Restaurant in Acuto, Italy
Destination tasting menu, four services a week.
Colline Ciociare holds a Michelin star and a La Liste score above 78 points in a small hill town 60km from Rome. Chef Salvatore Tassa's vegetable-forward tasting menu — five or seven courses, Thursday to Sunday only — justifies the drive and the €€€€ price for a serious special occasion dinner. Book four to six weeks out; the limited weekly schedule fills quickly.
Getting a table at Colline Ciociare takes real effort: the restaurant opens only four services per week, closes Monday and Tuesday entirely, and holds a Michelin star alongside a La Liste score of 81 points (2025) and 78 points (2026). That combination of limited availability and serious critical recognition means the room fills quickly. If you are planning a special occasion dinner within 60 kilometres of Rome and want a tasting menu that sits clearly outside the city's standard fine-dining rotation, book as far ahead as you can — four to six weeks minimum during peak season is a reasonable target. The drive is part of the commitment: the final stretch of road through the Ciociaria hills requires attention, and that deliberate journey sets the tone before you even sit down.
Colline Ciociare has been operating since 1960, and that tenure shows in the confidence of the kitchen rather than in any sense of staleness. Chef Salvatore Tassa works within a format that is seasonal, vegetable-forward, and grounded in Lazio tradition, but the execution moves well beyond regional cooking. The tasting menu offers a choice between five and seven courses, which is a practical feature worth noting: a five-course format is a more comfortable commitment for diners who are uncertain about tasting-menu stamina or arriving after a long drive, while the seven-course version rewards those who want the full breadth of Tassa's thinking.
La Liste describes the kitchen as producing dishes built from a balance between Lazio tradition and great Italian classics alongside more daring pairings. Cold extraction techniques, including a celeriac reduction cited in the award notes, point to a kitchen that applies technical precision without making technique the point of the plate. The emphasis on vegetables and seasonal produce is not a marketing position — it is the actual architecture of the menu. If you are looking for a red-meat-forward tasting menu or a kitchen that centres protein, this is not the right booking. If you want cooking that finds its complexity in produce and process, this is one of the better arguments for making the drive out of Rome.
The space sits within the NU' Trattoria Italiana format, which means the setting reads as contemporary rather than formally dressed, and the atmosphere reinforces the idea that serious cooking does not require a stiff room. That is the editorial angle worth holding onto here: Colline Ciociare delivers at a level that its Michelin star and La Liste scores confirm, but the experience does not carry the ceremony-to-the-point-of-discomfort quality that the same tier can produce in Rome or Milan. For a special occasion, that matters. You are getting the quality signal without the performance of it.
Google reviews sit at 4.6 from 192 ratings, which is a reliable indicator of consistent execution rather than a venue running on reputation alone. At €€€€ pricing, you are in the same tier as the leading tables in any major Italian city, but you are paying for a genuinely singular kitchen perspective rather than for a branded address. That trade-off is the right one if the occasion justifies the trip.
| Detail | Colline Ciociare | Comparable Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Price tier | €€€€ | Matches Dal Pescatore, Enoteca Pinchiorri |
| Michelin recognition | 1 Star (2024) | Reale (2 Stars, comparable remote setting) |
| La Liste score | 81pts (2025), 78pts (2026) | Consistent top-tier Italian regional presence |
| Open days | Thu–Sun only | Most peers open 5–6 days |
| Lunch service | Fri, Sat 12:30–3 PM; Sun 12:30–5 PM | Lunch available at Le Calandre, Dal Pescatore |
| Dinner service | Thu–Sat 8 PM–11 PM | Standard for the tier |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Similar difficulty at Osteria Francescana |
| Location | Acuto, ~60km from Rome | Destination dining, requires planning |
| Google rating | 4.6 (192 reviews) | Consistent performer |
Sunday lunch is the most relaxed entry point: the service runs until 5 PM, which gives the meal room to breathe without the pressure of an evening reservation. If you are driving from Rome, the Sunday extended lunch format suits the occasion better than a weeknight dinner on Thursday. Friday and Saturday offer both lunch and dinner windows, which gives you the most flexibility if your travel schedule is fixed. Thursday dinner is the most limited option , one service, one night , and given the booking competition, it is the hardest slot to secure.
