Restaurant in Lodi, Italy
Michelin star, farmhouse setting, hard to book.
A Michelin-starred farmhouse restaurant on the outskirts of Lodi, La Coldana earns its one star (2024) through a hyper-local sourcing philosophy, attentive service, and a 17th-century setting that works especially hard at dinner. At €€€, it is the strongest special-occasion choice in the Lodi area. Book the wine cellar for groups and reserve well in advance — availability is genuinely tight.
If you are comparing La Coldana to the sprawling €€€€ destination restaurants that dominate northern Italy's fine-dining circuit, the better question is not whether it is as famous as Dal Pescatore in Runate or as technically ambitious as Le Calandre in Rubano. The better question is whether a one-star contemporary restaurant rooted in an actual working-farm heritage, with a hyper-local sourcing philosophy and a 17th-century farmhouse setting, can justify the €€€ price point for a special occasion in Lodi. The answer is yes — with caveats about timing and group size that matter.
La Coldana occupies a restored 17th-century farmhouse on the outskirts of Lodi, and the building's history shows up in the right ways: exposed wooden ceiling beams, small dining rooms with soft lighting, and a wine cellar that doubles as a private dining space. This is not a converted farmhouse that has been scrubbed into anonymity. The original structural character has been kept, and the service is described across multiple sources as attentive and professional — not the stiff formality of a three-star room, but polished enough to hold up for a business dinner or a significant anniversary.
The kitchen operates under a philosophy that limits sourcing to within a 3-kilometre radius, which shapes the menu more than any fashion trend would. Chef Alessandro Proietti Refrigeri uses that constraint to give vegetables a central role, most visibly in a large vegetable dish that changes with the seasons. This is not a garnish upgrade , it is a structural commitment to what the land around Lodi produces at any given time. If you are looking for a menu that reflects a specific place rather than a generic interpretation of Italian fine dining, this is exactly that.
The dish most consistently cited by verified sources is the San Massimo risotto with onion cream and roast eel. Risotto is a logical signature for this part of the Po Valley, and the combination of onion cream with eel is an assertive, savory pairing rather than a delicate one. Ask for recommendations when you arrive , the kitchen clearly has a point of view, and the team can guide you through it.
La Coldana is open for lunch only on Saturday and Sunday (12:30 PM to 2:30 PM), with dinner service running Thursday through Sunday (7:30 PM to 10:00 PM). Monday and Tuesday are closed, and Wednesday runs dinner only. This schedule makes the weekend lunch a genuine alternative worth considering, particularly for groups or special occasions where a long afternoon at the table is the point.
The dinner experience in the softly lit farmhouse rooms carries more atmosphere , this is where the setting works hardest for you, and where a celebration feels most considered. For a date or an anniversary, dinner on a Friday or Saturday is the cleaner choice. The wine cellar booking is especially worth requesting for groups: you are enclosed by a collection that spans prominent producers and smaller-scale labels, which makes it a more immersive room than the main dining area.
Weekend lunch, by contrast, is practical for visitors driving through Lodi who want a Michelin meal without committing to an evening. The food is the same kitchen, the same philosophy, and the same sourcing , what you lose is the atmospheric contrast between darkness outside and candlelit beams inside. If you are based locally and have flexibility, dinner is the better version. If you are visiting from Milan or passing through the region, Saturday or Sunday lunch is a workable entry point that does not require an overnight.
Booking difficulty is rated hard. With a limited weekly schedule , no service Monday or Tuesday, and only two lunch services per week , availability is genuinely constrained. Reserve well in advance for weekend dinner slots, particularly Friday and Saturday. If you are planning around a specific date for a celebration, give yourself more lead time than you think you need. The wine cellar private room for groups is worth requesting at the time of booking, not as an afterthought.
The address is Cascina Coldana, via del Costino, on the edge of Lodi , a farmhouse location that means driving is the practical option. No phone number or website is listed in the current record, so booking through a reservation platform or direct inquiry is the path forward. See our full Lodi restaurants guide for context on what else is open in the area, and our full Lodi hotels guide if you are planning an overnight stay.
