Restaurant in Castel Mella, Italy
Michelin-noted grill cooking at honest prices.
A 2025 Michelin Plate restaurant in Castel Mella, south of Brescia, Chicco di Grano delivers traditional Lombardian grill cooking — aged Fiorentina steaks, grilled chops, and fish dishes — at an accessible €€ price point. Easy to book, warmly rustic, and backed by a 4.6 Google rating from over 330 reviews. The right choice for a confident, unfussy dinner near Brescia or during a Franciacorta visit.
Getting a table here is easy — and that accessibility is part of the point. Chicco di Grano sits in Castel Mella, a small comune south of Brescia, and it draws a loyal local crowd without requiring weeks of planning or a concierge. For a Michelin Plate-recognised restaurant at a €€ price point, booking pressure is low. If you are driving through Lombardy, passing through Brescia, or looking for a proper grill-focused dinner without the ceremony of a starred room, this is a practical and well-credentialed choice. The only real question is whether the night suits you: go midweek for a quieter room, or accept a livelier atmosphere on weekends when local families fill both dining rooms.
Michelin recognised Chicco di Grano with a Plate in 2025 — a signal that the cooking is consistent and the kitchen knows what it is doing, even if this is not a destination restaurant in the starred sense. The restaurant occupies two dining rooms with exposed beams, giving it a rustic, grounded character that fits the food: traditional Lombardian cuisine built around the grill. Meat and fish appear in roughly equal measure, but the kitchen's confidence is most visible in the aged cuts. The Fiorentina steaks and grilled chops are the reason regulars return. These are well-aged pieces, cooked with the kind of precision that comes from doing the same thing consistently over time. Google reviewers back this up , 4.6 stars from 332 reviews is a strong signal for a neighbourhood restaurant of this type.
If you have been once and ordered something safe, come back for the aged beef. That is where the kitchen earns its Michelin recognition most directly. The grill is the through-line here, and the Fiorentina in particular is the dish that justifies the return visit. Fish dishes add range to the menu, but this is primarily a meat-forward room.
The €€ price positioning suggests the wine list will be honest rather than elaborate , this is Brescia's hinterland, not a fine dining room with a sommelier building a cellar over decades. Lombardy gives the restaurant a strong regional reference point: Franciacorta sparkling wine is produced less than 30 minutes away, and the broader area offers access to Lugana whites and Valtenesi reds, both well-suited to grilled meat and fish. Whether the list at Chicco di Grano runs deep into these appellations is not confirmed in the available data, but a Lombard restaurant at this price point and recognition level will typically offer a workable regional selection. If wine pairing depth matters as much to you as the food, [Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/enoteca-pinchiorri) or [Dal Pescatore in Runate](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/dal-pescatore-runate-restaurant) offer lists with far greater depth, though at a substantially different price tier. For Chicco di Grano, the wine is likely a support role , drink something local and let the grill be the focus.
The leading time to visit is a weekday evening. Weekend nights in a two-room restaurant with exposed beams can get noisy when full, and this place clearly draws consistent local traffic given its review volume. A Tuesday or Wednesday booking gives you a calmer room and, typically, more attentive service when the kitchen is not under peak pressure. If you are visiting Brescia or the surrounding Franciacorta area, Castel Mella is a logical dinner stop on the way in or out , the location is accessible by car and does not require significant detour from the main routes south of the city.
Reservations: Easy , no significant lead time required for weekday bookings; call ahead for weekend tables given local demand. Dress: No data available, but the rustic two-room setting reads as smart-casual at most. Budget: €€ , a two-course dinner with wine should be accessible without the price pressure of a starred room. Getting there: Castel Mella is a short drive south of Brescia city centre; a car is the practical option given the suburban location.
For Lombard grill-focused cooking in this price range, Chicco di Grano sits comfortably as a Michelin-acknowledged neighbourhood option. If you want a similar tradition but with a stronger fish focus or more elaborate service, [Al Gambero in Calvisano](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/al-gambero-calvisano-restaurant) is worth comparing. For another Lombardian perspective at a different register, [85 Bistrot in Sesto San Giovanni](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/85-bistrot-sesto-san-giovanni-restaurant) operates in the same regional cooking territory. Neither replaces Chicco di Grano's specific strength , the aged, grill-cooked cuts , but they are useful alternatives if location or format does not suit. For a broader look at dining options in the area, see [our full Castel Mella restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/castel-mella).
You can also explore [our full Castel Mella hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/castel-mella), [our full Castel Mella bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/castel-mella), [our full Castel Mella wineries guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/castel-mella), and [our full Castel Mella experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/castel-mella) if you are planning a longer stay in the region.
Book Chicco di Grano if you want honest, grill-centred Lombardian cooking at a price that does not require justification, recognised by Michelin for quality and consistency. It is the right call for a weekday dinner near Brescia, a practical stop during a Franciacorta trip, or a return visit when you know to go straight for the aged Fiorentina. It is not the right call if you need a deep wine program, a formal occasion format, or a destination-level experience worth travelling specifically for.
Go for the grill. Chicco di Grano earned its 2025 Michelin Plate on the strength of traditional Lombardian cooking, and the aged Fiorentina steaks and grilled chops are the kitchen's clearest strength. The restaurant is at a €€ price point, so you can order confidently without anxiety about the bill. Expect a rustic two-room setting with exposed beams , informal, welcoming, and built for a proper dinner rather than a tasting menu experience. For context on what else is in the area, see [our full Castel Mella restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/castel-mella).
