Restaurant in Grazie, Italy
Bib Gourmand Mantuan food at budget prices.
Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards and a 4.5 Google rating from over 1,300 diners confirm Locanda delle Grazie as the go-to address for Mantuan regional cooking in Curtatone. Pumpkin tortelli, pike with salsa verde, and sbrisolona at single-euro-sign prices. Easy to book, and worth making the detour for — particularly as a special occasion meal in a historic sanctuary village setting.
Getting a table here is easy — and that accessibility is part of what makes the decision simple. Locanda delle Grazie, in the small village of Curtatone on the banks of the Mincio river, holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for both 2024 and 2025, which signals exactly what this place is: Michelin-recognised quality at a price point that does not require a special occasion to justify. At a single-euro-sign price range, this is one of the most affordable entries into decorated Mantuan cooking in the region. Book it without overthinking.
Chef Guillaume Barengo runs a kitchen rooted in the cooking traditions of Mantua, and the menu reflects that commitment without apology. The dishes Michelin flags in its own notes tell you what to expect: pumpkin tortelli, cured meats, pike with salsa verde, slow-cooked meats, sbrisolona, and zabaglione. These are not trend-chasing interpretations — they are Mantuan staples executed with care and served in generous portions. The framing here is home-style cooking, and that is precisely the point.
The restaurant sits on Piazzale Santuario, anchored next to the sanctuary that gives the village of Grazie its identity. That setting matters if you are planning a special occasion meal: the combination of a historic village, a riverside location, and a restaurant that has served as a reference point for Mantuan cuisine for many years creates the kind of backdrop that is hard to replicate in a city dining room. For a birthday, an anniversary, or a meal marking a significant trip through northern Italy, this is a more considered choice than it might initially appear from the price point alone.
Two consecutive Bib Gourmand awards confirm that quality here has not slipped. The 4.5 rating across 1,332 Google reviews reinforces consistency at scale , this is not a restaurant propped up by a handful of enthusiastic early visitors. Over a thousand diners have weighed in and the verdict holds. For a Mantuan regional specialist operating in a village this small, that track record is worth noting when you are deciding whether to make the drive.
The venue database does not confirm a dedicated private dining room, so contact the restaurant directly if you are planning a group celebration or business meal requiring a reserved space. What Michelin's own description does confirm is generous portions and a home-style approach , both of which translate well to group dining formats where shared abundance matters more than architectural plating. For a celebratory table of four to eight people who want a genuine regional meal rather than a tasting menu experience, Locanda delle Grazie delivers the substance without the formality. If you need a fully private room with audio-visual facilities, a fine dining address like Dal Pescatore in Runate or Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli in Verona is a better fit , but for a celebratory group meal where the food is the focus and the bill does not demand a corporate card, this is the call.
For anniversaries or milestones specifically, the setting adds weight. The sanctuary village context, the river, and a kitchen that has been cooking this way for many years give the meal a sense of place that purpose-built event dining rooms rarely match. You are eating in a place with a genuine local identity, not a converted function suite.
At the single euro-sign price tier, Locanda delle Grazie is among the most accessible Bib Gourmand addresses in the broader northern Italy region. The value case is direct: Michelin-vetted cooking, a regional menu with clear culinary identity, generous portions, and a setting that does the work for special occasions without charging accordingly. Compare that against the €€€€ price tier of peers like Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence or Le Calandre in Rubano, and the calculus becomes clear: this is not a consolation prize for travellers who cannot afford the starred options , it is a deliberate choice for anyone who wants to eat well in the Mantuan tradition without the overhead of a full fine dining production.
