Restaurant in San Piero In Bagno, Italy
Top-120 Europe. Book before you arrive.
daGorini ranks #112 in Europe (OAD 2025) and scores 87 points with La Liste — serious credentials for a small restaurant in the Apennine hills of Romagna. Compared to similarly awarded Italian destinations, it is notably easier to book and offers progressive cooking rooted in local game, freshwater fish, and Mora Romagnolo pig. A genuine detour worth making.
Yes — if you are already planning to be in the Apennine hills of Emilia-Romagna, or are willing to drive for a dinner that ranks among the top 120 restaurants in Europe. daGorini, named for its chef Gianluca Gorini, sits in the historic centre of San Piero in Bagno, a small town in the Forlivese hills that most Italian food tourists drive straight past on their way to the coast. That is precisely why it rewards the detour: a La Liste score of 87 points (2026), an Opinionated About Dining ranking of #112 in Europe (2025), and a Google rating of 4.8 from 639 reviews make this one of the most credible destination-dining propositions in central Italy for its size and setting.
The cooking at daGorini is rooted in the hilly countryside around it — mushrooms, game, freshwater fish, and Mora Romagnolo suckling pig feature consistently , but Gorini's approach is progressive rather than traditionally rustic. The kitchen works the barbecue grill with intention: lamb, eel, and pigeon are given char and texture that separates them clearly from the usual white-tablecloth treatment of the same ingredients. La Liste's notes from both 2025 and 2026 single out the vegetable preparations as a particular strength, describing them as close to confectionery in their precision and sweetness. If you have already eaten here once and ordered around the meat and fish, the vegetable dishes are the obvious next focus.
The room itself reads as the visual anchor of the experience. San Piero in Bagno's historic centre is a compact, stone-built environment, and daGorini's setting within it carries the weight of that context visually before a plate arrives. This is not a sleek urban design statement , it reads as a place that belongs where it is, which in progressive Italian cooking is increasingly rare.
daGorini is open Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for both lunch (12:30–14:00) and dinner (20:00–22:00), Thursday evenings only (19:30–22:00), and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For late-evening options, note that last dinner orders are taken at 10:00 PM on most service days , this is not a restaurant where you can arrive at 9:30 PM expecting flexibility. If you are staying locally and want the later window, Thursday's 19:30 start gives you the most relaxed timeline before kitchen close.
Booking is rated easy relative to its award profile, which is one of its genuine practical advantages over comparable-calibre Italian restaurants. You do not need to plan months ahead the way you would for Osteria Francescana in Modena or Le Calandre in Rubano. That said, weekend lunch slots in summer fill faster than the awards visibility might suggest , the local and regional following is real.
daGorini works leading as a destination lunch or early dinner for a couple or small group that wants progressive Italian cooking without the booking friction or urban surroundings of Florence, Bologna, or Milan. It is a strong fit if you are already routing through the Apennines , between the Adriatic coast and Tuscany, for instance , or if you are spending time in the spas and hill towns of Romagna. For solo diners or pairs on a broader northern Italy circuit, pairing daGorini with Uliassi in Senigallia or Reale in Castel di Sangro gives you a regional progressive Italian run that covers very different terrain and ingredient vocabularies.
Groups should note that no seat count is published. If you are booking for four or more, contact the restaurant directly to confirm capacity and preferred configuration , this is standard practice for small destination restaurants of this type in rural Italy, where the dining room is compact and service ratios matter.
If you are building a stay around this meal, see our full San Piero in Bagno restaurants guide, our San Piero in Bagno hotels guide, and our San Piero in Bagno bars guide. For broader planning, the local wineries guide and experiences guide are worth checking before you arrive.
San Piero in Bagno does not have a deep restaurant bench at daGorini's level , this is a small Apennine town, not a regional food capital. If you want progressive Italian cooking of similar ambition in the broader region, Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence is the closest in terms of culinary seriousness, though the format and price point are considerably higher and the booking harder. For a different but comparable destination-dining experience in rural Italy, Dal Pescatore in Runate offers a family-run Italian contemporary experience that is also worth a serious detour.
Based on what La Liste and OAD reviewers have highlighted, the vegetable preparations are the strongest calling card , described as having the precision and layering you would expect from a dessert course. The barbecue grill dishes (lamb, eel, pigeon) are the other consistent strength, giving classic regional ingredients a texture and depth that separates them from conventional Romagnola cooking. If you have visited before and focused on the meat courses, the vegetable dishes are the clear next move. No specific menu items or prices are published, so check the current menu at time of booking.
Booking is rated easy relative to daGorini's award profile , you are not facing the multi-month wait of Italy's most-booked destination restaurants. In practice, a week to ten days ahead is usually sufficient outside summer weekends. Friday and Saturday lunch in July and August are the slots most likely to require earlier planning. If your trip is in the shoulder season (April–June or September–October), you have more flexibility, but booking at least a few days out is still sensible for a restaurant operating at this level.
No dress code is published. At a progressive Italian restaurant of this calibre in a small historic hill town, smart casual is the practical default , well-presented but not formal. You are not in a metropolitan grand-hotel dining room, so dark-suit expectations do not apply. Think along the lines of what you would wear to a well-regarded trattoria in Bologna or Florence: considered, comfortable, and appropriate for a multi-course meal.
