Restaurant in Casale Monferrato, Italy
Michelin Plate farmhouse dining, genuine Piedmontese value.
Faletta 1881 is a Michelin Plate-recognised Piedmontese farmhouse restaurant and agriturismo in the Monferrato hills outside Casale Monferrato, earning consecutive Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025. At a €€ price point with easy booking, it delivers committed regional cooking — start with the trio of antipasti — in a vineyard setting that rewards a long weekend lunch. A practical, lower-pressure alternative to the region's starred circuit.
Getting a table here is not the hard part. Booking at Faletta 1881 is direct compared to the Michelin-starred circuit that dominates the Piedmontese dining conversation, and that accessibility is actually part of the case for going. What you are booking into is a Michelin Plate-recognised farmhouse restaurant on the hills of Monferrato that delivers committed, technically grounded Piedmontese cooking at a €€ price point. If you have already done the polished-trattoria circuit in Casale Monferrato and want to understand what serious regional cuisine looks like in a setting that earns its atmosphere rather than performs it, this is the right next step.
The farmhouse sits in Regione Mandoletta, a hillside position in the Monferrato wine country outside Casale Monferrato. The visual anchor here is the vineyard surroundings: rows of vines, open sky, and a restored agricultural structure that reads as genuinely historic rather than decoratively rustic. The salt-water pool and rooms on site confirm that Faletta 1881 functions as an agriturismo as much as a destination restaurant, which changes the calculus for how you plan around it. If you are coming purely to eat, expect a property that rewards slow visits. A meal that stretches into the afternoon is not incidental here; it is the appropriate pace for this kind of place. If you are visiting the Monferrato wine zone, and you are not using Faletta 1881 as an anchor point for at least one meal, you are leaving a legitimate option on the table. See our full Casale Monferrato restaurants guide for the broader picture, or our full Casale Monferrato wineries guide if wine is the primary driver of your trip.
The Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 is the most useful trust signal here. A Plate is Michelin's marker for good cooking that has not yet crossed into star territory, which tells you this kitchen is technically capable but still finding its ceiling. The editorial description in the venue record notes modern touches and national flourishes alongside a dominant Piedmontese tradition, which is the right framing: this is not a museum-piece recreation of historic recipes, but it is also not a kitchen chasing creative-cuisine credibility for its own sake. The foundation is Piedmontese, and that foundation is handled with care.
Trio of antipasti is the dish to start with. It is specifically flagged as worth ordering and functions as both an introduction to the kitchen's range and a test of how seriously the kitchen takes its craft at the early stages of a meal. In a tradition as antipasto-rich as Piedmontese cooking, getting this right matters. The wine list is house-selected throughout, with a Grignolino singled out for attention. Grignolino is a local Monferrato grape that rarely gets serious treatment outside the region, so the fact that this bottle earns a specific mention is a signal worth following.
For returning guests, the question is which direction to push the order. If your first visit covered the antipasti and a standard secondo, consider spending more time in the middle of the meal on your return. Piedmontese cuisine has a lot of depth in its pasta and grain courses that can be passed over when a table is trying to cover ground. The modern and national flourishes mentioned in the Michelin notes suggest the kitchen is not rigidly traditional, which means ordering with some curiosity rather than defaulting to the obvious will likely be rewarded.
The vineyard setting makes autumn the most compelling season. The Monferrato harvest period, broadly September through October, brings the landscape into its most legible state as wine country, and the Piedmontese table at that time of year has its full seasonal range available: truffles entering the picture, fungi well into their run, game and slow-cooked preparations at their most appropriate. Summer works well if you want to use the salt-water pool as part of a longer stay. Spring is the least obvious choice, but the hills are visually at their most open before the vine canopy closes. Whenever you go, a weekend lunch in good weather makes better use of the setting than a weeknight dinner where the surroundings are lost to dark.
| Detail | Faletta 1881 | Accademia Ristorante | Osteria Bar Sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price range | €€ | See listing | See listing |
| Cuisine | Piedmontese | Country cooking | Traditional |
| Awards | Michelin Plate 2024, 2025 | — | — |
| Setting | Hillside farmhouse, vineyard views | City | City |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | , | , |
| Rooms on site | Yes | No | No |
| Google rating | 4.3 (601 reviews) | , | , |
Also worth checking for context: our full Casale Monferrato hotels guide, our full Casale Monferrato bars guide, and our full Casale Monferrato experiences guide.
If Faletta 1881 has you interested in what Piedmontese cuisine can reach at higher levels of investment, Antica Corona Reale in Cervere and Locanda Sant'Uffizio Enrico Bartolini in Cioccaro represent the upper end of the regional tradition. For the wider Italian fine-dining picture, Piazza Duomo in Alba is the obvious Piedmontese reference point at the highest level, while Le Calandre in Rubano, Uliassi in Senigallia, and Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence each show what Italian kitchens do at the leading of the starred tier.
