menu. The name is the old capital of Siam, the kingdom that preceded modern Thailand, and it sets the register the restaurant is aiming for. Beyond the ordinary card there is private dining and, unusually for the cuisine, a Thai bottomless brunch — a British format applied to a Thai kitchen, which tells you the room is not run as a museum piece. The hours want attention because they change across the week. Monday to Friday it is an evening restaurant only, from five to ten, and to eleven on Friday. Saturday it opens at midday and runs to eleven. Sunday it opens at midday and closes at eight. Anyone arriving for a Wednesday lunch will find it shut. South Parade is in the middle of the city, a short walk from the Town Hall and from Park Row, and about ten minutes on foot from Leeds station. You will find Sukhothai at 15 South Parade, Leeds LS1 5QS.

New Station Street 16, Leeds, LS1 5DL

+447828823189

Mon 07:30–19:00; Tue 07:30–19:00; Wed 07:30–19:00; Thu 07:30–19:00; Fri 07:30–19:00; Sat 08:00–19:00; Sun 09:00–16:00

Laynes is a coffee house on New Station Street, immediately outside Leeds railway station, and it opened in 2011 into a city that had almost nothing of the kind. Fifteen years later it is the address people give when asked where the coffee is, and the restaurant is direct about what it set out to do: give Leeds a place that paid absolute attention to the quality of two ingredients, coffee and possibly milk, in a room where somebody would explain them. It has grown past that. There is a kitchen now, and the house claims some of the best breakfast and lunch in the city centre — a claim it can make because most of its competition is a chain. There is a Laynes bakery, and beans are sold through an online shop for anyone who wants to take the coffee home. Opening is early and long: half past seven in the morning to seven at night on weekdays, from eight on Saturday, and a shorter Sunday from nine to four. Tables can be booked, which for a coffee shop is unusual and says something about how busy it gets. New Station Street runs from the station entrance into the city, so this is the first door you pass arriving in Leeds by train and the last one leaving. You will find Laynes at 16 New Station Street, Leeds LS1 5DL.

Park Row 11-12, Leeds, LS1 5HD

+441132443220

Mon 12:00–23:00; Tue 12:00–23:00; Wed 12:00–23:00; Thu 12:00–23:00; Fri 12:00–00:00; Sat 12:00–00:00; Sun 12:00–23:00

Riva Blu stands on Park Row in the middle of Leeds and cooks southern Italian — which is a narrower thing than Italian, and the reason the room is worth singling out. The south is the half of Italy that gave the world tomato, chilli, oregano and durum wheat pasta, and a kitchen that commits to it eats differently from one working through the whole country. It functions as a restaurant and a bar together rather than a restaurant with a bar attached, and takes private events and celebrations in its own rooms. Gift cards are sold through the restaurant's site, and tables are booked the same way. The hours are generous by the standards of a British city centre. Midday to eleven at night from Sunday to Thursday, and midday to midnight on Friday and Saturday — one unbroken service, so a late lunch at four or an early dinner at six are both possible without waiting for a kitchen to reopen. Park Row runs through the financial quarter between the Town Hall and the river, a few minutes on foot from Leeds station and from the Victorian arcades. If you are staying anywhere central this is walking distance, and it is one of the streets that stays busy into the evening after the offices empty. You will find Riva Blu at 11-12 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5HD.

Località Albareto 69, 29010 Ziano Piacentino

+390523860180

Wed–Sat 12:00–14:00, 19:30–21:00; Sun 12:00–14:00; Mon, Tue Closed

Casa Galli is a farmhouse restaurant on the hillside at Albareto above Ziano, in the Val Tidone, where the family has cooked for guests since 1997 and the view from the terrace is vineyards down to the valley. The dining room is old stone with a fireplace and candles; in summer the tables move out under the porticoes, and there is a play area for children, which makes it an easy Sunday lunch for families. The food is Piacenza cooking without shortcuts: house cured meats, gnocco fritto, tortelli and pisarei made in the kitchen, roasts, and the Gutturnio of the hills to drink. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, lunch and dinner except Sunday evening; there are rooms and apartments for anyone who wants to stay after the wine.

