Restaurant in Novara, Italy
Considered cooking at an everyday price point.
La RiMa holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025 and a 4.7 Google rating across 645 reviews — making it the clearest case for contemporary cooking at the €€ price tier in Novara. Chef Matteo Ridoni's menu covers meat, fish, and vegetarian with a personalised approach. Easy to book, comfortable for solo diners and couples, and worth multiple visits.
Yes — and if you are looking for considered contemporary cooking at a price point that does not require a special occasion budget, La RiMa is the clearest answer in Novara. Holding a Michelin Plate for both 2024 and 2025, and scoring 4.7 across 645 Google reviews, this is a restaurant that consistently delivers at the €€ price tier. For a first visit, the case is direct: creative technique, a menu that spans meat, fish, and vegetarian options, and an owner-chef, Matteo Ridoni, who brings a personal touch to every plate.
La RiMa sits on Viale Dante Alighieri in central Novara, an address that puts it within easy reach of the city's historic core. The restaurant operates at a scale that feels deliberately intimate — this is not a large dining room built for group turnover, but a setting where the physical layout supports the kind of focused meal the cooking calls for. For solo diners or couples, the room works well. For groups, it is worth contacting the restaurant ahead of time to confirm availability and configuration; the intimacy of the space means larger parties should not assume walk-in flexibility. First-timers should expect a setting that reads more neighbourhood favourite than formal fine dining, which aligns with the €€ positioning and makes the Michelin recognition feel like a pleasant surprise rather than a pressure to perform.
Ridoni's menu is contemporary Italian with genuine range. The Michelin Plate citation specifically calls out dishes such as fregola sarda with tomato, buffalo mozzarella, friggitelli peppers, and fried capers as an example of the kitchen's approach: familiar Italian ingredients given a personalised, technically considered treatment. The menu covers meat and fish with several vegetarian options, which gives La RiMa more flexibility than many restaurants at this tier in smaller Italian cities. For a first visit, the fregola sarda dish is the obvious starting point , it is the one explicitly recognised in the Michelin record and gives a clear read on the kitchen's sensibility before you commit to a longer meal.
La RiMa rewards return visits because the menu has genuine breadth across protein and vegetable-forward options. On a first visit, anchor on the dishes that show the kitchen's Italian-ingredient vocabulary , the fregola preparation is the reference point. On a second visit, push into the meat section if fish led your first meal, or vice versa. The vegetarian options are not an afterthought here; the Michelin write-up positions them as part of the programme rather than an accommodation, which suggests they are worth exploring as a third-visit focus. At €€ pricing, returning is not a financial stretch, and each visit is likely to read differently depending on seasonal sourcing. This is not a restaurant where you order the same three dishes every time; the personalised approach Ridoni brings to the menu means there is genuine reason to explore across visits rather than defaulting to a single signature order.
Reservations: Easy to book , this is not a table that requires weeks of lead time, but booking ahead is advisable for weekends given the room's scale and the restaurant's consistent ratings. Dress: Smart casual is appropriate; the atmosphere is relaxed but the quality of cooking sets a tone that rewards some effort. Budget: €€ means you are looking at a comfortable mid-range spend , competitive for the Michelin Plate recognition and well below what comparable cooking costs at starred addresses in larger Italian cities. Groups: Contact the restaurant directly to confirm group capacity; the intimate scale of the room means assumptions about large-party flexibility may not hold. Getting there: Viale Dante Alighieri, 11c, 28100 Novara , central, accessible on foot from Novara's main sights.
Novara is not a city with deep restaurant infrastructure at the upper end of the market, which makes La RiMa's consistent Michelin recognition meaningful in context. If you are building a full trip around the region, our full Novara restaurants guide covers the broader options, and Tre Scalini is the country cooking alternative for a different register on a second day. For wider context beyond Novara's dining scene, see our Novara hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| La RiMa | €€ | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | €€€€ | — |
| Dal Pescatore | €€€€ | — |
| Osteria Francescana | €€€€ | — |
| Quattro Passi | €€€€ | — |
| Reale | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
The Michelin Plate citation specifically flags the fregola sarda with tomato, buffalo mozzarella, friggitelli peppers, and fried capers as a dish that shows Ridoni's approach clearly — a recognisable Italian base with a considered personal twist. The menu covers meat, fish, and vegetarian options, so the cooking has enough range that a second visit will not repeat the first. On an initial visit, anchor on the dishes that reference regional Italian ingredients with non-obvious technique.
La RiMa is a reasonable solo choice for a sit-down meal in Novara. The €€ price point keeps the bill manageable for one, and the contemporary format — where dishes are designed with intent rather than scaled for sharing — suits a single diner ordering two to three courses. No counter or bar seating is documented in the available data, so confirm the table arrangement when booking if that matters to you.
At €€, La RiMa delivers Michelin Plate-recognised cooking two years running (2024 and 2025), which makes it a strong value case in the Italian contemporary category. You are getting Ridoni's personalised technique at a price point that does not require a special occasion justification. For context, Michelin Plate recognition at this price bracket is rare enough that it shifts the question from 'is it worth it?' to 'is the timing right?'
Group suitability is not documented in the available venue data, so contact La RiMa directly via their address at Viale Dante Alighieri 11c, Novara, to confirm capacity and table configuration for larger parties. The €€ price point makes it financially approachable for groups, but room scale is unconfirmed, so advance notice is advisable for parties of four or more.
Novara does not have deep restaurant infrastructure at the upper end of the market, which is part of what makes La RiMa's consecutive Michelin Plate recognition meaningful locally. If you are willing to travel within Piedmont, options with stronger formal credentials exist, but within the city La RiMa holds a clear position for contemporary cooking with consistent recognition. For a higher-end comparison, Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull'Oglio carries three Michelin stars but sits in a different spend category entirely.
La RiMa works for a special occasion if your priority is considered cooking over formal setting. The Michelin Plate recognition gives it enough credibility to mark an occasion, and the €€ price point means you are not overpaying for the experience. If the occasion calls for three Michelin stars and a full tasting menu format, Osteria Francescana in Modena is the regional benchmark — but at a significantly higher spend.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
