Restaurant in Forlì, Italy
Michelin-recognised value hiding in plain sight.
A Michelin Plate restaurant at the €€ price point, Casa Rusticale dei Cavalieri Templari is the most accessible quality address in Forlì. Housed in a 13th-century Knights Templar building with a vine-shaded outdoor pergola, it serves generous, creative Romagna-rooted cooking. Back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 and a 4.5-star Google rating across 381 reviews make the case for booking straightforward.
With a Google rating of 4.5 across 381 reviews and back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025, this is not a place that gets lucky on a good night. The consistency is part of the story. If you have eaten here once and liked it, the case for returning is strong — the kitchen is not chasing trends, and the format rewards familiarity.
The building at Viale Bologna, 275 has a history that most restaurants in Italy would trade a great deal to claim. This was the site of the San Bartolo Knights Templar hospital until the 13th century, and the current restaurant carries that tradition of hospitality forward in a way that feels earned rather than costumed. The dining room is rustic in texture — stone, warmth, materials that accumulate character over time , but the overall feel is pulled toward elegance rather than left at rough-hewn. That balance is harder to achieve than it looks, and here it works. When the weather allows, the outdoor pergola covered by a vine-planted canopy adds a layer of ease to the meal: the kind of setting where a long lunch becomes its own reason to stay.
The Michelin description frames the cooking as "generous, substantial cuisine with a hint of creativity," and that framing is useful for setting expectations. This is not a kitchen that leads with technical showmanship or conceptual plating. The approach is rooted in the Romagna tradition , portions are serious, ingredients are treated with respect, and creativity appears as an accent rather than a statement. For a returning diner, that means the interest comes from depth rather than novelty: dishes that reward attention and are built to satisfy rather than to provoke.
If you are returning after a first visit, the move is to work toward the more substantial mains and to treat the meal as unhurried. The kitchen's strength is in cooking that benefits from time at the table rather than dishes engineered for a quick first impression. Pair that approach with the outdoor pergola if the season allows, and you have the format this place is designed for.
At the €€ price range, Casa Rusticale dei Cavalieri Templari sits in a different category from the Michelin-starred rooms that define the upper end of Italian fine dining. For context: a meal at Osteria Francescana in Modena or Reale in Castel di Sangro operates at €€€€ and requires reservation lead times measured in months. Here, you are getting Michelin-acknowledged quality , two consecutive Plate recognitions are not awarded to kitchens that are merely competent , at a fraction of that spend and with considerably less friction to book.
That gap matters. For Forlì specifically, a city that does not attract the same volume of food tourism as Modena or Bologna, the presence of a venue with this profile is genuinely useful. The city's dining scene is honest and local; Casa Rusticale is the point on that map where quality and accessibility meet most clearly. See our full Forlì restaurants guide for the broader picture.
Booking here is direct. Without the Michelin star designation that drives advance reservation pressure at places like Uliassi in Senigallia or Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, the pressure to plan weeks out is lower. That said, the 4.5-star Google rating across nearly 400 reviews signals a loyal local following, and popular service windows , weekend lunches in particular, and evenings when the pergola is in use , will fill. A few days' notice for a weekday dinner is likely adequate; for a Saturday evening or a long summer lunch outside, give yourself more runway.
No phone number or website is available in our current data. For the most direct route to a reservation, approach the restaurant directly or use a third-party booking platform that covers Forlì. If you are planning a trip around this meal, our full Forlì hotels guide and experiences guide will help complete the picture.
| Venue | Price | Michelin | Booking Difficulty | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Rusticale dei Cavalieri Templari | €€ | Plate (2024, 2025) | Easy | Historic building, vine pergola |
| Benso | , | , | Easy | Forlì city centre |
| Trattoria 'Petito | , | , | Easy | Romagna trattoria |
| Osteria Francescana | €€€€ | 3 Stars | Very Hard | Modena, destination dining |
| Reale | €€€€ | 2 Stars | Hard | Abruzzo, tasting menus |
If you are spending time in the city, the bar, wine, and wider food scene is covered in our guides: bars in Forlì, wineries near Forlì, and the full restaurants guide. For broader Emilia-Romagna reference points at higher price tiers, Piazza Duomo in Alba and Le Calandre in Rubano are the benchmarks that define what the region's €€€€ category delivers. Casa Rusticale sits far below that spend and far above what you would expect at its price point , which is precisely the case for booking it.