Localita Arcello 1, 29010 Ziano Piacentino

Mon Closed; Tue Closed; Wed Closed; Thu Closed; Fri 20:00–22:00; Sat 12:30–15:00, 20:00–22:00; Sun 12:30–15:30, 20:00–22:00

La Colombaia is an agriturismo above Ziano Piacentino, in the westernmost of the Piacenza valleys. The land was in the family for years before Guido turned it into an agriturismo, and the kitchen is described by the house as cucina piacentina doc — the cooking of this province and no other. The estate is arranged for eating outdoors without depending on the weather: three dining rooms stand in the open but under cover, all of them looking out over the valley, with a bar area for drinks and two further rooms inside. That combination is worth knowing in a region where a summer evening can turn without warning. It sits among the hills and is used as a starting point for the country around it — mountain biking, riding and walking all begin at the door, and the valley is crossed by roads that lead through the historical, scenic and gastronomic parts of the province. The Colli Piacentini are wine country: Gutturnio, Ortrugo and Malvasia are grown on these slopes, and Ziano Piacentino is one of the centres of that. Opening is limited and worth planning around. Friday evening only from eight to ten; Saturday lunch from half past twelve and dinner from eight; Sunday the same with lunch running until half past three. Monday to Thursday it is closed. You will find La Colombaia at Località Arcello 1, 29010 Ziano Piacentino.

Strada Comunale Lupo 101, 29010 Ziano Piacentino

+393917426466

Mon 20:00–23:00; Tue 20:00–23:00; Wed Closed; Thu 20:00–23:00; Fri 20:00–23:00; Sat 20:00–23:00; Sun 20:00–23:00

Locanda San Lupo stands among the hills and vineyards above Ziano Piacentino, and its own line for itself is where taste meets the sunset. That is a fair description of what it sells: the terrace looks out over the vines, and the house treats the evening light as part of the meal rather than as scenery that happens to be there. It is more than a dining room, in its own account — a refuge in the quiet of the hills, where the point is that time slows down. In practice that means it works for two quite different occasions: a family Sunday lunch, and a dinner for two once the lights come on. There is a wine list, which matters here — these slopes are the Colli Piacentini, and Gutturnio, Ortrugo and Malvasia are grown in the fields the terrace looks at. The hours are unusual and worth reading twice: this is an evening restaurant. It serves dinner from eight to eleven every day except Wednesday, when it is closed, and it does not open for lunch at all. Anyone arriving at midday will find the door shut. Ziano Piacentino lies in the Val Tidone, about forty minutes south-west of Piacenza and well inside an hour of Milan, which makes this a plausible evening out from the city as well as a local one. You will find Locanda San Lupo at Strada Comunale Lupo 101, 29010 Ziano Piacentino.

Località Negrese 308, 29010 Ziano Piacentino

+390523864804

Agriturismo Il Negrese is a family-run farm and winery in the hills of Ziano Piacentino. Its restaurant is part of the same property as the guest accommodation, making it the natural first dining address for guests staying at Il Negrese. The dining room was created in the farm's former barn, preserving a connection with the building's working history. The kitchen focuses on the traditions of Piacenza rather than a broad international menu. Handmade pasta, homemade bread and cakes are central to the offer described by the local tourism authorities. The farm's own wines accompany the cooking, so a meal can also introduce visitors to the local wine-growing landscape around Ziano. This is a place to contact in advance. The official tourism listing describes meals as available by reservation on both weekdays and holidays, without promising a fixed daily walk-in schedule. Ask what the kitchen is preparing, whether a set menu applies and how dietary requirements can be accommodated. An overnight stay does not automatically mean that dinner is included in the accommodation price. Use the full Località Negrese 308 address and the agriturismo's published telephone number when arranging your visit. The dining building and guest rooms are adjacent, while visitors staying elsewhere can enquire about a restaurant reservation. Reserved parking is listed by the tourism office. For a group meal or a visit centered on the wines, discuss the arrangements directly before traveling into the hills.

