Restaurant in Offida, Italy
Serious regional cooking at honest prices.
Osteria Ophis in Offida holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition (2024 and 2025) for a reason: chef-owner Daniele Citeroni Maurizi takes Marche cuisine seriously and reimagines it with precision at a €€ price point. The brick-vaulted room in Offida's pedestrian centre is intimate and well-considered. Book it for the cannelloni, the veal tartare, and one of the best value-to-quality ratios in the region.
If you think Osteria Ophis is a rustic local trattoria coasting on regional charm, reset that expectation before you book. Chef-owner Daniele Citeroni Maurizi is running a Michelin Bib Gourmand kitchen — recognised in both 2024 and 2025 — where Marche cooking is taken seriously enough to be reimagined, not just reproduced. At a €€ price point, this is one of the most credible value plays in the region. Book it.
Walk into Osteria Ophis and the first thing you notice is the ceiling: brick vaulting that arches over a compact, intimate dining room housed in the former stables of an old palazzo on Offida's pedestrianised Corso Serpente Aureo. The setting is genuinely handsome without trying too hard , stone and brick, modern touches that do not overwhelm the bones of the space. For a town that most visitors bypass en route to Ascoli Piceno, this room signals that something more deliberate is happening here.
The cooking is rooted in the Marche but is not a museum piece. Daniele Citeroni Maurizi works with the region's defining ingredients , saffron, salted anchovies, organic olive oil, legumes, fresh herbs, pasta and bread from regional cereals , and applies enough technique and imagination to make each dish feel authored rather than inherited. The stuffed cannelloni cooked on a barbecue grill and the veal tartare served alongside a warm meat, herb and vegetable jus are two dishes that have drawn consistent praise, and both illustrate the approach: familiar Marche flavour profiles given a precise, modern treatment that does not alienate the ingredient.
If you visited once and ordered from the standard menu, consider the tasting menu on your next visit. There is also a lower-cost tasting menu specifically available to diners aged under 25, which is an unusual and practical gesture that reflects the kitchen's confidence in its food rather than its ability to charge for it. Returning guests who have already worked through the highlights on the à la carte will find the tasting format a better way to see the full range of Citeroni Maurizi's thinking.
On the wine side, the Marche is the right region to be eating in if you want to explore Pecorino and Offida Rosso alongside your meal. Offida's own DOCG designations , Offida Pecorino and Offida Rosso (from Montepulciano) , are worth asking about specifically. For a deeper look at what's being produced close to the restaurant, our full Offida wineries guide covers the local producers worth seeking out.
Osteria Ophis sits in Offida's historic pedestrian centre, which means you park at the edge of town and walk in. The address is Corso Serpente Aureo, 54 B , direct to find once you are in the centro storico. Offida itself is a small hilltop town in the Ascoli Piceno province of Le Marche; it is not a major tourist hub, which means the restaurant draws a mix of serious local diners and visitors who have made the detour deliberately. That mix tends to keep the room grounded and unpretentious.
The price tier is €€, which in practice means this is an accessible dinner rather than a special-occasion splurge. The Bib Gourmand designation is precisely the Michelin signal for good food at moderate prices, so the guide is telling you the same thing the menu pricing implies: this kitchen delivers more than its price suggests. Booking is rated as easy, so you do not need to plan months ahead , but given the intimate scale of the room, booking ahead is still advisable rather than arriving and hoping.
No phone number or website is available in our current data, so the most reliable approach is to book via a third-party reservation platform or contact the restaurant directly through local search listings. Hours are not confirmed in our data; verify current opening times before visiting, particularly if you are travelling specifically for this meal.
This is not a kitchen designed around off-premise dining. The dishes that define the menu , cannelloni finished on a barbecue grill, veal tartare with a warm jus served separately , depend on temperature, timing, and presentation in a way that does not survive a delivery window. Osteria Ophis is a sit-down experience, and the room is part of what you are paying for. If you are considering it for takeout, the honest answer is: don't. Come in, sit under the vaulted ceiling, and eat the food as it was made to be eaten. The €€ price point makes the full experience accessible enough that there is no real reason to compromise it.
| Venue | Price | Cuisine | Booking Difficulty | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osteria Ophis (Offida) | €€ | Cuisine from the Marches | Easy | Michelin Bib Gourmand 2024, 2025 |
| Anticofurlo (Acqualagna) | Varies | Cuisine from the Marches | Moderate | , |
| Caffè Meletti (Ascoli Piceno) | Varies | Cuisine from the Marches | Easy | , |
| Uliassi (Senigallia) | €€€€ | Seafood / Marche | Hard | 3 Michelin Stars |
For a broader view of where to eat in the region, see our full Offida restaurants guide. If you are building a trip around the area, our Offida hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the visit.
4.6 from 278 reviews , a solid signal of consistent quality at this price tier, and notably high for a restaurant of this scale in a small hilltop town.
