Da Giovanni

This is a €€ restaurant that has operated for half a century along the Piacenza stretch of the Po valley, it carries a Michelin Plate for both 2024 and 2025. For first-timers trying to calibrate expectations: you are looking at a long-running family restaurant with serious cooking, a professional service floor, a wine list extensive enough to include a meaningful selection by the glass. The price point is accessible relative to the quality on offer, the booking difficulty is low — which makes this one of the more direct decisions in the region.

What to expect as a first-timer

The room tells you immediately that this is not a newly opened concept restaurant. The 18th-century ceramic stove and a mix of period and vintage decor signal that the space has been inhabited rather than designed. As a first-timer, the key thing to know is that Da Giovanni has built its reputation on fish, not meat. Both appear on the menu, but fish is the house speciality, the cooking that made the restaurant's name across the Po valley over five decades. Order accordingly. If you arrive expecting a Piacenza-style meat-forward meal and ignore the fish, you will have missed the point of the visit.

Service is described as friendly and informal in style but highly professional in execution, the combination that distinguishes a well-run family restaurant from a casual one. For someone visiting for the first time, this means you can expect guidance without formality, knowledgeable help with the wine list without the theatre that often accompanies it at higher price points.

The wine program: the most underrated part of the visit

The Michelin Plate designation at a €€ price point is already a strong signal, but the wine list at Da Giovanni adds a layer of value that is worth considering before you arrive. An extensive list with a solid selection by the glass is not standard at this price tier in northern Italy. It means you can work through multiple pours across a meal without committing to full bottles, useful if you are eating solo or as a pair, or if you want to match different wines to the fish and meat courses without doubling the bill.

The Po valley sits within reach of several of Italy's serious wine regions: Emilia-Romagna's Sangiovese-based reds, Lambrusco in various styles, the Colli Piacentini DOC, which produces white and red wines that rarely travel far from the region. A list built for a restaurant that has served this territory for fifty years will likely draw on local producers alongside broader Italian selections. This is the kind of depth that rewards asking the floor staff what is drinking well rather than defaulting to familiar labels. For wine-focused diners, this is genuinely part of the reason to book Da Giovanni over a comparable restaurant in the area with a thinner list.

Optimal timing

Da Giovanni's half-century of operation suggests it is a year-round proposition rather than a seasonal outlier, but the Po valley in spring and autumn offers the most comfortable conditions for the kind of leisurely lunch or dinner this restaurant rewards. The Piacenza area can be humid and warm in high summer; if you are visiting between June and August, an evening booking will be more comfortable than lunch. Call or book ahead for Friday and Saturday evenings. Dress: No dress code listed, but the combination of Michelin recognition and professional service floor suggests smart casual is the right register, avoid beachwear or athleisure. Budget: €€ price range makes this one of the better-value Michelin-recognised dining options in the Po valley corridor. Getting there: The address is Str. di Cortina, 1040, Piacenza province, a car is the practical choice from central Piacenza. Group size: The family-tradition format and informal service style suit couples and small groups equally; larger parties should book in advance and confirm table configuration.

How it compares

See the comparison section below for how Da Giovanni sits against regional and national peers.

For more options in the area, browse our full Cortina Vecchia restaurants guide, our Cortina Vecchia hotels guide, our Cortina Vecchia bars guide, our Cortina Vecchia wineries guide, and our Cortina Vecchia experiences guide.