For a milestone celebration or anniversary dinner, Saturday evening is the booking to target. It combines the formal dinner context with a full weekend structure that allows you to stay overnight in the area rather than driving back to Rome after 11 PM. See our full Acuto hotels guide for accommodation options nearby. Planning the evening around a stay in the area turns the logistics into part of the occasion rather than a complication of it.
See the full comparison section below.
If you are building an itinerary around serious Italian cooking at this price tier, the venues worth cross-referencing are Reale in Castel di Sangro (two Michelin stars, similarly remote, stronger on avant-garde technique) and Quattro Passi in Marina del Cantone (coastal setting, different flavour profile, easier logistics from Naples). For a broader view of what is available across the Acuto area, our full Acuto restaurants guide covers the full range of options at every price point. If you want to extend your visit, bars in Acuto, wineries near Acuto, and experiences in the area are all worth checking before you travel.
Yes, at this level of recognition , Michelin one star plus a La Liste score above 78 points , the tasting menu price is justified by the cooking. The five-course option is a sensible choice if you want to manage cost or pace; the seven-course version gives you the fuller argument. For comparison, Piazza Duomo in Alba at three Michelin stars is a higher price at a higher recognition tier; Colline Ciociare sits below that ceiling in price while delivering a coherent, distinctive menu perspective that is not replicated in Rome at any price.
Four to six weeks minimum is the practical target. The restaurant opens on only four days per week, which compresses availability significantly. For weekend dinners and Sunday lunch in spring and autumn, you may need longer. Given the drive from Rome and the limited seat count, treat this like booking any Michelin-starred destination outside a major city: the earlier the better, especially for a fixed date like an anniversary or birthday.
Sunday lunch is the strongest recommendation for first-time visitors. The service runs until 5 PM, the light in the Ciociaria hills in the afternoon is a genuine contextual asset, and you avoid the pressure of a late evening drive back to Rome. Friday and Saturday lunch are also viable. Dinner on Saturday suits a special occasion more formally, and works better if you are staying overnight nearby rather than driving back the same evening.
Acuto itself is a small town and Colline Ciociare is the serious dining destination in the area. If you want comparable cooking quality within central Italy at the same price tier, Reale in Castel di Sangro is the closest comparison in terms of remote location and ambition level. In Rome itself, the options at €€€€ are broader but none deliver the same combination of Lazio-rooted cooking and destination-restaurant remoteness. See our Acuto restaurants guide for a full local picture.
Yes, and it works particularly well for occasions where you want the meal to feel like an event rather than just a restaurant visit. The drive from Rome, the limited opening schedule, and the tasting-menu format all contribute to a sense of occasion before the food arrives. The setting is contemporary rather than formally stiff, which suits couples and small groups better than large parties. A Saturday dinner followed by an overnight stay in the area is the format that gets the most out of it for anniversaries or milestone birthdays.
Practically possible but not the optimal format. The tasting menu at €€€€ is a significant per-head spend for a solo diner with no one to split the cost or the conversation with over multiple courses. For solo dining at Michelin level in Italy, venues with counter seating in Rome or Milan offer a more natural format. That said, if your priority is Tassa's cooking specifically and you are comfortable with the spend and the drive, there is no structural reason solo dining would not work , contact the restaurant directly to confirm solo availability.
The kitchen is explicitly vegetable-forward and seasonal, which positions it well for plant-based and vegetarian diners relative to peers at this price tier. For specific dietary requirements , allergies, intolerances, or strict dietary frameworks , contact the restaurant directly before booking. Phone and website details are not confirmed in our current data; check updated listings or booking platforms for current contact information. Do not assume accommodation without confirmation, particularly for a tasting menu format where dishes are pre-structured.