Frazione Corano 35, 29011 Borgonovo Val Tidone

+390523845503

Mon Closed; Tue Closed; Wed 12:30–14:00, 20:00–23:00; Thu 12:30–14:00, 20:00–23:00; Fri 12:30–14:00, 20:00–23:00; Sat 12:30–14:00, 20:00–23:00; Sun 12:30–14:00, 20:00–22:00

Le Proposte is a family restaurant in the hamlet of Corano, in Borgonovo Val Tidone, in the hills of the province of Piacenza. Its beginning is unusual and the family tells it plainly: twenty-five years ago Danila and Luigi, with their daughter Manuela, bought a farmhouse in a panoramic position meaning it to be a second home. Cooking took over. In the year 2000 the house opened as a restaurant, and it has been run by the family ever since. The kitchen is traditional and the work is done on the premises: cured meats are aged in the restaurant's own cellars, the pasta is made in the house, and the ingredients are handled daily rather than bought prepared. In this part of Emilia that is not a marketing line — salumi and hand-made pasta are what the province is known for, and doing both in-house is the difference between a country restaurant and a country restaurant worth driving to. The dining room seats about forty. In summer lunch and dinner are served on the panoramic terrace, which is the reason the farmhouse was bought in the first place. It is closed on Monday and Tuesday. From Wednesday to Saturday it serves lunch from half past twelve to two and dinner from eight to eleven; on Sunday the evening ends an hour earlier. Booking is sensible in a room of forty seats. You will find Le Proposte at Frazione Corano 35, 29011 Borgonovo Val Tidone, Piacenza.

Corso Italia 16, 20122 Milan

+390289053384

Mon 12:00–22:30; Tue 12:00–22:30; Wed 12:00–22:30; Thu 12:00–22:30; Fri 12:00–22:30; Sat 12:00–22:30; Sun 12:00–22:30

Via Pasteria on Corso Italia does one thing: pasta. The house motto is "for the love of pasta", and the menu is built around it rather than treating it as the first of several courses — which is a departure from the usual Italian structure and the reason the place works for a quick lunch as readily as for dinner. The list changes with the season, and there is a dish of the month alongside it. Recent examples give the flavour of the kitchen: linguine with organic Parmesan, Sicilian lemon, chives and sturgeon caviar; cold conchigliette with cave-aged pecorino, confit tomatoes, Cerignola olives, Sicilian lemon and crusco pepper; paccheri alla Norma with marinated purple aubergine, twenty-four-month Parmigiano Reggiano from Vacche Rosse cattle and salted ricotta; linguine with clams and bottarga. The ingredients are named down to the breed of cow, which tells you where the attention goes. It is open every day, straight through from midday to half past ten at night, with no afternoon closure — genuinely useful in a city where most kitchens shut between three and seven and a late lunch becomes impossible. Corso Italia runs south from the Duomo towards Porta Ludovica, a few minutes' walk from the cathedral and from the Missori metro stop, so this is easy to reach on foot from anywhere in the historic centre. You will find Via Pasteria at Corso Italia 16, 20122 Milano.

Via Torino 34, 20123 Milan

+390286453482

Mon 12:00–15:00, 19:00–23:00; Tue 12:00–15:00, 19:00–23:00; Wed 12:00–23:00; Thu 12:00–23:00; Fri 12:00–23:00; Sat 12:00–23:00; Sun 12:00–23:00

Piz is a pizzeria on Via Torino in central Milan, and by review count it is the most talked-about place to eat in the city — more than sixteen thousand people have rated it, far ahead of any restaurant in Milan. It has been open for over ten years, which in a city where fashions and venues turn over quickly is the point the house makes about itself. The format is deliberately narrow: Neapolitan-style pizza, a short menu, a low price band. There is seating outdoors and pizza can be collected to take away. What the numbers describe is a room that is busy from midday onwards, and the queue outside is part of the experience rather than a sign that something went wrong — going early or late is the practical advice. It is open every day. Monday and Tuesday it runs in two sittings, midday to three and seven to eleven; from Wednesday to Sunday it stays open straight through from midday to eleven at night. Via Torino leads southwest out of Piazza del Duomo towards the Carrobbio, so this is a five-minute walk from the cathedral and inside the ring most visitors never leave. If you are staying anywhere central you can walk here, and the street itself is one of Milan's busiest shopping runs. You will find Piz at Via Torino 34, 20123 Milano.