Restaurant in Capodacqua, Italy
Book ahead. Tasting menus. Michelin star earned.
Une holds a Michelin star in one of Umbria's smallest hamlets, just outside Assisi, and books out weeks in advance. Chef Giulio Gigli runs tasting menus built on hyper-local, seasonal produce in a 17th-century mill that gives the room genuine atmosphere. At €€€, it is strong value for the category — book as early as possible.
Getting a table at Une is genuinely difficult, and that difficulty is earned. This Michelin-starred restaurant in Capodacqua — a hamlet so small it barely registers on most maps of Umbria — has a seating window that runs to just two lunch slots and a handful of evening services per week. Tuesday and Wednesday are dark. The kitchen runs one hour at lunch (1–2 PM) and one hour at dinner (8–9 PM), which means covers are limited by design, not capacity. If you are planning a trip to the Assisi area and want to eat here, book before you book your accommodation. Waiting until you arrive is not a strategy.
The effort is worth it. Chef Giulio Gigli holds a Michelin star (2024) and has built one of the more coherent restaurant projects in central Italy: hyper-local produce sourced within 20km of the kitchen, tasting menus that change with what the land and season offer, and a wine list drawn from small organic and biodynamic producers. For a food-focused traveller making the journey through Umbria, Une is the clearest reason to stop in this particular stretch of the Foligno valley.
The name is not incidental. UNE is the word for water in the old Umbrian dialect, and the hamlet of Capodacqua sits at the intersection of springs and streams that have defined the valley for centuries. The restaurant itself is housed in a 17th-century mill , first used for milling cereals, later for olive oil production , and the building still carries that history in its stonework, beams, and proportions. The dining room is intimate and rural in feel, with the kind of atmosphere that takes decades to accumulate and cannot be manufactured.
That setting is not just aesthetics. It shapes the food. Gigli's cooking is rooted in Umbrian culinary tradition, reinterpreted rather than replaced. Vegetables , many wild-gathered or grown close by , anchor most dishes. The kitchen operates on three explicit principles: sustainability through waste reduction from both kitchen and garden; strict attention to ingredient seasonality; and close relationships with the producers, customers, and team around the restaurant. A vegetarian menu is available alongside the main tasting menus, and the plant-forward approach is thorough enough that it functions as a genuine option rather than an afterthought.
For the explorer-minded diner, this is a restaurant that rewards context. Capodacqua sits a few kilometres from Assisi, which means Une fits naturally into a longer Umbria itinerary that might include Spoleto, the Valnerina, or the olive groves around Trevi. It is not a destination that makes logistical sense for an overnight detour from Rome or Florence unless you are specifically building a trip around it , in which case, it absolutely makes sense.
The energy at Une is quiet and considered. This is not a room with ambient music, hum of a large crowd, or the theatrical noise of an open kitchen. It runs more like a private dining room that happens to seat strangers: calm, focused, and unhurried. The one-hour service windows suggest a kitchen that moves at its own pace, and the dining room matches that register. Conversation carries. If you are looking for a celebratory dinner that feels formal without being stiff, this fits. If you want a lively room, look elsewhere.
Lunch and dinner operate in the same format, which makes the lunch sitting at 1 PM a genuinely interesting option , you get the full tasting menu experience with the afternoon ahead of you, which pairs well with a drive through the Umbrian countryside afterward. Saturday and Sunday lunch are both available, making a weekend visit the most flexible booking window.
Reservations: Book as far in advance as possible , at minimum three to four weeks out for weekend slots, longer if you are visiting in peak Umbria season (spring and autumn). The kitchen's limited weekly service hours make this one of the harder tables to secure in the region. Budget: €€€ , a mid-to-high price point for the area, though significantly below the €€€€ tier of Italy's top-tier destination restaurants. Hours: Monday lunch 1–2 PM, dinner 8–9 PM; Thursday–Friday dinner only 8–9 PM; Saturday–Sunday lunch 1–2 PM and dinner 8–9 PM; Tuesday–Wednesday closed. Dress: Smart casual is appropriate given the Michelin context, though the rural mill setting means strictly formal dress is not expected. Getting there: Capodacqua is not served by public transport that makes practical sense for a tasting menu visit. A car or private transfer from Foligno or Assisi is the realistic option. Groups: Given the intimate nature of the space and limited covers per service, large groups should enquire directly and book well in advance , the restaurant's capacity is not confirmed in available data, but the format suggests this is a small room.
For more dining, drinking, and travel planning in the area, see our full Capodacqua restaurants guide, our full Capodacqua hotels guide, our full Capodacqua bars guide, our full Capodacqua wineries guide, and our full Capodacqua experiences guide.
