Restaurant in Fiorano Modenese, Italy
Reliable Michelin-noted dining, easy to book.

Exé Restaurant earns two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–2025) while staying easy to book and mid-range in price — a rare combination in Emilia-Romagna. The menu runs from regional Italian dishes to self-aged grilled meats and raw fish, and the sommelier's willingness to open cellar bottles makes it a strong choice for wine-focused special occasions in Fiorano Modenese.
Getting a table at Exé Restaurant is easy — and that accessibility is part of its appeal. Located on the ground floor of the Executive Spa Hotel in Fiorano Modenese, this is a restaurant where you can plan a special dinner without the months-in-advance reservation anxiety that defines the region's leading tables. If you are visiting the Motor Valley for Ferrari or the Maserati plant, or simply passing through Emilia-Romagna and want a reliably good meal with serious wine service, Exé earns the stop. Two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025) confirm it is cooking at a level above casual hotel dining — which, in a region this competitive, matters.
The dining room itself is spacious, contemporary, and calm , the kind of room where a conversation can actually happen. If you are booking for a birthday dinner, a business meal, or a date, the atmosphere works in your favour: the energy is composed rather than lively, the room absorbs sound rather than amplifying it, and the overall mood reads as occasion-ready without feeling stiff. For diners who want to talk as much as eat, this is a more practical environment than the noisier trattorias you will find in central Modena on a Friday night.
The menu architecture here is deliberately wide. You are not dealing with a single-track tasting format , Exé runs a broad programme that moves from traditional regional dishes through raw fish preparations, dry-aged grilled meats (the restaurant ages the beef itself, which gives the kitchen genuine control over the product), and gourmet pizzas. That range means a table of four with different appetites can all eat well without compromise. For a special occasion dinner, the grilled meats and the more composed Italian dishes are where the kitchen's commitment shows most clearly. The raw fish options extend the menu's reach toward lighter, modern Italian territory without abandoning the Emilian foundation.
Wine programme is one of the strongest arguments for choosing Exé over a comparable hotel restaurant. The list is extensive, covers a wide range of labels, and , importantly , includes a meaningful by-the-glass selection. The sommelier's willingness to open bottles from the cellar beyond the standard list is the kind of flexibility that makes a wine-focused dinner genuinely interesting rather than formulaic. If wine matters to your group, this is a real differentiator. For context: a Michelin Plate venue in Emilia-Romagna with an accessible sommelier and a deep cellar is not something to take for granted. The region produces world-class Lambrusco, Sangiovese, and international varietals from its northern producers, and a good sommelier here can walk you through that breadth in a single evening.
€€ price positioning makes Exé one of the more accessible Michelin-recognised dining options in the province. You are not paying the €€€€ entry point of Osteria Francescana in Modena or Dal Pescatore in Runate. For a table of two at a Michelin Plate level with serious wine, Exé keeps the evening within reach without asking you to treat it as a once-in-a-decade event. That said, this is not a budget trattoria , the €€ bracket here signals mid-range fine dining, and you should expect and budget accordingly.
Hotel context does shape the experience slightly. Exé is a hotel restaurant, and while it clearly operates above the standard that implies, the setting lacks the architectural drama or the single-minded culinary identity of a standalone destination. If what you want is a room that feels designed specifically around the food programme, you may find the broader menu and hotel-adjacent format less focused than you prefer. But if you want a capable, occasion-appropriate dinner in Fiorano Modenese without a booking wait, Exé is the answer.
For more options in the area, see our full Fiorano Modenese restaurants guide, or explore our full Fiorano Modenese hotels guide, our full Fiorano Modenese bars guide, our full Fiorano Modenese wineries guide, and our full Fiorano Modenese experiences guide. If you are considering a creative step up in the broader region, Alto (€€€ · Creative) is worth comparing. For Italian fine dining further afield, Uliassi in Senigallia, Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, Piazza Duomo in Alba, Le Calandre in Rubano, and Enrico Bartolini in Milan represent the tier above. For Italian cooking beyond Italy, 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and cenci in Kyoto are reference points worth knowing.
Reservations: Easy to book , no extended lead time required; contact the Executive Spa Hotel directly. Dress: Smart casual appropriate given the contemporary hotel setting. Budget: €€ , mid-range fine dining; wine additions will move the final bill upward, particularly if the sommelier opens cellar bottles. Location: Via Circondariale S. Francesco, 2, 41042 Fiorano Modenese MO, Italy , ground floor of the Executive Spa Hotel. Leading for: Special occasions, business dinners, couples, groups with varied appetites, wine-focused evenings.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exé Restaurant | This pleasant, elegant and contemporary-style restaurant on the ground floor of the Executive Spa Hotel boasts spacious dining rooms and an extensive menu ranging from traditional dishes to raw fish options, grilled meats (aged by the restaurant itself) and gourmet pizzas. The wine list features an impressive selection of labels, including by the glass, while the talented sommelier will delight wine-enthusiasts with his willingness to open almost any of the bottles in his cellar.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | €€ | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Dal Pescatore | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Osteria Francescana | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Quattro Passi | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Reale | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
The menu spans traditional Italian dishes, raw fish options, grilled meats, and gourmet pizzas, which gives the kitchen genuine range to work with across different dietary needs. That breadth suggests reasonable flexibility, though you should confirm specific requirements directly with the Executive Spa Hotel when reserving. The sommelier's willingness to open bottles from the cellar on request hints at a staff culture that accommodates individual preferences.
Fiorano Modenese is a small town, so your realistic alternatives are in nearby Modena. Osteria Francescana is the obvious reference point for serious dining in the region, though it operates at a completely different price and booking difficulty level. For something closer in format and spend, look at other hotel restaurants in the Modena province. Exé makes sense if you are already staying at the Executive Spa Hotel or want a no-fuss dinner without travelling into Modena.
At €€ pricing and with two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025), Exé delivers solid value. You are getting a broad menu, aged in-house grilled meats, raw fish options, and a wine list with strong by-the-glass and cellar access — all in a spacious, calm dining room. This is not a destination meal, but for the price and context, it is a fair deal.
The dining rooms are described as spacious, which makes Exé a practical choice for groups. Booking is easy with no extended lead time required, so a group reservation should be straightforward to arrange through the Executive Spa Hotel. The broad menu, covering pizza, grilled meats, and fish, reduces the risk of someone being stuck with limited options.
Solo diners are well served here. The relaxed, contemporary room is not intimidating for one, and the broad menu means you are not locked into a multi-course commitment. At €€ pricing, a solo dinner is easy to manage without the financial pressure of a tasting-menu format.
It works for a low-key celebration, particularly if you are staying at the Executive Spa Hotel. The Michelin Plate recognition and the sommelier's willingness to open almost any bottle in the cellar add a degree of occasion. For a milestone dinner, though, this is a region with Osteria Francescana — so calibrate expectations to what €€ and a hotel restaurant deliver.
The venue data does not confirm a formal tasting menu at Exé. The menu is described as extensive and à la carte in style, covering traditional dishes, raw fish, grilled meats, and gourmet pizzas. If a set menu exists, confirm directly with the hotel. For a structured tasting experience at this price tier in Emilia-Romagna, there are stronger dedicated options in Modena.
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