Restaurant in Gavi, Italy
Serious regional cooking, no theatre tax.
La Gallina is the wine-country restaurant to book if you're visiting Gavi and want Michelin-recognised Piedmontese cooking without the €€€€ price tag of the region's top tables. Rooted in the Villa Sparina estate, it pairs a cross-regional Italian menu with serious Barolo and Barbaresco depth. The Google score of 4.7 from 205 reviews and back-to-back Michelin Plates (2024, 2025) make the value case straightforward.
La Gallina is the right call for wine-focused travellers who want serious Piedmontese cooking without committing to the theatrical price tags of the region's most decorated tables. If you're spending time in the Gavi wine country, staying at Villa Sparina or passing through on a broader Langhe-to-Ligurian-coast itinerary, this is where you eat. It works particularly well for couples and small groups who want a full-evening meal rather than a quick lunch stop — the resort setting and the multi-regional menu reward a slower pace. Come in late spring or autumn when the Monferrato hills are at their most atmospheric and local produce drives the kitchen's Piedmontese core.
La Gallina sits within Villa Sparina, a rural resort built around one of Gavi's better-regarded estates, and the restaurant's identity is inseparable from that agricultural context. The dining room occupies a setting that balances rusticity and formality , exposed stone and considered décor, the kind of room that signals a kitchen taking itself seriously without demanding that guests do the same. The connection to the Villa Sparina winery is not incidental; it shapes the entire drinks programme and gives the experience a coherence that standalone restaurants in more urban settings rarely achieve.
The cuisine is Piedmontese at its foundation, but the kitchen pulls from a wider Italian arc. References to Liguria appear on the menu , the coastline is close enough that this makes geographical sense , and the chef's Campanian roots bring southern Italian inflections that keep the cooking from feeling purely regional. A dessert described as "Good Morning Genoa", playfully constructed to mimic cappuccino and focaccia, is the most visible expression of this cross-regional thinking. It tells you something about the kitchen's confidence: precise enough to earn a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, relaxed enough to land a joke on the dessert course.
For explorers interested in how a place's food culture connects to its wine culture, La Gallina is a more complete argument than most restaurants in the area can make. The wine list is anchored in Champagne and Piedmont, with particular depth in Barbaresco and Barolo. This is not a generic Italian list padded with international names , it is a list built around the estate's own production and its neighbours, which means the pairing logic is tighter than you'll find at most comparable restaurants. If you're using the meal as a way to understand Gavi DOCG and the broader Piedmontese wine map, the sommelier has real material to work with. For context on other drinking options in the area, see our full Gavi bars guide and our full Gavi wineries guide.
The drinks programme deserves particular attention. At a €€€ price point , notably below the €€€€ tier of most Michelin-recognised Piedmontese fine dining , you are getting access to a wine selection that would not embarrass a room charging considerably more. The Barolo and Barbaresco depth reflects Villa Sparina's position as a producer in the area, which translates to buying relationships and cellar access that a purely restaurant-driven wine list cannot replicate. If wine is your primary reason for visiting Gavi, the list at La Gallina is a legitimate destination in its own right, not just a supporting feature. Pair that with a kitchen holding a Michelin Plate for two consecutive years, and the value case is clear.
The broader Villa Sparina context matters for how you plan the visit. The Orangerie handles hotel guests, and the resort infrastructure means the restaurant draws from both an overnight audience and regional visitors making a specific trip. This is not a neighbourhood trattoria doing covers on repeat , it is a considered destination that functions as the culinary centrepiece of a wine estate. That framing affects everything from the pacing of service to the depth of the wine conversation you can expect at the table. For those planning a longer stay, our full Gavi hotels guide covers accommodation options in the area. If you want to eat elsewhere in the region, Locanda La Raia is the most direct local comparison, and our full Gavi restaurants guide maps the broader field. For regional Piedmontese alternatives with stronger pedigree credentials, Antica Corona Reale in Cervere and Locanda Sant'Uffizio Enrico Bartolini in Cioccaro both operate in the same regional register at a higher award level. For those willing to extend the trip further, Piazza Duomo in Alba is the obvious step up if you want to benchmark against the Langhe's most decorated table. Other Italian reference points worth knowing: Uliassi in Senigallia, Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, Le Calandre in Rubano, and Enrico Bartolini in Milan each represent distinct Italian fine dining benchmarks across different price tiers and regional styles. And for those exploring Gavi's wider offer: our full Gavi experiences guide is the place to start planning beyond the table.
