Restaurant in Marlia, Italy
Book Sunday lunch; dinner requires planning.
Butterfly holds a Michelin star (2024) and occupies a 19th-century farmhouse outside Lucca, with a glass veranda that opens onto the garden in summer. At €€€€ pricing it delivers strong value for one-star dining in Tuscany — father-and-son kitchen team, family-run service, and a menu that accommodates vegetarian requests. Book Sunday lunch if you can; it is the hardest slot to get and the best the venue offers.
Butterfly holds a Michelin star (2024) and sits in a 19th-century farmhouse outside Lucca, making it one of the most compelling reasons to extend a Tuscan itinerary beyond the city walls. At €€€€ pricing, it competes with the best-value one-star experiences in central Italy. Book it — but read the timing section before you choose your slot.
The farmhouse position matters practically, not just aesthetically. Butterfly occupies a villa in Marlia, close enough to Lucca to work as a dinner destination from the city but far enough that you will need a car or taxi. The glass-enclosed veranda is the dining room to request: in summer it opens onto the lawn, effectively making it outdoor dining with the reliability of a roof; in winter it stays closed but heated, with garden views that keep the setting from feeling sealed-off. If you are visiting between May and September, prioritise an outdoor-facing table — it changes the experience materially.
Father-and-son team Fabrizio and Andrea Girasoli run the kitchen, with Mariella Girasoli orchestrating front-of-house. The family structure shows in the service: it is professionally delivered but warmer in register than you typically find at comparable starred rooms. For travellers who find formal fine dining tiring, that is a genuine differentiator.
This is where Butterfly gets interesting for anyone planning a Lucca trip. Sunday lunch (12:45 PM to 2:00 PM) is the only midday service available all week, making it structurally rare and worth prioritising. A Michelin-starred lunch in a garden setting , with the option to linger over the lawn in good weather , is a different meal from a Thursday or Friday dinner, even if the kitchen is cooking at the same level.
The practical case for Sunday lunch: you get the full kitchen with natural light, the garden at its most usable, and a slightly more relaxed pace than weeknight dinner. The case against: the service window is tighter (12:45 PM to 2:00 PM versus 8 PM to 11 PM at dinner), and Sunday demand from local diners and visiting tourists means it is the hardest slot to book. If Sunday lunch is not available, Thursday or Friday dinner is the next-leading choice , midweek evenings at Butterfly tend to be quieter than weekend slots, which helps if you want a more considered, unhurried meal.
Wednesday is the full closure day. Plan around it.
The menu at Butterfly runs wide , meat and seafood both represented with equal seriousness, vegetarian and vegan options available on request. The kitchen's documented range includes Tyrrhenian scampi grilled on lava stone with a liquid Catalana sauce, baby radish salad, and green mango, alongside a cocoa cigar filled with foie gras, apple, and hazelnut (described as a tribute to Puccini, who was born near Lucca). That breadth is a practical advantage for groups with mixed dietary preferences, and the willingness to build menus around what is available seasonally means the experience rewards visits at different times of year.
Chef Fabrizio Girasoli is noted for an ability to improvise menus on request rather than working only from a fixed structure , a genuine rarity at starred level, and useful to know if your group has specific preferences or restrictions. Ask when booking.
Butterfly is a hard book. Michelin recognition, a small farmhouse footprint, and a location that attracts both Lucca-based visitors and dedicated food travellers mean tables move quickly. Book as far out as possible , aim for four to six weeks minimum for a weekend slot, and do not assume midweek is significantly easier for dinner service. Sunday lunch requires the longest lead time of any slot. There is no published booking method in the current data, so contact the restaurant directly and be prepared to follow up.
| Detail | Butterfly (Marlia) | Enoteca Pinchiorri (Florence) | Dal Pescatore (Runate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michelin Stars | 1 Star (2024) | 3 Stars | 3 Stars |
| Price Tier | €€€€ | €€€€ | €€€€ |
| Lunch Service | Sunday only (12:45 PM) | Yes (limited days) | Yes (Tue–Sun) |
| Dinner Hours | Mon, Thu–Sat 8 PM–11 PM; Sun 8 PM–10:30 PM | Evenings (check) | Evenings (Tue–Sat) |
| Closed | Wednesday | Sunday/Monday | Monday/Tuesday |
| Setting | 19th-c farmhouse, garden veranda | Historic Florentine palazzo | Rural family estate |
| Booking Difficulty | Hard | Very Hard | Hard |
| Family-run | Yes | No | Yes |
See the comparison section below for how Butterfly sits against its Italian fine-dining peers.
Yes, for what you get at one-star level in rural Tuscany. The €€€€ tier is consistent with comparable starred rooms across Italy, but Butterfly's farmhouse setting, family-run service, and menu range (including improvised options on request) give it more flexibility than similarly priced urban competitors. If you are comparing against three-star rooms like Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, the gap in technical intensity is real , but the price difference is not, making Butterfly better value for most travellers.