Yes, straightforwardly. A La Liste score of 87 points, an OAD ranking of #112 in Europe, and a 4.8 Google rating across 639 reviews give daGorini the credentials to anchor a significant dinner. The advantage over better-known Italian special-occasion destinations is the atmosphere: you are eating in a small Apennine town rather than a major city, which gives the occasion a sense of genuine discovery without the booking friction or urban noise of venues at a similar level. For a birthday or anniversary where the meal itself is the event and the setting matters, it is a strong choice.
Lunch is the stronger recommendation for a first or return visit. The 12:30 start on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday lets you arrive unhurried, and eating in the afternoon in a hill town like San Piero in Bagno has a practical appeal: you have time to explore the surroundings before or after, and you avoid any late-evening drive through mountain roads. Dinner has the advantage of the longer Thursday evening service window (19:30–22:00) if you are arriving from a distance on that day. Both services are available most days, so the choice comes down to your travel logistics more than any quality difference.
No seat count or group booking policy is published. daGorini is a small restaurant in a compact historic-centre building , the dining room is almost certainly limited in size, which means groups of six or more should contact the restaurant directly before assuming availability. For parties of two to four, standard booking should be fine. If you are planning a group occasion, reach out early and be specific about your party size; small destination restaurants at this level in rural Italy often require advance arrangement for larger tables.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| daGorini | Progressive Italian | La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 87pts; This restaurant in San Piero in Bagno’s historic centre takes its name from its young chef Gianluca da Gorini, who prepares original and creative cuisine inspired by the traditions of this beautiful hilly region as well as his own more imaginative creations. Frequently used ingredients include mushrooms, game, freshwater fish and Mora Romagnolo suckling pig, often combined with other more exotic fare. There’s a particular emphasis on dishes cooked over the barbecue grill, which gives ingredients such as lamb, eel and pigeon a particularly pleasant texture and flavour.; Chef Gianluca Gorini has talent! His restaurant is a hit with a new outlook for the region. The vegetable creations are like sweets, so we enjoy them to the full. There is no separate vegetable menu yet. Maybe it's time to bring it on?; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #112 (2025); La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 88.5pts; Chef: Gianluca Gorini document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { var el = document.getElementById("Achievements_chefs"); if (el && el.parentNode) { el.parentNode.removeChild(el); } });; This restaurant in San Piero in Bagno’s historic centre takes its name from its young chef Gianluca da Gorini, who prepares original and creative cuisine inspired by the traditions of this beautiful hilly region as well as his own more imaginative creations. Frequently used ingredients include mushrooms, game, freshwater fish and Mora Romagnolo suckling pig, often combined with other more exotic fare. There’s a particular emphasis on dishes cooked over the barbecue grill, which gives ingredients such as lamb, eel and pigeon a particularly pleasant texture and flavour.; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #117 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top New Restaurants in Europe Ranked #89 (2023) | Easy | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Italian, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dal Pescatore | Italian, Italian Contemporary | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Enoteca Pinchiorri | Italian - French, Italian Contemporary | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Enrico Bartolini | Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Le Calandre | Progressive Italian, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
There are no direct competitors in San Piero in Bagno itself at this level. The closest regional comparisons are Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence for classical Italian fine dining, or Le Calandre near Padova for progressive cooking with broader international reach. daGorini is the reason to come to this part of the Apennines specifically — the others are destinations you'd plan around separately. If you want similar ingredient-driven, territory-rooted cooking without the drive, Dal Pescatore in Lombardy is worth considering.
The kitchen's signature ingredients — mushrooms, game, freshwater fish, and Mora Romagnolo suckling pig — are the core of what makes daGorini worth the trip. La Liste specifically flags the barbecue-grilled preparations (lamb, eel, pigeon) as a defining technique, and reviewers have singled out the vegetable courses as particularly strong. Go with the tasting menu rather than trying to cherry-pick; the kitchen is built around a progression.
Book at least three to four weeks out for weekends; daGorini is open Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for both lunch and dinner, plus Thursday evenings only. Tuesday and Wednesday are closed. The restaurant draws destination diners from across Europe — its OAD #112 ranking (2025) means seats move. Lunch on a Monday or Friday is your best shot at shorter lead times.
No dress code is documented, but this is a serious progressive Italian kitchen ranked in the top 120 restaurants in Europe (OAD 2025) — dressed-up casual is the sensible call. Think a step above what you'd wear to a good neighbourhood trattoria: no need for a jacket, but avoid anything overly casual.
Yes, and it's a stronger choice for a milestone meal than most comparable restaurants in the region precisely because it feels local rather than performative. Chef Gianluca Gorini's cooking draws on the hilly countryside around the restaurant — mushrooms, game, Mora Romagnolo pig — which gives a special occasion dinner a sense of place you won't get at a hotel fine-dining room. La Liste scores it at 88.5 points (2025), which puts it comfortably in occasion-dinner territory.
Lunch is the practical choice if you're driving from Florence, Bologna, or the Adriatic coast — the 12:30 service lets you plan around travel without a late return. Dinner works better if you're staying nearby. There's no documented difference in menu between services, so the decision is mostly logistical. Thursday dinner-only hours mean if you're visiting midweek, dinner is your only option.
No group capacity or private dining information is documented for daGorini. Given that this is a small, chef-led restaurant in a village setting, large groups (6+) should check the venue's official channels before booking. Smaller groups of two to four are the natural fit for this format.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
