Attico sul Mare

Verdict

At the €€€ price point, Attico sul Mare is one of the more considered options for contemporary Italian seafood on the Adriatic coast. If you have already eaten here once and enjoyed it, there is a real case for returning — the tableside cookery and the whole-animal approach to fish give you something to look forward to that is not standard in the region. If you are deciding between this and driving further for a starred restaurant, the question is whether you want a relaxed, scenically-set dinner or a destination meal. For most visitors to Grottammare, Attico sul Mare answers that question well.

The Portrait

Nearly two decades in business, Attico sul Mare has recently undergone a significant overhaul. The interior of the historic Kursaal building on Piazza Kursaal has been reworked into a contemporary penthouse-style room, the kitchen has followed. That milestone matters: this is not a restaurant coasting on nostalgia. The renovation signals ambition, the Michelin Plate recognition landing in consecutive years confirms the timing was right. For a returning guest, the redesign is the first reason to go back — the room you ate in before is not the room you will find now.

The visual anchor of the experience is the setting itself. Occupying the second and leading floor of the Kursaal building (there is a lift), the restaurant delivers a panoramic outlook that is difficult to replicate anywhere else in Grottammare. Before the food arrives, the view does meaningful work. For a special dinner, that framing matters, it changes the tone of the meal from the moment you are seated.

The menu's emphasis on fish and seafood is where the sourcing philosophy becomes legible. The kitchen does not simply source and plate, it processes. The turbot preparation is the clearest illustration of this: fillets, cheeks, what the kitchen describes as the "crackling" of the fish all appear together, making the sourcing choice visible on the plate. This is not a kitchen that buys a fillet and calls it a day. Using nearly all parts of the fish reflects both a considered approach to the ingredient and a more interesting plate for the diner. For a returning guest, if you have not ordered the turbot yet, that is the dish to anchor your next visit around.

Seafood salad is the other dish worth knowing about before you arrive. Ingredients are cooked in front of guests in the dining room, a tableside technique that gives the dish a sense of occasion without tipping into theatre for its own sake. The sourcing quality of Adriatic seafood is high in this stretch of the Marche coast, the kitchen's decision to cook it simply and visibly is a confident one. It communicates trust in the ingredient.

For dessert, the alkermes cake with Italian pastry cream and chocolate is finished tableside. This is the kind of detail that distinguishes a meal from a transaction. The use of alkermes, a regional Italian liqueur with a distinct colour and flavour, grounds the dessert in local ingredient tradition even as the overall menu registers as contemporary. It is worth ordering if you are building a full menu rather than eating light.

The broader menu is described as focused but not exclusively on seafood, which means there is flexibility for a table with mixed preferences. The contemporary design of the cuisine sits alongside classic local recipes rather than replacing them, a balance that tends to hold a room together when not everyone at the table wants the most adventurous option available.

Booking is described as easy, which is relevant context for the Adriatic coast in summer, when the better-known restaurants along the Marche shoreline fill well in advance. Attico sul Mare sits at €€€, a tier below the €€€€ destinations you would encounter at Uliassi in Senigallia or further afield at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence. The accessible booking difficulty, combined with the price tier, makes this a practical choice for anyone who wants a high-quality seafood dinner without the planning overhead of a starred destination.

For context on where else to eat and stay while in the area, see our full Grottammare restaurants guide, our full Grottammare hotels guide, our full Grottammare bars guide, our full Grottammare wineries guide, and our full Grottammare experiences guide. For Italian Contemporary dining at a comparable level in other regions, L'Olivo in Anacapri and Agli Amici Rovinj are worth comparing against your itinerary.

Ratings at a Glance

• Michelin Plate: 2024 and 2025
• Price: €€€
• Cuisine: Italian Contemporary, with a seafood focus

How to Book

Booking is easy relative to the region's better-known destinations. The restaurant is located at Piazza Kursaal, 6, Grottammare, in the historic Kursaal building, second floor with lift access. No phone or website data is currently confirmed in our records; approach directly via the venue or local booking platforms. Given the panoramic setting and tableside cookery, arrive with time to settle in rather than rushing between courses.