For more on what else the area offers, see our full Grazie restaurants guide, our full Grazie hotels guide, our full Grazie bars guide, our full Grazie wineries guide, and our full Grazie experiences guide. If you are building a wider Mantuan itinerary, Corte Matilde in Pieve di Coriano and Hostaria Viola in Castiglione delle Stiviere are the two Mantuan regional specialists most worth comparing against this one.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. No phone number or website is listed in our database, so approach via walk-in or search for current contact details directly. The address is Piazzale Santuario, 2, 46010 Curtatone MN, Italy. Hours are not confirmed in our data , verify before travelling, particularly if you are making a special trip from outside the region.
| Venue | Price Tier | Cuisine | Award | Booking Ease |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locanda delle Grazie | € | Mantuan | Bib Gourmand 2025 | Easy |
| Corte Matilde | Not listed | Mantuan | Not listed | Not confirmed |
| Hostaria Viola | Not listed | Mantuan | Not listed | Not confirmed |
| Dal Pescatore | €€€€ | Italian Contemporary | Michelin starred | Plan ahead |
| Le Calandre | €€€€ | Progressive Italian | Michelin starred | Plan ahead |
The venue is not documented as offering a formal tasting menu , it operates as a regional trattoria-style address with a focus on Mantuan home cooking. If you want a structured multi-course tasting format, Le Calandre or Reale in Castel di Sangro are the right tier. At Locanda delle Grazie, the value is in a la carte Mantuan classics at accessible prices with a Bib Gourmand behind them.
The dishes Michelin specifically references in its recognition notes are the anchors: pumpkin tortelli, pike with salsa verde, cured meats, slow-cooked meats, sbrisolona, and zabaglione. These are the Mantuan regional staples and the reason the restaurant earned its Bib Gourmand in the first place. Order from this core list rather than defaulting to Italian-generalist dishes on the menu.
No specific dietary accommodation policy is confirmed in our data. Contact the restaurant directly before arriving if you have strict requirements. Given the menu's emphasis on traditional Mantuan cooking , which features meat, fish, egg-based pasta, and dairy-heavy desserts , vegan or heavily restricted diets may find limited options. Confirm in advance rather than hoping for flexibility on the day.
Bar seating is not confirmed in our data. The venue operates as a traditional restaurant in a small sanctuary village , bar dining in the cocktail-bar sense is unlikely to be the format here. If you are passing through Grazie and want a casual stop rather than a full sit-down meal, confirm directly with the restaurant what informal seating options exist.
At the single euro-sign price tier with two consecutive Bib Gourmand awards and a 4.5 Google rating from over 1,300 diners, the value case is as clear as it gets in this category. You are paying trattoria prices for Michelin-vetted Mantuan cooking. Compare that against Dal Pescatore at €€€€ or Uliassi in Senigallia at the same high tier, and the question answers itself: Locanda delle Grazie is not a budget compromise , it is the correct choice for this style of meal.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locanda delle Grazie | € | Easy | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Dal Pescatore | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Enoteca Pinchiorri | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Enrico Bartolini | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Le Calandre | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
The venue database does not confirm a set tasting menu format here — the offering is rooted in home-style Mantuan cooking with à la carte regional dishes. At the single euro-sign price tier with Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in both 2024 and 2025, ordering broadly across the menu costs less than a tasting menu at most comparable northern Italian addresses. That is the better play: order the local specialities and let the bill settle naturally.
Stick to the Mantuan regional dishes. The Michelin listing specifically calls out pumpkin tortelli, cured meats, pike with salsa verde, and slow-cooked meats as the kitchen's focus — these are the reason the restaurant holds a Bib Gourmand. For dessert, the sbrisolona and zabaglione are both documented local specialities. Skip anything that pulls toward generic Italian; the kitchen's strength is here in the regional canon.
No specific dietary accommodation policy is listed in the venue data. The menu is anchored in traditional Mantuan cooking, which relies heavily on meat, cured pork, and egg-based pasta — the kitchen is not positioned around plant-based or allergy-adapted dishes. If you have significant dietary requirements, check the venue's official channels before booking; our database holds no current phone or website for the venue.
The venue database does not confirm a bar or counter seating format. Locanda delle Grazie is described as a traditional Mantuan restaurant in a village setting, which typically means table service rather than bar dining. Booking or arriving as a walk-in for a table is the expected format here.
Yes, straightforwardly. A Michelin Bib Gourmand two years running at the cheapest price tier in our database is a strong signal: this is the kind of place Michelin awards precisely because the cooking exceeds what the bill suggests. For Mantuan cuisine — pumpkin tortelli, pike, slow-cooked meats — in the village of Curtatone near the Mincio river, you will not find a stronger value argument in the region.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
