Restaurant in Cuneo, Italy
Family-run, Michelin-noted, genuinely good value.
A family-run osteria in Cuneo's historic centre recognised by Michelin (Plate, 2024 and 2025) for generous seasonal cooking that bridges Piedmont and Liguria. At the €€ price tier with easy booking, it is the right call for food-focused travellers who want cross-regional depth in a quiet, unhurried room. Autumn is the strongest time to visit, when both regions' seasonal produce peaks.
Getting a table here is easy — and that accessibility is part of the point. Osteria Vecchio Borgo sits in the historic centre of Cuneo without the booking pressure of a destination restaurant, which means you can plan a trip around it without a three-week lead time. The question is whether it deserves a place on your itinerary. At the €€ price tier, with a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, the answer for anyone exploring Piedmontese and Ligurian cooking is yes — particularly if you visit in autumn, when the seasonal produce from both regions is at its most compelling.
Osteria Vecchio Borgo is described by Michelin as a meeting point between Piedmont and Liguria, and that dual identity is the defining reason to choose it over the direct Piedmontese trattorias that populate Cuneo's dining scene. The family behind the restaurant originates from Liguria , the women cook, the men work the floor , and that provenance shapes a menu that pulls from two distinct regional traditions rather than one. For a food-focused traveller, that cross-regional framing is more interesting than another kitchen working solely from the Piedmontese canon.
The atmosphere at Osteria Vecchio Borgo is quiet and welcoming rather than lively or theatrical. This is not a room that generates energy from crowd noise or design spectacle. The mood is closer to a family dining room than a restaurant in performance mode, which makes it well-suited to long lunches, unhurried conversation, and the kind of eating that is about the food rather than the occasion. If you are arriving from a bigger Italian city expecting the buzz of a popular urban trattoria, recalibrate. The pace here is deliberate, and the service , family-run front of house , reflects that.
The Michelin Plate, awarded consecutively in 2024 and 2025, signals cooking that meets a credible quality threshold without the formality or price architecture of a starred room. Michelin awards the Plate to restaurants producing good food by the guide's standards , it is a meaningful marker without implying a tasting menu experience or a dress code. For the explorer-minded diner who treats a Michelin Plate as a reliable filter rather than a ceiling, Vecchio Borgo earns its inclusion.
Michelin's own notes describe the cuisine as generous, top-quality, prepared using seasonal produce with a personalised touch, and accompanied by a solid wine selection available by the glass. That description points to a menu that changes with the calendar rather than staying fixed year-round. The Piedmont-Liguria axis means you should expect the kitchen to draw on both inland and coastal ingredients , the latter a rarity in a landlocked city like Cuneo , though the specific dishes and their progression are not available from verified sources and should not be assumed.
If you are visiting in autumn, this is when both Piedmont and Liguria produce at their highest. Piedmontese truffles, hazelnuts, and game are in season; Ligurian olive oils and preserved ingredients round out the larder. Spring is a credible second choice, when the lighter end of both regional traditions comes forward. Summer brings the most tourist traffic to northern Italy generally, which may affect the atmosphere in Cuneo's historic centre even if it does not affect booking difficulty at the restaurant itself.
The wine list is available by the glass, which is a practical advantage for solo diners or couples who do not want to commit to a bottle, and suggests a programme designed for flexibility rather than prestige. Piedmont's wine output , Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto d'Alba, Barbera d'Asti , gives any Cuneo restaurant with a thoughtful list strong material to work with. For context on how Piedmontese wine culture connects to this kind of family-run osteria format, the region's country cooking tradition has long paired simply with local varietals rather than building elaborate pairings. Vecchio Borgo appears to follow that tradition. For dedicated wine-focused itineraries in the wider region, see our full Cuneo wineries guide.
Cuneo's €€ dining tier is genuinely competitive. 4 Ciance and Osteria della Chiocciola both work the Piedmontese tradition directly; I 5 Sensi moves into contemporary technique; Bove's specialises in meats and grills. Vecchio Borgo's distinction is its Ligurian dimension , no other option in this set offers that dual-regional framing. If you want a pure Piedmontese experience, Osteria della Chiocciola is the more focused choice. If the cross-regional premise interests you and the family-run, unhurried atmosphere fits your travelling style, Vecchio Borgo is the right call.
For the broader Cuneo picture, see our full Cuneo restaurants guide. If you are building a wider northern Italian itinerary, comparable country cooking at a higher register is available at 21.9 in Piobesi d'Alba and Andrea Monesi - Locanda di Orta in Orta San Giulio. For Italy's most ambitious kitchens, Osteria Francescana in Modena and Dal Pescatore in Runate represent a very different category.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osteria Vecchio Borgo | Described as a “meeting point between Piedmont and Liguria”, this quiet, welcoming restaurant in the historic centre of Cuneo focuses on ingredients and recipes from these two regions – the family, all of whom are involved in the restaurant (the women in the kitchen and the men front of house), are from Liguria. The generous, top-quality cuisine is prepared using seasonal produce with a personalised touch and is accompanied by a good selection of wine, also available by the glass.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | €€ | — |
| 4 Ciance | €€ | — | |
| Bove's | €€ | — | |
| I 5 Sensi | €€ | — | |
| Osteria della Chiocciola | €€ | — |
Comparing your options in Cuneo for this tier.
Yes, with the right expectations. This is a family-run osteria with two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–25) and generous, personalised cooking — it suits an intimate dinner or a birthday meal where the food matters more than the theatre. At €€ pricing, it delivers occasion-worthy quality without the formality of a starred room. If you need private dining or a grander setting, look elsewhere in Cuneo.
The kitchen pulls from both Piedmont and Liguria — the family is Ligurian, which gives the menu a regional duality you won't find at most Cuneo restaurants focused purely on local tradition. Portions are described by Michelin as generous, and the wine list includes options by the glass. Find it at Via Dronero, 8b in the historic centre. No website is listed, so book by phone or in person.
Specific tasting menu details aren't available in current records, so we can't confirm whether one exists or what it costs. What Michelin does confirm is that the cuisine is seasonal, personalised, and accompanied by a solid wine selection. At €€ price points, even a multi-course meal here is likely to represent fair value by Cuneo standards.
At €€, yes. Two consecutive Michelin Plates signal consistent kitchen standards, and the family-run format keeps the cooking grounded in seasonal produce rather than spectacle. For this price tier in Cuneo, it competes directly with 4 Ciance and Osteria della Chiocciola — both credible alternatives, but neither offers the same Piedmont-Liguria dual-regional angle.
No booking platform or hours are listed publicly, so check the venue's official channels — in person or by phone. Given the Michelin recognition and small-format family operation, booking a few days ahead for weekdays and at least a week out for weekends is a sensible baseline. Don't assume walk-in availability on Friday or Saturday evenings.
It should work well. A welcoming, family-run osteria in the historic centre of Cuneo is generally a comfortable solo format — the front-of-house style described by Michelin suggests attentive rather than formal service. Wine by the glass means you're not committed to a full bottle. Specific counter or bar seating details aren't confirmed, so call ahead if that matters to you.
4 Ciance and Osteria della Chiocciola are the closest like-for-like alternatives in Cuneo's €€ Piedmontese dining tier. I 5 Sensi sits at a higher price point and offers a more contemporary approach if you want to step up. Bove's is worth considering if you're after a different format entirely. Osteria Vecchio Borgo's specific edge is the Ligurian family influence, which none of these replicate.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