Reservations: Easy to book; advance planning is sensible given the resort setting, but this is not a table that requires months of lead time. Budget: €€€ , meaningful spend but below the €€€€ tier of most comparably awarded Piedmontese restaurants. Dress: Resort-smart; the room is elegant without being rigidly formal. Location: Frazione Monterotondo, 56, 15066 Gavi AL, Italy , within the Villa Sparina estate. Leading timing: Late spring (May to June) and autumn (September to October) for optimal conditions and seasonal menu depth. Group size: Well-suited to couples and groups of up to four; the resort dining room can accommodate larger parties but the wine-focused experience works leading at smaller tables where the sommelier conversation has room to develop.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Gallina | Piedmontese | Villa Sparina is an elegant rural resort named after its winery. The Orangerie hosts guests, whereas fine dining unfolds at La Gallina restaurant: amid rustic and elegant settings, contemporary cuisine is presented, drawing ample inspiration from Piedmont, as well as nearby Liguria (the dessert "Good Morning Genoa" playfully mimics breakfast with cappuccino and focaccia), though Campania references, the chef's homeland, never falter. Personalised wine selection: exclusively Champagne, abundant Piedmont choices, with particular emphasis on Barbaresco and Barolo.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Italian, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dal Pescatore | Italian, Italian Contemporary | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Osteria Francescana | Progressive Italian, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Quattro Passi | Italian, Mediterranean Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Reale | Progressive Italian, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between La Gallina and alternatives.
Yes, and it suits solo diners better than most rural resort restaurants. The wine-forward format, with a curated list heavy on Barbaresco and Barolo, gives a solo guest plenty to engage with beyond the table. The €€€ price range is manageable for one, and the resort setting at Villa Sparina means you are not navigating a city after dinner.
The menu draws from Piedmont as its backbone, with Ligurian touches and the chef's Campania roots threading through. The dessert 'Good Morning Genoa' is documented in the venue record and worth ordering for the focaccia-and-cappuccino concept alone. Beyond that, lean into whatever the kitchen is doing with local Piedmontese ingredients, as the Michelin Plate recognition signals consistent execution rather than a one-trick menu.
At €€€, La Gallina sits in a range where the wine pairing pays dividends: the list is curated exclusively around Champagne and Piedmont, with Barbaresco and Barolo given particular weight, and that is unusual depth for a hotel restaurant outside a major city. If you are travelling through Gavi wine country anyway, the food-and-wine combination justifies the outlay. Visiting purely for food without the wine component reduces the value case.
Gavi is a small appellation town, so serious alternatives require a short drive into broader Piedmont. For a step up in prestige and price, Osteria Francescana in Modena and Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull'Oglio are Piedmont-adjacent reference points but in different leagues. Within the region, La Gallina competes on value against comparable resort restaurants rather than against destination three-star rooms.
The multi-regional structure of the menu, spanning Piedmont, Liguria, and Campania, makes a tasting format the logical way to experience the kitchen's range. The Michelin Plate across 2024 and 2025 confirms the cooking is consistent enough to justify a longer meal. If you want a quick dinner rather than a considered progression, a la carte is the more practical route.
A week or two of lead time is sufficient for most dates; this is not a table that books out months in advance. That said, Villa Sparina is a resort property, so peak summer weekends and harvest season in autumn warrant earlier contact. Staying at the resort gives you an obvious advantage in securing a table.
The rural resort setting at Villa Sparina, a winery estate in Gavi, provides a low-key but considered backdrop for a celebratory dinner. The Michelin Plate recognition and a wine list built around Barbaresco and Barolo give it enough substance for a meaningful occasion. It works best for couples or small groups who want to mark something without a city-centre production around it.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
