Restaurant in Cervesina, Italy
Michelin-recognised, easier to book than rivals
Dama holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and an improving OAD ranking inside a converted castle stable in the Bassa Lomellina — making it the most accessible serious kitchen in this part of Lombardy. At €€€, it undercuts the region's starred competition while offering a wine list genuinely committed to Oltrepò Pavese producers. Book if you want recognised cooking without the occasion-level planning the bigger names require.
If you are weighing Dama against the big-ticket modern Italian options in the Po Valley and Lombardy, the calculus is direct: Dal Pescatore in Runate and Le Calandre in Rubano both demand more planning, more spend, and more occasion-dressing. Dama, at €€€, lands in a more accessible tier while still earning a Michelin Plate (2025) and a consistent presence on the Opinionated About Dining Casual North America list — ranked #484 in 2025, up from #500 in 2024. For a returning visitor who has already ticked the region's headline names, Dama is the logical next stop.
The restaurant occupies the old stables of the Castello di San Gaudenzio, a few kilometres from Voghera in the Bassa Lomellina. Visually, the room delivers what that address promises: thick stone walls, low ceilings, and the kind of quiet that comes with genuinely rural siting. This is not a converted farmhouse styled to look rustic , it is a working historical space that happens to house a serious kitchen. If you are coming from Milan, budget for a drive rather than a taxi; this is deep Lomellina countryside, and the journey is part of the context.
The menu operates on a dual axis: local specialities anchored in Bassa Lomellina tradition sit alongside more creative dishes built on authentic regional recipes. The kitchen leans on ingredients like baked onion and 24-month-old Grana Padano, which reads as restrained by current tasting-menu standards , a deliberate choice that keeps the cooking legible without surrendering ambition. For a returning diner, the question is less whether the food is accomplished (the Michelin Plate and OAD trajectory confirm it is) and more whether the creative dishes have moved since your last visit. The kitchen's trajectory suggests they have.
Wine list is where Dama earns particular attention. The Oltrepò Pavese region sits directly adjacent, and the list draws on labels from this under-documented zone with a specificity you will not find replicated at comparable price points elsewhere in northern Italy. Oltrepò Pavese produces a range of styles, from Pinot Nero to Bonarda to sparkling Metodo Classico, and a list curated with genuine local knowledge is a meaningful differentiator here. If you are a returning guest and did not press into the Oltrepò selections on your first visit, that is the single clearest upgrade available to you. Ask the room for guidance on producers , this is the kind of wine list that rewards conversation rather than solo navigation. For a broader picture of what the region offers with a glass in hand, see our full Cervesina wineries guide.
Dama works well across solo dining, couples, and small groups. The castle stable setting is intimate rather than cavernous, so larger parties should confirm logistics in advance , the room's architecture tends to favour smaller tables. For solo diners, the combination of a focused menu and a genuinely interesting wine list makes for a satisfying counter or table-for-one experience, particularly if you engage with the Oltrepò selections. This is not a venue where solo dining feels like an afterthought.
At €€€, the price point sits below the region's starred competition but above a casual trattoria. That gap is where Dama earns its place: you are paying for a kitchen with a clear point of view, a historically significant room, and a wine list that does something most restaurants at this price avoid doing, which is commit seriously to a single, lesser-known region. The tasting menu, where available, is the format that leading expresses the kitchen's range; à la carte remains a sound option but gives you less of the creative arc.
Dama is in Cervesina, at Via Mulino 2, within the grounds of the Castello di San Gaudenzio , the address is specific enough that a GPS search for the castello will orient you correctly. Booking difficulty is low relative to comparable quality levels in northern Italy; you are unlikely to face the weeks-out lead time required at Enrico Bartolini in Milan or Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence. Current hours are not confirmed in our data, so verify directly before travelling. Google review score sits at 4.2 across 33 reviews , a small sample, but consistent with the quality tier the awards suggest. For planning around a broader visit, see our full Cervesina restaurants guide, our Cervesina hotels guide, our Cervesina bars guide, and our Cervesina experiences guide.
Dama is not competing directly with Osteria Francescana in Modena or Piazza Duomo in Alba. Its value is in the combination of a lower entry price, a specific regional wine focus, and a setting that most urban fine-dining venues cannot replicate. If you have already worked through the Piedmontese and Emilian circuit, the Lomellina is a natural extension , and Dama is the clearest reason to make the detour. For reference on what a more ambitious version of modern Italian looks like at higher spend, Reale in Castel di Sangro, Uliassi in Senigallia, and Quattro Passi in Marina del Cantone each anchor distinct regional styles worth understanding before deciding where Dama sits in your personal ranking. For a European parallel outside Italy, the approach at Frantzén in Stockholm and Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli in Verona shows what happens when similar culinary seriousness meets a comparable commitment to regional product.