It is manageable but not the easiest solo venue at this price tier. The farmhouse setting and family-run service make the room feel warmer than most formal starred restaurants, which helps. That said, there is no confirmed counter or bar seating in the data, so solo diners should expect a table and factor in the €€€€ outlay accordingly. If solo dining at a starred room near Tuscany is the goal, it is a reasonable choice , book midweek dinner for the quietest room.
Bar seating is not confirmed in the available data. Do not assume a bar-dining option exists here. If an informal entry point is what you need, this is not the right venue , Butterfly is a full sit-down, reservation-required experience. Contact the restaurant directly before planning around bar access.
The documented standouts from the kitchen include Tyrrhenian scampi grilled on lava stone with liquid Catalana sauce, baby radish, and green mango, and a cocoa cigar with foie gras, apple, and hazelnut (the Puccini tribute dish). Both appear consistently in Michelin recognition materials. The kitchen also accommodates vegetarian and vegan menus on request , worth flagging when you book rather than on the night.
Sunday lunch is the stronger experience if you can get a table. The combination of garden access, natural light through the veranda, and a slightly more relaxed pace makes it materially different from evening service , not just the same meal in daylight. The trade-off is a tighter window (12:45 PM to 2:00 PM) and higher booking demand. If Sunday lunch is unavailable, Thursday or Friday dinner in the garden veranda is the next-leading option. Avoid Saturday dinner if you want a quieter room.
Yes , it is well-suited to occasions where atmosphere matters as much as the food. The 19th-century farmhouse, garden setting, and family-run front-of-house create a warmer register than most Michelin rooms at this price. Sunday lunch works well for a celebratory meal that does not require a long evening commitment. Dinner is the better choice if you want an extended celebration. Book early and request the veranda table.
Given the Michelin one-star credential and the kitchen's documented technique across both meat and seafood, a tasting format is the most efficient way to cover the range. The chef's willingness to improvise menus around preferences and seasonal availability makes a tasting here more personalised than at many comparable rooms. At €€€€ pricing, it sits at the same level as starred competitors across Italy , whether that is worthwhile depends on how central Tuscan fine dining is to your trip, but it is not an outlier on price for what it delivers.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butterfly | €€€€ | Hard | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Dal Pescatore | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Enoteca Pinchiorri | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Enrico Bartolini | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Le Calandre | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
How Butterfly stacks up against the competition.
At €€€€ pricing with a 2024 Michelin star, Butterfly delivers value if the full farmhouse-and-garden experience is what you are after. The kitchen handles both meat and seafood with equal seriousness, and vegetarian or vegan menus are available on request. For that price in Tuscany, Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence is the only direct competitor with higher formal prestige, but Butterfly wins on atmosphere and intimacy. If you want a high-end Lucca-area dinner without driving to Florence, this is the credible choice.
The venue data does not confirm bar seating or a counter format, which makes solo dining harder to assess. The farmhouse setting and family-run service suggest a room oriented toward table dining rather than solo walk-in culture. Solo diners are not excluded, but the €€€€ price point and the table-service format make this a better fit for a deliberate solo booking than a casual drop-in. Book ahead and confirm table configuration when you reserve.
There is no confirmed bar seating in the venue record. Butterfly is a farmhouse restaurant with a glass-enclosed veranda and garden dining, not a bar-format operation. If walk-in bar dining is the goal, this is not the right venue.
Specific current dishes can change without a live menu, but the kitchen is documented to run a wide menu balancing meat and seafood, with seasonal vegetables prominent throughout. Vegetarian and vegan menus are available on request. Chef Fabrizio Girasoli is noted for improvising menus on the spot, so asking the team what is best that evening is a legitimate and likely productive approach. Check the venue's official channels for the latest details.
Sunday lunch (12:45 PM to 2:00 PM) is the only midday service available all week, and it is the stronger booking case for first-timers: the garden and farmhouse setting read best in daylight, and lunch typically carries lighter commitment on a Tuscany itinerary. Dinner runs Thursday through Saturday and Sunday evening, giving more scheduling flexibility. If you are visiting Lucca and can only go once, Sunday lunch is the entry point to prioritise.
Yes, with conditions. The 19th-century farmhouse, garden setting, Michelin star (2024), and family-run hospitality led by Mariella Girasoli make this a strong choice for a milestone dinner or anniversary. The tone is refined but familial rather than stiffly formal, which suits occasions where you want atmosphere without a corporate feel. Book well in advance given the venue's size and recognition.
The kitchen's documented strength is range: meat, seafood, and vegetarian all handled seriously across a wide menu. Chef Fabrizio Girasoli is noted for constructing menus on the spot, which suggests the tasting format plays to his strengths. At €€€€ pricing, the tasting menu is the logical way to experience the full scope of the kitchen. If you prefer à la carte control over the meal, the menu width still accommodates that, but the tasting route gives you a better read on what the restaurant actually does.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