Come expecting a small, intimate room and cooking that takes Marche cuisine more seriously than the €€ price suggests. Two dishes worth ordering: the stuffed cannelloni cooked on a barbecue grill and the veal tartare with a warm jus. The Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024 and 2025 tells you this is not an accidental success. Book ahead even though booking is easy , the room is compact and fills on good evenings.
Within the Marche, Anticofurlo in Acqualagna and Caffè Meletti in Ascoli Piceno both work in the regional cuisine tradition. If you want to see the ceiling of what the broader region can do, Uliassi in Senigallia is a three-Michelin-star address , different price tier and booking difficulty entirely, but the right comparison if you are considering a serious splurge on this trip.
No dress code is specified, but the setting , a historic palazzo stable with brick vaulting in the centro storico of Offida , points toward smart casual. The Bib Gourmand recognition means the food is taken seriously even if the atmosphere is not formal. Overly casual resort wear would feel out of place; a relaxed smart outfit is the right call.
No phone or website is available in our current data, so there is no way to confirm this remotely before you visit. The menu is rooted in traditional Marche ingredients , pasta, bread, meat, anchovies, legumes , which means it skews toward omnivore cooking. If you have specific dietary requirements, contact the restaurant directly via local search listings before booking to confirm what is possible.
Yes, with the right framing. At €€ this is not a formal celebration venue in the way a €€€€ restaurant would be, but the room is intimate and handsome, the cooking is Michelin-recognised, and the experience feels considered rather than casual. A birthday dinner or a romantic evening in a small Marche hilltop town works well here. For a landmark anniversary where price is not a factor, you would look at something like Osteria Francescana in Modena instead , but that is a different trip and a different budget entirely.
For returning visitors, yes. The tasting menu is the better way to see Daniele Citeroni Maurizi's full range rather than anchoring on one or two à la carte dishes. The under-25 reduced-price tasting menu is a specific gesture worth noting if it applies to your group. First-timers may prefer to build their own meal and order the cannelloni and veal tartare that appear in Michelin's own notes , but on a second visit, the tasting format makes sense.
At €€ with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025, yes , this is straightforwardly good value. The Bib Gourmand exists specifically to flag cooking that outperforms its price tier. A 4.6 Google rating from 278 reviews supports that independently. You are not paying for a famous address or a celebrity chef; you are paying for careful, imaginative regional cooking in a genuinely attractive room. That combination at this price is the point.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osteria Ophis | Cuisine from the Marches | €€ | Easy |
| 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 |
A quick look at how Osteria Ophis measures up.
Book ahead — this is a small, intimate room with a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024 and 2025), which means it punches above its €€ price point and fills accordingly. Chef-owner Daniele Citeroni Maurizi cooks precise, flavour-forward dishes rooted in Marche tradition, so expect regional ingredients like saffron, salted anchovies, and handmade pasta rather than a generic Italian menu. Offida is a pedestrianised hilltop town, so park at the edge and walk to Corso Serpente Aureo, 54B.
Offida is a small town and Osteria Ophis is its standout dining option at this level — the Bib Gourmand recognition reflects that. For a step up in formality and price within the Marche region, the broader Ascoli Piceno area offers additional options, but if you are already in Offida for the day, Ophis is the clear call.
The venue is described as modern and inviting rather than formal, and the €€ price range confirms this is not a stiff, jacket-required room. Neat casual fits the setting — think presentable but relaxed, in line with a well-regarded Italian osteria rather than a fine-dining destination.
The menu is rooted in Marche regional produce — fresh vegetables, legumes, herbs, olive oil, and housemade pasta — so there is a reasonable base for plant-forward adjustments, but specific dietary accommodation policies are not documented. check the venue's official channels before visiting if allergies or strict dietary requirements apply.
Yes, within a specific frame: it is an intimate, brick-vaulted room with two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards and a chef who cooks with clear intent, which makes it a strong choice for a quiet dinner for two or a small group celebrating something meaningful. It is not a large-event or big-group venue. If you want a splashy room, this is not it — but for a meal that justifies the occasion on the plate, it delivers.
There is a dedicated low-cost tasting menu for diners under 25, which is a practical differentiator and worth using if you qualify. For the standard menu, the Bib Gourmand rating signals good value at the €€ price range — Michelin awards this distinction specifically when quality exceeds what the price would suggest. Signature dishes like the barbecue-grilled stuffed cannelloni and veal tartare with warm jus are cited in the Michelin notes as highlights.
At €€ with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025, Osteria Ophis offers clear value. The Bib Gourmand is awarded precisely for this — quality cooking at prices that do not require a special occasion budget. For what you get from a chef reinterpreting serious regional cuisine with precision, the price-to-quality ratio is one of the better arguments for making Offida a destination stop.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