The kitchen's signature is generous, substantial cooking rooted in Romagna tradition, with creative touches rather than a full tasting-menu format. Focus on the more substantive mains rather than light snacks , this is food built for a proper meal. Specific current dishes are not available in our data, so ask the team on arrival what is drawing the most attention that week. The kitchen has Michelin Plate recognition, so the quality floor across the menu is dependable.
Within Forlì at a comparable price point, Benso and Trattoria 'Petito are the nearest local options. If you are willing to drive into the wider region for a step up in ambition, Osteria Francescana in Modena is the obvious reference point at €€€€ , but expect a very different booking experience and a significantly higher spend. For the Romagna cuisine tradition specifically, Casa Rusticale is the address in Forlì that Michelin has flagged, which makes it the default recommendation in its tier.
The venue's format is described as generous, substantial cuisine rather than a structured tasting menu operation , this is not a kitchen built around multi-course progression in the way that Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler or Dal Pescatore are. If a tasting menu format is your priority, those venues at €€€€ serve that purpose. If you want a satisfying, Michelin-acknowledged meal at the €€ level with room to choose your own pace, Casa Rusticale is the better fit and the better value.
Booking difficulty is low relative to starred restaurants in the region. A few days' notice is likely sufficient for a weekday dinner. For weekend evenings or a summer lunch on the vine-covered pergola, aim for at least a week ahead. The loyal local following reflected in 381 Google reviews means popular slots do fill , do not leave it to the day of if you have a specific time in mind.
No formal dress code is specified, and the setting , rustic elegance rather than white tablecloths and ceremony , points toward smart casual as the appropriate register. For a Michelin Plate restaurant at the €€ price point in an Italian regional city, this means presentable but not formal. Think what you would wear to a good Italian dinner with friends: neat, considered, without the pressure of a starred room's expectations.
Yes, with the right expectations set. The combination of a historically significant building, an outdoor pergola setting, Michelin Plate recognition, and a €€ price point makes this well-suited to a celebratory meal where the atmosphere matters as much as the spend. It is not the choice if you want the full theatre of a starred room , for that, Osteria Francescana or Reale deliver at a different level. But for a genuinely special dinner in Forlì that does not require a destination-restaurant budget, this is the address.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Rusticale dei Cavalieri Templari | Modern Cuisine | €€ | Easy |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Italian, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Dal Pescatore | Italian, Italian Contemporary | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Osteria Francescana | Progressive Italian, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Quattro Passi | Italian, Mediterranean Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Reale | Progressive Italian, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
How Casa Rusticale dei Cavalieri Templari stacks up against the competition.
Michelin describes the kitchen as producing generous, substantial cuisine with a hint of creativity, so lean into the heartier options rather than expecting a minimalist tasting progression. Specific menu items are not confirmed in available records, so the practical move is to ask your server what the kitchen is putting most effort into that week. At the €€ price point, the risk of a wrong call is low.
Within Forlì itself, the Michelin-recognised options are limited, which makes Casa Rusticale the clearest reference point for quality modern cuisine in the city. If you are willing to travel into wider Emilia-Romagna, Osteria Francescana in Modena and Reale in Castel di Sangro represent the starred tier, but at a significantly higher price and booking pressure. For a closer comparison in tone and price, check Pearl's full Forlì restaurant guide.
Menu format is not confirmed in the venue record, so it is not possible to verify whether a tasting menu is currently offered. What is confirmed: the Michelin framing points to generous, substantial cooking rather than a tightly sequenced fine dining format, which suggests à la carte or a set menu is the more likely structure. Confirm directly with the restaurant before building your visit around a tasting format.
Booking pressure here is lower than at Michelin-starred rooms, so a few days to a week ahead should be sufficient for most nights. For weekend dinners or larger groups, book further out to be safe. The venue does not carry the one- or two-star designation that creates weeks-long waitlists at places like Osteria Francescana, so spontaneous visits are more realistic here than at the top end of the regional market.
The Michelin description points to a dining room with a rustic yet elegant feel, which in practical terms means smart-casual is a reliable read: neat trousers, a shirt or blouse, nothing overly formal. At the €€ price point in an Emilia-Romagna city like Forlì, this is not a room where you will feel underdressed in a jacket or overdressed without a tie. Trainers and beachwear would be out of step with the setting.
Yes, particularly if the occasion calls for a meal that feels considered without the formality or cost of a starred room. The historic building, the pergola-shaded outdoor space, and back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition give it genuine occasion weight at €€ pricing. For an anniversary or birthday where the priority is atmosphere and quality cooking rather than a trophy-restaurant experience, this is a practical and well-supported choice in Forlì.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