Book Dama if you want a Michelin-recognised kitchen in a genuinely historic room, with a wine list that takes Oltrepò Pavese seriously at a price point that does not require occasion-level justification. If you have been once and leaned on the food rather than the wine list, your next visit has a clear focus. Booking is easy , use that advantage.
The kitchen's signature territory is local Lomellina ingredients , dishes built around baked onion and aged Grana Padano are the most documented anchors in the menu. Beyond the food, prioritise the Oltrepò Pavese wine selections; this is where the list distinguishes itself from anything you will find at a comparable price in the region. If a tasting menu format is available on your visit, it is the better vehicle for the kitchen's range than ordering à la carte.
Yes. The intimate scale of the room and the focused menu make solo dining comfortable rather than conspicuous. The Michelin Plate-recognised kitchen at €€€ pricing means you are getting serious cooking without the commitment a Michelin-starred solo visit would require. Use the opportunity to work through the Oltrepò wine list with guidance from the room , that is where solo visits here earn their return.
Direct alternatives within Cervesina itself are limited; this is a rural area where Dama is the clear quality anchor. At the next tier up regionally, Dal Pescatore in Runate offers Italian contemporary cooking at €€€€ with a longer track record, and Le Calandre in Rubano brings progressive Italian at the same price tier. Both require more advance booking and a larger budget. If staying closer to Cervesina matters, Dama has no meaningful local competition at its quality level. See our full Cervesina restaurants guide for the complete picture.
The castle stable setting is intimate, which means larger groups should contact the restaurant directly to confirm capacity and table configuration before booking. At €€€ per head, a group dinner here is financially accessible relative to comparable creative kitchens in the region. What you cannot assume is flexible layout , this is a historical space with fixed architecture, not a modular dining room. Confirm group size logistics early.
At €€€ pricing with a Michelin Plate (2025) and an OAD ranking that has improved year-on-year, the tasting menu format represents good value for a creative kitchen in a genuinely distinctive setting. The format gives you the fullest view of how the kitchen balances local Lomellina tradition against more ambitious creative work. If your benchmark is a starred tasting experience at Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler or Le Calandre, Dama will feel less technically maximalist , but at a meaningfully lower spend and with easier access. For regional modern Italian at this price point, the tasting menu is the right call.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dama | Modern Cuisine | Situated just a few kilometres from Voghera in the Bassa Lomellina area, this gourmet restaurant run by a young chef occupies the old stables of the Castello di San Gaudenzio. Alongside local specialities such as baked onion and 24-month-old Grana Padano cheese, the menu also features more creative dishes based around authentic recipes. The wine list includes some particularly interesting labels from the Oltrepò region.; Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #484 (2025); Michelin Plate (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #500 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Recommended (2023) | 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 | — |
| 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 | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
The menu's strongest anchors are its local Bassa Lomellina specialities — baked onion and 24-month-old Grana Padano are specifically noted in the Michelin record as signature dishes. These sit alongside more creative plates built on authentic regional recipes. If you are visiting from outside the area, lead with the local dishes: they are the reason this kitchen earned its Michelin Plate recognition rather than generic modern Italian treatment.
Yes. The castle stable setting is intimate in scale, which works in a solo diner's favour — you are not marooned at a large table in an empty room. At €€€ pricing with a Michelin Plate and OAD recognition (ranked #484 in 2025), it is a reasonable solo splurge if modern Italian is your format. The wine list's focus on Oltrepò Pavese labels gives you something specific to work through by the glass.
Cervesina itself has no direct competitor at this level — Dama is the destination here. The nearest comparable modern Italian options require a longer drive: Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull'Oglio operates at a higher price tier and Michelin star level, so the comparison favours Dama on value and booking ease. For the Pavia province more broadly, Dama is the obvious entry point for Michelin-recognised cooking without committing to a multi-star price point.
Small groups of four to six should be fine given the castle stable setting, but the room is intimate rather than cavernous, so larger parties should confirm capacity directly before booking. For groups where the shared-table format matters, the setting lends itself to a private-feeling dinner rather than a loud group outing. Contact the restaurant in advance — the address is Via Mulino 2, Cervesina, within the Castello di San Gaudenzio grounds.
At €€€ pricing with a Michelin Plate and back-to-back OAD rankings (Recommended 2023, #500 in 2024, #484 in 2025), the value case is solid relative to comparably credentialled restaurants in Lombardy. The menu combines local Lomellina tradition with creative modern dishes, which makes it more interesting than a single-register tasting format. If you are already making the trip to this part of the Po Valley, the tasting menu is the format that justifies the detour.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