Seat count is not confirmed in our current data. Given the restaurant's limited opening hours and the destination-dining context, groups of more than four should contact the venue directly well in advance. For large groups celebrating a milestone, the private-dining or full-room-buyout question is worth asking explicitly , but do not book a group of six or more without a direct conversation with the restaurant first. Our Acuto restaurants guide covers alternative options if group size is a constraint.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colline Ciociare | Italian, Cuisine from Lazio | €€€€ | La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 78pts; About sixty kilometers from the capital, along a road that winds through numerous curves in its final stretch, to arrive here you must have truly heard about the delicacies that Salvatore Tassa brings to the table. The tasting menu offers a choice between 5 or 7 courses, with infinite creativity: from tradition balanced between Lazio and great Italian classics, to the most daring pairings. Just a few dishes are enough to reveal the universe of this cook-poet, far from any trend or definition, who favors vegetables and employs interesting cold extraction techniques, as in the celeriac reduction. In the modern NU' Trattoria Italiana since 1960, tradition reigns alongside tributes to the chef’s historic recipes.; Chef Salvatore Tassa is an artist. Rome has a great influence on his inspiration, because tradition and roots are very important, but so is bringing his own version. Always seasonal, always colourful and not too complex is how best to sum up his cuisine. He also believes that the cuisine of the future will take more account of people's health. And when the chef speaks everyone listens, viva the Italian cuisine. We at We're Smart couldn't agree more!; La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 81pts; About sixty kilometers from the capital, along a road that winds through numerous curves in its final stretch, to arrive here you must have truly heard about the delicacies that Salvatore Tassa brings to the table. The tasting menu offers a choice between 5 or 7 courses, with infinite creativity: from tradition balanced between Lazio and great Italian classics, to the most daring pairings. Just a few dishes are enough to reveal the universe of this cook-poet, far from any trend or definition, who favors vegetables and employs interesting cold extraction techniques, as in the celeriac reduction. In the modern NU' Trattoria Italiana since 1960, tradition reigns alongside tributes to the chef’s historic recipes.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Italian, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dal Pescatore | Italian, Italian Contemporary | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Enoteca Pinchiorri | Italian - French, Italian Contemporary | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Enrico Bartolini | Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Le Calandre | Progressive Italian, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
How Colline Ciociare stacks up against the competition.
Yes, provided you are committed to a chef-led format. The 5 or 7-course tasting menu is the entire point of the visit: Salvatore Tassa's kitchen holds a Michelin star and scored 81 points in La Liste 2025, and the cooking leans on seasonal vegetables and cold extraction techniques that you will not find at a standard Lazio trattoria. If you want à la carte flexibility, this is not the right restaurant.
Book at least four to six weeks out. With only four services per week — Thursday dinner, Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday lunch — availability disappears fast, especially for Saturday evening. The restaurant sits roughly 60 kilometres from Rome, so last-minute plans rarely work in your favour.
Sunday lunch is the most practical entry point: service runs until 5 PM, which allows the meal to stretch without the formality of an evening slot. Saturday lunch is a solid second option if Sunday is full. Evening services on Thursday and Friday suit those staying overnight nearby rather than driving back to Rome after a long tasting menu.
There are no comparable fine-dining alternatives in Acuto itself. For serious tasting-menu cooking in the broader region, Reale in Castel di Sangro (Abruzzo) is the most relevant peer at a similar price tier and ambition level. Rome offers multiple Michelin-starred options if a 60-kilometre drive is not part of your plan.
Yes, and the format suits it well. A Michelin-starred tasting menu in a destination restaurant away from Rome creates a clear sense of occasion without the city-centre noise. The limited opening hours mean every service is deliberate, not a high-turnover operation. Book Saturday dinner for maximum atmosphere.
Feasible, but not the easiest solo experience at €€€€ pricing and a tasting-menu-only format. The meal will take time and the setting is more suited to a pair or small group. That said, a solo diner with a serious interest in Tassa's cooking — La Liste has recognised it two consecutive years — will find the visit worthwhile rather than awkward.
The kitchen's documented focus on vegetables and seasonal ingredients suggests some flexibility, but specific dietary accommodation policies are not confirmed in available venue data. check the venue's official channels before booking if you have restrictions that would affect a 5 or 7-course tasting menu.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