For broader Italian creative fine dining context, Reale in Castel di Sangro and Uliassi in Senigallia are among the closest comparisons in spirit , destination restaurants in small Italian towns where the location is inseparable from the cooking. Piazza Duomo in Alba and Quattro Passi in Marina del Cantone follow a similar model of territory-rooted tasting menus. For a reference point at the very leading of the Italian creative canon, Osteria Francescana in Modena and Le Calandre in Rubano represent what the format looks like at its most ambitious. Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli in Verona is worth noting for travellers triangulating across northern and central Italy. For creative fine dining in Paris as a European comparison point, Arpège and Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen share Une's commitment to produce-led cooking, albeit at a very different scale and price.
Smart casual is the right call. The setting , a 17th-century stone mill in a small Umbrian hamlet , is atmospheric but rural, which means a jacket and dark jeans work as well as formal dress. Given the Michelin star, trainers and resort wear would feel out of step, but there is no evidence of a strict dress code. Dress as you would for a considered dinner in a country house rather than a formal city restaurant.
The format here is tasting menus , there is no à la carte option. Chef Giulio Gigli offers two menus built around hyper-local, seasonal produce sourced within 20km of the restaurant, with a dedicated vegetarian menu also available. The vegetarian option is not a reduced version of the main menu; the kitchen's plant-forward philosophy means it is a full tasting experience in its own right. If you are visiting as a vegetarian, this is one of the better choices you can make in Umbria at this price level.
The intimate scale of the restaurant and its tightly constrained service windows , one hour at lunch, one hour at dinner , suggest this is a small room. Groups planning to visit should contact the restaurant directly and book as early as possible. The format is tasting menu only, which simplifies logistics for a group but also means the entire table eats together at the same pace. Une is a strong choice for a private celebration with a small group of four to six; for larger parties, confirm availability before building a trip around it.
At €€€, Une sits well below the €€€€ tier that defines most of Italy's Michelin-starred destination restaurants. For the quality of cooking, the setting, and the coherence of the sourcing and sustainability project, it represents strong value within its category. If you are already travelling through Umbria, this is an easy yes. If you are travelling specifically to eat here, the price point makes the trip easier to justify than a comparable visit to, say, Dal Pescatore or Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, both of which operate at a higher price tier.
Lunch is the more practical choice for most visitors. The Saturday and Sunday lunch service at 1 PM gives you the full tasting menu experience with the afternoon free , useful if you are also exploring Assisi, Foligno, or the wider Umbrian valley. Dinner is the more atmospheric option given the stone mill setting at night, but with a service window of just one hour (8–9 PM), the kitchen runs efficiently rather than leisurely. Both formats deliver the same menu; the choice comes down to how you want to structure your day.
Yes, with a clear profile in mind. The calm, intimate atmosphere of the mill dining room , quiet, unhurried, and genuinely beautiful , makes Une well-suited to anniversary dinners, milestone celebrations, or any occasion where the quality of the experience matters more than the energy of the room. It is not a celebratory dinner with champagne-on-arrival theatre; the mood is considered rather than festive. For a couple or small group who wants a serious, memorable meal in a setting that cannot be replicated in a city restaurant, Une is among the better choices in central Italy at the €€€ price point.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Une | €€€ | Hard | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Dal Pescatore | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Enoteca Pinchiorri | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Enrico Bartolini | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Le Calandre | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Une is a Michelin-starred restaurant in a restored 17th-century mill, so dress accordingly — smart evening wear is appropriate, not a jacket-required formality. Avoid overly casual clothing. The setting is rural Umbria, not a city dining room, but the standard of cuisine and service calls for effort.
Une operates on tasting menus only, so there is no à la carte ordering. Chef Giulio Gigli runs two tasting menus built around hyper-local produce sourced within 20km, with a vegetarian option available. Come prepared to commit to the full format — this is not a venue for picking dishes.
Une is a small restaurant in a hamlet near Foligno, and its intimate size makes large groups impractical. For groups larger than four, check the venue's official channels well in advance. Private dining arrangements may be possible, but nothing is confirmed in available data — do not assume capacity.
At €€€ with a Michelin star earned in 2024, Une sits at the upper end of Umbrian dining but well below comparable starred restaurants in major Italian cities. The produce-to-20km sourcing model, thoughtful wine list from small organic producers, and the mill setting give the price genuine backing. If tasting menus suit your format, the value case is solid.
Lunch is available Saturday and Sunday (1–2 PM only), making it a tight single-seating service — arrive on time. Dinner runs Thursday through Monday (8–9 PM). The mill setting reads differently in daylight, which makes lunch worth considering if you can get a slot. Tuesday and Wednesday are closed, so plan around that.
Yes, with caveats. The 17th-century mill setting, Michelin-starred tasting menus, and focused natural wine list make Une a strong choice for a meaningful dinner. Book three to four weeks out minimum for weekends, longer during peak Umbria season. It suits couples or small parties more than groups — the intimacy of the space is part of the experience.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