It is an agriturismo as much as a restaurant: rooms, a pool, and vineyard surroundings are part of what you are arriving into. The kitchen is Michelin Plate-recognised (2024 and 2025) and focuses on Piedmontese cooking at a €€ price point, which makes it accessible relative to most destinations with similar credentials. Come with time to spare, particularly for a weekend lunch. It is not a quick dinner stop; the setting and the pace are designed for longer visits. It is easier to book than most Michelin-listed options in the region, so you do not need to plan far in advance.
Start with the trio of antipasti. It is the dish specifically flagged in the venue's Michelin editorial and represents the kitchen's range and care in its most concentrated form. Piedmontese antipasti tradition is wide and the kitchen is described as working with modern touches alongside the regional base, so this course will tell you a lot about what the meal has to offer. On the wine side, the house-selected list features a Grignolino that is worth ordering if you have not had the grape in a serious context before. It is a local Monferrato variety that does not travel much, and this is a reasonable place to try it.
It is a workable choice for solo travellers, particularly if you are staying on site. The agriturismo format means the atmosphere is not driven by large parties alone, and the €€ price range keeps a solo meal from becoming expensive. That said, Piedmontese antipasti courses are often designed for sharing, and some of the most interesting parts of the menu may be more satisfying with a companion. If you are solo and exploring Casale Monferrato's broader dining scene, also consider Accademia Ristorante and Osteria Bar Sport for city-centre alternatives with a different format.
No specific tasting menu information is available in verified data for this venue. What is confirmed is that the kitchen holds two consecutive Michelin Plates, operates at a €€ price range, and has earned a Google rating of 4.3 across 601 reviews, which suggests consistent satisfaction at the price level. If a tasting format is available, the Michelin recognition means the kitchen has the technical grounding to carry it. Ask directly when booking what structured menu options exist; at this price tier in a farmhouse agriturismo setting, a set menu often represents the kitchen at its most focused.
No formal dress code is specified for Faletta 1881. The agriturismo setting, hillside location, and €€ price point all point toward smart-casual being appropriate: presentable but not formal. The farmhouse context means you are not walking into a white-tablecloth townhouse restaurant. Practical footwear makes sense if you are arriving from the vineyard surroundings. Dress broadly as you would for a well-regarded regional Italian restaurant where the setting is more rural than urban.
Booking difficulty is rated easy. Unlike much of the Michelin-listed Italian restaurant circuit, you do not need to plan months ahead for Faletta 1881. For a weekend lunch in peak season (autumn during harvest, summer for the pool), give yourself a week or two of lead time to be comfortable. Weekday visits and off-season visits should be achievable with shorter notice. If you are pairing the meal with a room on site, book both together as early as your travel dates are confirmed, since accommodation capacity at an agriturismo is inherently limited.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Faletta 1881 | €€ | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | €€€€ | — |
| Dal Pescatore | €€€€ | — |
| Osteria Francescana | €€€€ | — |
| Quattro Passi | €€€€ | — |
| Reale | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
This is a hillside farmhouse in Monferrato wine country, not a city restaurant — you will need a car to get here. The kitchen holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, which means Michelin considers the cooking genuinely good without reaching starred territory. At €€ pricing, it delivers an authentic Piedmontese meal in a setting with rooms and a saltwater pool, so an overnight stay makes the journey worthwhile.
Start with the trio of antipasti — it is singled out in the venue's own description and a reliable entry point into the Piedmontese kitchen here. The wine list is house-selected, and the Grignolino is specifically worth your attention: it is a local grape variety rarely championed this deliberately and pairs well with the regional food. Beyond that, the menu follows Piedmontese tradition with some modern touches, so expect dishes built around the region's classic ingredients.
It depends on your comfort with a farmhouse setting rather than a city restaurant. Solo diners who want an immersive, quieter experience in the Monferrato countryside will find Faletta 1881 a good fit, particularly if you stay overnight. If you want counter dining or a lively urban room, this is not the right format.
Faletta 1881's menu structure is not documented in enough detail to give a precise verdict on a formal tasting menu. What is clear is that at €€ pricing, the overall value proposition is strong for Michelin Plate-level cooking in Piedmont. The antipasti trio is the confirmed highlight, so if the meal is structured around that kind of progression through Piedmontese tradition, it is worth the price of entry.
The farmhouse setting and €€ price point suggest a relaxed approach to dress: neat and presentable rather than formal. This is not a white-tablecloth Michelin-starred room — think comfortable country dining rather than a jacket-required tasting menu restaurant.
Booking ahead is advisable, particularly in autumn when the Monferrato harvest season makes the setting most compelling and visitor numbers in the wine country rise. Unlike the heavily competed Michelin-starred restaurants in Piedmont, Faletta 1881 at €€ with a Plate rather than a star is unlikely to require months of lead time — but do not leave it to chance if you are planning an overnight stay, since rooms add a reservation layer.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