Two dining rooms give the restaurant physical capacity to handle groups, and at the €€ price level there is no financial barrier to booking for a larger party. Specific group booking policies are not confirmed in the available data , call ahead to discuss table arrangements, particularly for parties of six or more on a weekend. For broader planning in the area, [our full Castel Mella experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/castel-mella) is a useful reference.
The menu spans both meat and fish, which gives it more flexibility than a pure grill house. That said, the kitchen's identity is built around the barbecue grill and traditional Lombardian cooking , guests with specific dietary requirements should confirm directly before booking, as no formal policy is listed in the available data. The restaurant does not appear to operate a tasting menu format, so ordering around restrictions à la carte is likely the practical approach.
It works for a relaxed celebration , the Michelin Plate recognition and 4.6 Google rating (332 reviews) confirm the kitchen is consistent, and the €€ pricing means the occasion does not have to carry financial stress. What it does not offer is the ceremony of a starred room: no elaborate service, no multi-course tasting format, no wine director building a pairing experience. If the occasion calls for that kind of formality, [Dal Pescatore in Runate](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/dal-pescatore-runate-restaurant) or [Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli in Verona](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/casa-perbellini-12-apostoli-verona-restaurant) are more appropriate. For a genuinely good dinner in a warm, unpretentious room, Chicco di Grano is a solid choice.
There is no confirmed tasting menu at Chicco di Grano based on available data. The restaurant operates as a traditional à la carte Lombardian kitchen. The value here is in ordering the aged cuts and grilled dishes directly , the Fiorentina steak is the centrepiece. If tasting menu format is your priority, [Le Calandre in Rubano](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-calandre-rubano-restaurant) or [Piazza Duomo in Alba](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/piazza-duomo-alba-restaurant) are better-suited options at a higher price tier.
Within Lombardy at a comparable price and tradition level, [Al Gambero in Calvisano](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/al-gambero-calvisano-restaurant) is the closest regional peer worth comparing. For a different take on Lombardian cooking, [85 Bistrot in Sesto San Giovanni](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/85-bistrot-sesto-san-giovanni-restaurant) operates in the same culinary territory. If you are open to driving further and spending more, [Enrico Bartolini in Milan](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/enrico-bartolini-milan-restaurant) or [Uliassi in Senigallia](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/uliassi-senigallia-restaurant) represent a different tier entirely. See [our full Castel Mella restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/castel-mella) for a broader view of local options.
At €€, yes. A Michelin Plate in 2025 and a 4.6 Google rating from over 330 reviewers puts Chicco di Grano well above average for its price tier. The aged Fiorentina and grilled chops are the core value proposition , this is not a restaurant where you are paying for elaborate technique or service theatre, but where the quality of the base ingredient and the discipline of the grill justify the visit. Compared to what a starred room costs in Lombardy, this is a direct trade: less ceremony, less price, and focused cooking that clearly resonates with the people who eat here regularly.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Chicco di Grano | €€ | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | €€€€ | — |
| Dal Pescatore | €€€€ | — |
| Osteria Francescana | €€€€ | — |
| Quattro Passi | €€€€ | — |
| Reale | €€€€ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Come for the grill. Chicco di Grano holds a Michelin Plate (2025) for consistent, traditional Lombardian cooking, with well-aged Fiorentina steaks and chops as the clear focus. It sits in Castel Mella, south of Brescia, so you'll need a car. The two dining rooms with exposed beams are welcoming rather than formal — arrive hungry and keep expectations grill-centric.
The two-room layout suggests reasonable capacity for groups, but with only two dining rooms, larger parties may fill a significant portion of the restaurant. Book in advance if you're coming with six or more. Weekday evenings are quieter and easier for groups than weekend nights, when the space gets noticeably louder.
The menu centres on grilled meat and fish, so carnivores are well served. Pescatarians have options too, given the fish dishes alongside the grill. Strict vegetarians or vegans will find limited traction at a restaurant where well-aged Fiorentina steaks are the headline — it's worth calling ahead to check current options.
It works well for a low-key celebration — Michelin recognition at €€ pricing means quality is consistent without the financial pressure of a fine dining room. The rustic setting with exposed beams reads warm rather than ceremonial, so if you want a formal anniversary dinner, Dal Pescatore near Canneto sull'Oglio is a better fit. For a relaxed milestone dinner with serious grill cooking, Chicco di Grano delivers.
No tasting menu format is confirmed for Chicco di Grano. The venue is Michelin Plate-recognised for its traditional à la carte grill cooking — Fiorentina steaks and aged chops are the anchors. If a structured tasting format is what you want, this is not the right venue; look instead at Osteria Francescana in Modena or Dal Pescatore for that experience at a higher price point.
There are no directly comparable Michelin-recognised grill restaurants documented in Castel Mella itself, making this the area's clearest option for that format. For Lombardian fine dining at a higher level, Dal Pescatore (three Michelin stars) is the regional benchmark. For something closer in price range but focused on seafood-forward cuisine, you'd need to head toward the lakes.
Yes. At €€ pricing with a Michelin Plate (2025), the value case is clear — you're getting quality-consistent, grill-focused Lombardian cooking without paying fine dining prices. The well-aged Fiorentina steaks are the reason to come. If you're weighing it against Osteria Francescana or Dal Pescatore, those are entirely different propositions in price and format; Chicco di Grano is the practical choice for unfussy, high-quality grill cooking near Brescia.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
