Restaurant in Perugia, Italy
Solid regional cooking, easy to book.
A Michelin Plate-recognised meat-focused trattoria in Perugia's medieval centre, Il Giurista delivers traditional Umbrian cooking in a brick-vaulted room with a 4.8 Google rating from over 1,300 reviews. At the €€ price point with easy booking, it is the clearest recommendation for first-timers who want regional quality without commitment. The seasonal black truffle section is the menu's strongest argument.
Getting a table here is not the ordeal it is at Umbria's more celebrated addresses — booking is direct, and that accessibility is worth factoring into your decision. Il Giurista sits on Via Bartolo in Perugia's medieval centre, a street named after the 14th-century jurist Bartolo da Sassoferrato, and the restaurant takes its name from the same figure. The connection is more than decorative: the room itself carries the weight of that history, with brick-vaulted ceilings that have been here far longer than any modern dining concept. If you are visiting Perugia for the first time and want a single meal that delivers both regional cooking and genuine atmosphere without requiring weeks of advance planning, this is the right call.
You enter from street level and step down into the dining rooms — a small but telling detail that signals you are moving into something older and quieter than the street above. The brick-vaulted ceilings are the first thing you notice: low, warm, and structurally specific to this part of central Italy, where medieval architecture was built to last rather than to impress visitors. They also do exactly what the Michelin notes suggest , keep the temperature cool in a city where summer heat can make outdoor dining uncomfortable. For a first-timer, the room removes any uncertainty about what kind of place this is. It reads as a traditional Umbrian trattoria operating at a higher level of seriousness than the tourist-facing options around Perugia's main piazza, without tipping into the formality that would make a solo diner or a couple feel out of place.
The service is described as friendly and attentive, which at the €€ price point is not a given in Italian regional cooking. You are not paying for theatre here. What you are paying for is a kitchen that focuses exclusively on meat, cooking it within a recognisably Umbrian idiom , and doing so with enough consistency to have held a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025. The Plate is not a star, but it is Michelin's signal that the cooking merits attention. At this price tier, that credential carries real weight.
Il Giurista's menu is organised around a clear commitment: meat, cooked in the regional tradition, with a seasonal section dedicated to black truffles. That last detail is the one to plan around. Umbria's black truffles , primarily from Norcia and the Valnerina , are among the most prized in Italy, and a kitchen that structures a dedicated menu section around them in season is one that takes the ingredient seriously. If you are visiting between late autumn and early spring, the truffle section is where your attention should go. Outside that window, the focus shifts to the core meat programme, which represents the kitchen's year-round identity.
The architecture of the experience here is not a fixed tasting menu in the contemporary sense , this is a regional Italian restaurant, and the progression is yours to build from the à la carte. For a first-timer, the practical approach is to treat the menu's own logic as your guide: start with what the kitchen is signalling as the seasonal priority, move through the meat courses with that regional flavour as your anchor, and let the service team advise on pacing. At the €€ price point, you are not committing to a significant financial outlay, which means the decision to order broadly and explore the menu is low-risk. If you are travelling with a companion, ordering across multiple sections to cover more ground makes sense here in a way it might not at a higher price point.
For context on what Michelin-recognised regional cooking looks like at the higher end of the Italian spectrum, you can look at venues like Uliassi in Senigallia, Reale in Castel di Sangro, or Trattoria al Cacciatore - La Subida in Cormons. Il Giurista operates in the same tradition of place-rooted Italian cooking, but at a price and booking difficulty that makes it genuinely accessible rather than aspirational.
Booking is easy relative to Perugia's more competitive tables. Il Giurista is on Via Bartolo, 30 in the historic centre , walkable from most of Perugia's main hotels and central accommodation. The brick-vaulted lower dining rooms stay cool, making this a particularly sensible choice for lunch or dinner during warmer months when above-ground spaces in the city can be uncomfortable. No phone or website is listed in our current data, so your leading approach for reservations is to visit in person or use a third-party booking platform. Given the easy booking difficulty, last-minute tables are a realistic possibility, though confirming in advance is always the better call.
For more on eating and drinking in the city, see our full Perugia restaurants guide, our full Perugia bars guide, our full Perugia hotels guide, our full Perugia wineries guide, and our full Perugia experiences guide.