At the €€€ price tier, La Coldana sits below the €€€€ ceiling of Italy's most-discussed destination tables , Osteria Francescana in Modena, Piazza Duomo in Alba, or Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence. That price difference is material. You are getting a Michelin-starred kitchen with a genuine local identity, a setting that earns its character rather than performing it, and a wine program serious enough to anchor a private cellar dinner , all at a price point that is meaningfully lower than the national destination circuit. For a special occasion in Lodi or the surrounding Po Valley, there is not a more convincing case to make than La Coldana. Google reviewers back this at 4.4 across 876 reviews, which for a fine-dining farmhouse outside a mid-size city is a credible signal of consistent delivery.
The one honest limitation: if you are coming from Milan specifically for a fine-dining evening and want to compare at the same price tier in a more urban room, Enrico Bartolini in Milan operates at €€€€ but offers a different kind of ambition. La Coldana is the better choice if the farmhouse setting and hyperlocal identity are part of what you are paying for. If you want a city-format contemporary tasting menu, the calculus shifts. For more options in the region, check our Lodi bars guide, our Lodi wineries guide, and our Lodi experiences guide.
Also worth considering for other styles of Italian fine dining in the broader northern region: Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli in Verona, Uliassi in Senigallia, and Reale in Castel di Sangro for those willing to travel further. For international contemporary comparisons at a similar conceptual register, Jungsik in Seoul and César in New York City represent the same tier of ingredient-driven precision in different contexts. And Quattro Passi in Marina del Cantone or Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico are worth knowing if locally rooted Italian fine dining in a distinctive physical setting is what appeals to you most about La Coldana.
Quick reference: Michelin 1 Star (2024) | €€€ | Thu–Sun dinner 7:30–10 PM | Sat–Sun lunch 12:30–2:30 PM | Closed Mon–Tue | Booking: hard, reserve well in advance | Wine cellar private room available for groups.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Coldana | Contemporary | €€€ | Hard |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Italian, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Dal Pescatore | Italian, Italian Contemporary | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Enoteca Pinchiorri | Italian - French, Italian Contemporary | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Enrico Bartolini | Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Le Calandre | Progressive Italian, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
How La Coldana stacks up against the competition.
Yes, and groups especially benefit from requesting the wine cellar room, which offers privacy and a setting surrounded by both major labels and wines from small producers. The farmhouse itself, with its 17th-century wooden beams and softly lit dining rooms, does the work without feeling theatrical. At €€€ with a 2024 Michelin star, it carries enough credibility to justify a birthday or anniversary booking, provided you can secure a table on the limited weekly schedule.
Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull'Oglio is the most natural regional comparison — a multi-Michelin-starred family-run table that operates at €€€€ and suits those who want a longer, more classic tasting experience. Within Lodi itself, the fine-dining options are thin, which makes La Coldana the default choice if a Michelin-level meal is the goal. If you're weighing a full northern Italy trip, Enrico Bartolini at Mudec in Milan offers a more accessible schedule and comparable ambition.
Ask the staff for recommendations directly — the team is noted for attentive and professional service, and guidance from them is more reliable than any fixed list. The San Massimo risotto with onion cream and roast eel is specifically flagged by Michelin reviewers as a dish not to skip. The kitchen works within a roughly 3km local sourcing philosophy, so the seasonal vegetable dishes, which evolve throughout the year, are also worth prioritising.
At €€€, it sits below the ceiling of Italy's most-discussed destination tables and delivers a 2024 Michelin star alongside a hyper-local, chef-driven menu. For the Lodi area, there is no comparable alternative at this level, which removes the usual trade-off calculation. If you are travelling specifically to eat here, factor in the limited schedule — dinner runs Thursday to Sunday, lunch only Saturday and Sunday — and book well in advance to avoid the trip being wasted.
The venue data does not specify a dress code, but the setting — a restored 17th-century farmhouse with softly lit small dining rooms and Michelin-star service — points toward smart, understated clothing rather than anything formal or casual. Think dinner-appropriate rather than black tie. Arriving in resort wear or trainers would feel out of step with the room.
It is workable but not optimised for solo visitors. The format is a small-rooms farmhouse restaurant rather than a counter or bar-seat setup, and the wine cellar booking is explicitly positioned for groups. Solo diners can eat here comfortably given the professional service, but the experience skews toward pairs or small groups. If solo counter dining is your preference, an omakase-style restaurant in Milan would serve that format better.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
