Restaurant in Brusson, Italy
Bib Gourmand value in the Val d'Ayas.
A Michelin Bib Gourmand holder for 2024 and 2025, Laghetto delivers genuinely regional Aosta Valley cooking — trout, local cheeses, rice-flour pancakes, alpine charcuterie — at a €€ price point that makes it one of the most accessible Michelin-recognised meals in northern Italy. At 1,300 metres in Brusson, it is the obvious booking for food-focused travellers in the Val d'Ayas.
Yes — if you are travelling through the Aosta Valley or staying in the Val d'Ayas, Laghetto is worth booking for dinner. It holds the Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2024 and 2025, which means the Michelin inspectors have specifically confirmed that the quality here exceeds what you would expect at this price tier. At €€, it is one of the most affordable Michelin-recognised restaurants in northern Italy, and the cooking stays firmly rooted in the mountain larder around it: rice-flour pancakes, local cheeses, cured meats, trout and char from alpine waters, and plenty of meat dishes made from regional produce. For a food-focused traveller spending time in the Val d'Ayas, this is the right room to book.
Laghetto sits at 1,300 metres in the village of Brusson, part of the hotel of the same name. The dining room is dressed in the visual language of the high Alps: wooden panelling, mountain materials, the kind of interior that signals warmth before the food arrives. The atmosphere is settled rather than loud — this is not a destination where noise and energy are part of the pitch. Conversation is easy, the room feels unhurried, and the pace suits the altitude. For travellers who find city restaurant noise levels wearing, Brusson at 1,300 metres is the right register entirely.
The cooking does not try to reframe Aosta Valley tradition through a modern lens. What it does instead is execute regional ingredients with enough care to earn Michelin's attention twice. Light pancakes made from rice flour are a local staple worth trying; the charcuterie and cheese selection gives you a direct read on what the surrounding valleys produce. The fish options , trout and char , reflect the mountain waterways rather than coastal sourcing, which is exactly what you want from a restaurant at this altitude. If you are coming from outside the region, this is the kind of place that tells you something specific about where you are, which is a better use of a dinner booking than a generic menu that could sit anywhere in Italy.
The Google rating sits at 4.4 across 738 reviews, which at that volume indicates a consistent baseline rather than a lucky run of positive visits. The Bib Gourmand designation in both 2024 and 2025 confirms that consistency extends to the level Michelin inspectors are testing against. For the explorer-minded traveller, the combination of a genuine regional focus and an independent Michelin endorsement is a meaningful signal.
Mountain-style dining room at Laghetto has the texture of a place that has not been designed to photograph well for a short-form audience. The décor is functional and traditional, which in this context is a feature rather than a gap. What the room does well is create conditions where the food and the company carry the evening. If you are after a dramatic tasting-counter experience with theatrical plating, this is not the format , Laghetto is a hotel restaurant in an alpine village, and the experience reflects that honestly. What the seating arrangement does offer is proximity to a kitchen working with short, seasonal supply chains at altitude, and that focus comes through on the plate more reliably than at similarly priced restaurants in lower-altitude tourist corridors. The room is the right size for a conversation-led meal, and the unhurried service pace means you can linger without pressure.
Reservations: Easy to book , Brusson is a small alpine village with limited dining competition at this quality level, and Laghetto's capacity as a hotel restaurant means walk-ins are plausible, though booking ahead removes the risk, particularly in the ski season or summer hiking months. Budget: €€, making it one of the most accessible Michelin-recognised dining experiences in the Valle d'Aosta. Dress: No formal dress code is listed; smart-casual mountain wear is appropriate given the setting. Leading time to visit: Winter and summer are both peak seasons for Brusson , the ski season runs from approximately December to March, and summer hiking traffic peaks from July through August. Visiting outside these windows, particularly in late spring or early autumn, gives you a quieter room and easier access to tables. For the leading atmosphere, book dinner rather than lunch; the mountain light in the evening gives the valley context that a midday visit does not.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laghetto | Cuisine from the Aosta Valley | Situated in the delightful village of Brusson at an altitude of 1 300m in the verdant Val d'Ayas, this restaurant is part of the hotel of the same. In a dining room decorated in typical mountain style, enjoy well-prepared dishes made from regional ingredients. The delicious specialities include light Aosta Valley pancakes (made from rice flour), local cheeses, cured meats, plenty of meat options and fish such as trout and char.; Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| 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 | — |
| Osteria Francescana | Progressive Italian, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Quattro Passi | Italian, Mediterranean Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Reale | Progressive Italian, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
The menu format at Laghetto is not documented in available detail, but the kitchen's focus on Aosta Valley regional ingredients — rice flour pancakes, local cheeses, cured meats, trout, and char — suggests a roster built around produce rather than tasting-menu theatre. At €€ pricing with a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2024 and 2025, this is a place to order broadly from what's in season rather than chase a set format.
Laghetto is part of the hotel of the same name in Brusson, sitting at 1,300 metres in the Val d'Ayas. The dining room runs in a mountain-lodge style, and the kitchen leans into regional Aosta Valley cooking: local cheeses, cured meats, rice flour pancakes, and freshwater fish. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand — meaning solid cooking at a fair price, not a prestige-occasion restaurant.
Brusson is a small alpine village with limited dining competition at this quality level, so booking a few days ahead is generally sufficient outside peak ski and summer seasons. During August or the winter ski window, give yourself a week or more, especially for dinner. As a hotel restaurant, the dining room fills partly from in-house guests.
At €€ and with two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025), Laghetto is priced in the right range for what it delivers. The Bib Gourmand designation specifically recognises good cooking at moderate prices, so value is a core part of the identity here. For travellers in the Val d'Ayas, there is no comparable Michelin-recognised option in the immediate area.
It works for a low-key special occasion among travellers who appreciate regional cooking in a mountain setting, but it is not a high-ceremony destination. The mountain-style room and Bib Gourmand positioning make this better suited to a relaxed celebratory dinner than a formal milestone event. If the occasion calls for full-service fine dining, look further afield in the Aosta Valley.
The mountain-lodge dining room and €€ price point suggest smart-casual is the appropriate register — think neat knitwear or a collar rather than a jacket-and-tie expectation. Arriving from a day on the slopes or trails in clean layers fits the room. Dress codes are not documented for Laghetto specifically, but nothing about the format signals formality.
Brusson itself has no other Michelin-recognised restaurants, making Laghetto the default choice for quality dining in the village. For a step up in ambition within the broader Valle d'Aosta region, the Aosta town centre has a wider selection. If you are willing to cross into Alto Adige, Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler operates at a significantly higher tier and price point.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