In Perugia's dining options, Il Giurista occupies the most accessible position for first-timers who want quality without the commitment of a high-end tasting menu. Ada operates at the €€€€ tier with a creative approach , a serious upgrade in ambition and price, but a different kind of meal entirely. L'Acciuga at €€€ occupies the contemporary middle ground and is the right choice if you want modern technique applied to Umbrian ingredients. L'Officina at €€ is the closest price match, with a creative rather than traditional focus , a reasonable alternative if you want less convention. Cedri rounds out the local set with an Italian focus. For direct regional cooking with verified quality signals and no booking stress, Il Giurista is the clearest recommendation in its tier.
Yes. The €€ price point and friendly service make it a low-pressure choice for solo diners. You are not walking into a room that requires a group to feel comfortable. The historic dining rooms have enough character to make eating alone engaging, and the meat-focused menu is easy to navigate without needing a companion to order across multiple sections.
Il Giurista is not a fixed-tasting-menu restaurant in the contemporary sense , it operates à la carte in the regional Italian tradition. At the €€ price point with a Michelin Plate behind it and a 4.8 Google rating from over 1,300 reviewers, the value proposition is strong. If you want a structured tasting progression in Perugia, L'Acciuga or Ada are better suited to that format.
The kitchen focuses exclusively on meat in the regional Umbrian tradition, and the seasonal black truffle section is the most distinctive part of the menu. If you are visiting in truffle season (late autumn through early spring), prioritise that section. Outside of season, follow the service team's guidance on what the kitchen is cooking leading that day , attentive service is a noted strength here.
Smart casual is the appropriate level. The historic setting and Michelin Plate recognition suggest slightly more care than you would take at a casual trattoria, but the €€ price point and traditional Umbrian format mean you are not expected to dress formally. A neat, put-together look is enough.
Yes, with the right expectations. The brick-vaulted medieval rooms provide genuine atmosphere, and the Michelin Plate signals cooking quality above the everyday. The €€ price point keeps the financial commitment modest. If you want a more explicitly celebratory setting with a higher spend, Ada at €€€€ is the better call for a landmark occasion. Il Giurista works well for an anniversary dinner or a meaningful meal where atmosphere matters but extravagance is not the point.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Il Giurista | Regional Cuisine | This restaurant is named after Bartolo da Sassoferrato (as is the street on which it stands), a distinguished 14C jurist. From the street, you head down a few steps to the welcoming dining rooms with their historic ambience and brick-vaulted ceilings that keep the temperature pleasantly cool. The cuisine, which focuses exclusively on meat, is traditional and regional in flavour – an entire section of the menu is dedicated to black truffles in season. Friendly and attentive service.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Ada | Creative | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| L'Acciuga | Contemporary | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Cedri | Italian | Unknown | — | |
| L'Officina | Creative | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Perugia for this tier.
Yes, and it is one of the more comfortable solo options in Perugia's historic centre. The brick-vaulted dining rooms have a settled, unhurried atmosphere that does not make a single diner feel out of place. At the €€ price point, you can work through a meat-focused meal without a significant outlay. If you want company at the counter, L'Acciuga is the alternative, but Il Giurista's room is easier to sit in alone.
The venue database does not confirm a set tasting menu format, so this cannot be answered with certainty. What is confirmed: the menu is structured around regional meat cookery, with a dedicated seasonal section for black truffles. If truffles are in season when you visit, ordering across that section is likely the highest-value path through the menu at the €€ price range.
The menu centres entirely on meat in the regional Umbrian tradition, so that is where to focus. When black truffles are in season, a dedicated menu section is available — that is the clearest differentiator from other Perugia restaurants at this price point. Arriving outside truffle season, the regional meat dishes remain the core of what Il Giurista does, supported by two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions in 2024 and 2025.
The venue description points to a historic, brick-vaulted dining room with a welcoming rather than formal feel. Neat, presentable clothing fits the room — this is not a white-tablecloth occasion venue, but it is not casual either. Think along the lines of what you would wear to a well-regarded neighbourhood trattoria rather than a fine dining destination.
It works for a low-key celebration, particularly if you time it during truffle season and lean into that section of the menu. The historic ambience — steps down from street level, brick vaults, attentive service — gives it more occasion weight than a standard trattoria. For a milestone dinner where price is less of a concern, L'Acciuga carries more prestige. Il Giurista is the better call when you want something genuinely regional at a €€ price without booking pressure.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
