Restaurant in Cuneo, Italy
Family-run Piedmontese cooking at mid-range prices.
A family-run contemporary restaurant on Via Dronero, I 5 Sensi holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025 — consistent recognition for creative cooking grounded in local Cuneo-area ingredients. At the €€ tier with a 700-label wine cellar and a 4.6 Google rating across 826 reviews, it is the strongest mid-range option in Cuneo for food-focused travelers who want more than a traditional trattoria.
I 5 Sensi is the right call for food-focused travelers passing through Cuneo who want contemporary Piedmontese cooking at a mid-range price point. The Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 signals consistent quality without the booking difficulty or price premium of a starred room. At the €€ tier, it sits at good value for what the kitchen delivers. If you want stripped-back tradition, Osteria della Chiocciola is closer to that register. If you want creative contemporary cooking with local ingredients as the foundation, I 5 Sensi is the pick.
Walk into I 5 Sensi on Via Dronero and the room reads as classically Piedmontese — linen-draped tables, a formal but unhurried atmosphere — with occasional modern touches that signal the kitchen is not simply executing the old playbook. That visual cue is accurate. The cooking here is contemporary in intent: local ingredients from the Cuneo area treated with creative technique rather than preserved in amber.
What makes this restaurant easy to recommend across more than one visit is the combination of a deep wine cellar and a kitchen that shifts with the seasons. The cellar holds around 700 labels, which is a serious collection for a €€ restaurant in a provincial city. On a first visit, focus on whatever the kitchen is doing with local produce , Cuneo sits at the base of the Maritime Alps, with access to highland cheeses, river fish, white truffles in autumn, and the full run of Piedmontese charcuterie and beef. The seasonal pivot means a visit in October looks quite different from one in April.
The family structure , a mother and four children running both the front of house and the kitchen , gives the place a coherence that larger brigade-style restaurants sometimes lose. Service tends to be attentive without being formal to the point of stiffness. For explorers who want to understand the regional cooking of southern Piedmont rather than just eat well once, that continuity matters: you are likely to encounter the same team across multiple visits, and the rapport builds accordingly.
On a second visit, use the wine list more aggressively. With 700 labels, there is depth in the Langhe and Barolo production zones , producers who rarely appear outside the region. Ask for something from the Cuneo hills specifically rather than defaulting to the well-known Barolo communes. A third visit rewards attention to the menu's more creative end: contemporary Piedmontese cooking at this level tends to cycle through experimental dishes that do not always make it to the printed menu, and a restaurant with this level of sustained Michelin recognition typically has a kitchen confident enough to go off-script for a regular face.
The Michelin Plate across two consecutive years , 2024 and 2025 , is the key trust signal here. The Plate is awarded for cooking that meets Michelin quality standards without reaching the threshold for a star. In practical terms, that means the kitchen is cooking at a level well above the average for the price tier, and the inspectors agree consistently. For a town the size of Cuneo, that is a meaningful credential. For context, the higher end of Italian contemporary cooking , venues like Osteria Francescana in Modena or Uliassi in Senigallia , operates at a different price and booking complexity entirely. I 5 Sensi does not compete at that altitude, but it offers the serious food traveler something those rooms cannot: access to southern Piedmontese ingredients and technique at a fraction of the price and none of the booking difficulty.
Google reviewers rate it 4.6 across 826 reviews , a broad sample for a Cuneo restaurant, and the consistency there mirrors the Michelin signal. High volume, high rating, sustained across multiple years: that is the pattern of a kitchen that has found its register and is not coasting.
For a food-focused traveler building an itinerary through Piedmont , perhaps combining Cuneo with Barolo, or using the city as a base while exploring the Maritime Alps , I 5 Sensi earns a place on the itinerary for at least two sittings. First visit to orient, second to go deeper on wine and the more ambitious menu choices. See our full Cuneo restaurants guide for broader context on the city's dining options, and our Cuneo wineries guide if you are building a wine-led trip through the region.
Booking difficulty at I 5 Sensi is low by Michelin-recognised standards. There is no months-long waitlist here. A week's notice is typically sufficient outside peak autumn truffle season (October to November), when Cuneo and the surrounding area draws more serious food travelers. If you are planning an autumn visit specifically to eat white truffle dishes, book two to three weeks ahead. Address: Via Dronero, 4, 12100 Cuneo CN, Italy.
The €€ price point means this is not a budget meal, but it is well below what you would pay at a starred Piedmontese address. For hotels and logistics around Cuneo, see our Cuneo hotels guide and our Cuneo experiences guide.
See the comparison section below for how I 5 Sensi stacks up against the other main options in Cuneo at the same price tier.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 5 Sensi | Contemporary | €€ | Easy |
| 4 Ciance | Piedmontese | €€ | Unknown |
| Bove's | Meats and Grills | €€ | Unknown |
| Osteria Vecchio Borgo | Country cooking | €€ | Unknown |
| Osteria della Chiocciola | Piedmontese | €€ | Unknown |
How I 5 Sensi stacks up against the competition.
Go for whatever the kitchen is leading with that day — the menu is built around local Piedmontese ingredients treated with a creative hand, which means seasonal dishes will outperform any standing item worth naming. Ask the front-of-house family members for their steer; the dining room is run by the same family behind the kitchen, so recommendations are genuine, not scripted.
A week's notice is typically enough. I 5 Sensi holds Michelin Plate recognition but sits at the €€ price point, which keeps demand manageable compared to higher-end Piedmontese destinations. For weekend dinners or larger groups, two weeks out is a safer target.
The room is classically styled with occasional modern touches — formal enough to feel considered, relaxed enough that you won't feel underdressed in smart attire. The restaurant is family-run across both the kitchen and front of house, which shapes the pace and warmth of service. The wine cellar lists around 700 labels, so it's worth asking for a pairing recommendation rather than defaulting to the short list.
Yes, within clear parameters. The Michelin Plate recognition, 700-label wine list, and family-run service make it a credible choice for a birthday or anniversary dinner in Cuneo. At €€, it won't feel as ceremonial as a starred room, but that's also why it's approachable — you get quality without the formality tax.
If a tasting format is available, it's the logical way to experience a kitchen that emphasises creative, locally sourced cooking — you'll cover more ground than ordering à la carte. At the €€ price tier, the risk-reward ratio is favourable. Confirm current menu format directly when booking, as offering details are not publicly documented.
Osteria della Chiocciola is the closest comparison at a similar price tier, with a more traditional Piedmontese slant. Osteria Vecchio Borgo leans further into rustic regional cooking. Bove's and 4 Ciance round out the mid-range Cuneo options — each with a different balance of formality and cuisine style. I 5 Sensi is the pick if creative contemporary cooking over local ingredients is the priority.
At €€ with Michelin Plate recognition in back-to-back years (2024 and 2025), the value case is solid. You're getting a kitchen that takes local Piedmontese ingredients seriously and a front-of-house run by the same family — not a corporate dining room. For the price tier, the offer is above average in Cuneo.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
