Restaurant in Sasso Marconi, Italy
One Michelin star, two menus, clear booking case.
Casa Mazzucchelli holds a Michelin star (2024) and delivers Aurora Mazzucchelli's Sicilian-Emilian creative cooking through two tasting menus at €€€ — a full price tier below most comparable Italian fine dining. The vegetable-led menu, house-baked bread, and stuffed pastas make it one of the more compelling value propositions in Emilia-Romagna. Book at least three to four weeks ahead; tables are hard to secure.
Yes — and the Michelin star it holds as of 2024 is only part of the reason. Casa Mazzucchelli in Sasso Marconi is the kind of restaurant that rewards the effort of getting there: chef Aurora Mazzucchelli's creative cooking draws on both her Sicilian heritage and deep Emilian roots, producing a menu where locally grown vegetables share space with stuffed pastas that are among the most considered in the region. At €€€ per head, it sits a price tier below the €€€€ competition — Osteria Francescana in Modena or Dal Pescatore in Runate , which makes it one of the more compelling value propositions in northern Italian fine dining right now.
There is a visual cue that sets the tone the moment you arrive: at certain times of day, freshly baked bread is coming out of the oven, and the smell reaches you before you have even sat down. That is not incidental atmosphere , it signals exactly what this kitchen prioritises. Bread-baking is taken seriously here, and the ovens that produce it also turn out dishes like wild boar with red wine babà and sage mayonnaise, a plate that shows how Aurora Mazzucchelli connects traditional technique to a genuinely contemporary sensibility.
The restaurant operates under the Casa Mazzucchelli format that Aurora introduced after deciding to reframe her original restaurant concept. The shift was deliberate: vegetables moved to the centre of the menu, sourced either locally in Emilia or directly from Sicily, and the cooking became more personal. The result is two tasting menus , Attimi di cucina and Momento contemporaneo , that give you different entry points into the same kitchen philosophy. Both are rooted in distinct, recognisable flavours rather than the kind of technique-for-its-own-sake abstraction you encounter at some creative-format restaurants. The stuffed pastas in particular carry the weight of serious Emilian tradition while feeling like they belong to this kitchen and no other.
Aurora was recognised as Italy's leading emerging chef some years ago , a credential that speaks to what this kitchen was doing well before the 2024 Michelin star formalised its reputation. That star is a useful signal for anyone comparing this against other fine dining options in the region: it tells you the kitchen is consistent, not merely occasionally impressive. For a food-focused traveller already making the effort to explore Sasso Marconi's restaurant scene, that consistency matters.
Given the editorial angle here: groups considering Casa Mazzucchelli should approach this carefully. The restaurant is not a large-format venue, and with seat count data unavailable, it is reasonable to assume capacity is limited in the way most Michelin-starred Italian restaurants of this profile are. The tasting menu format also shapes the group experience , both available menus are structured experiences rather than à la carte affairs, which works well for parties who want a shared journey through the kitchen's thinking, but less well for groups with divergent dietary preferences or those expecting to order individually.
For a private dining or celebration booking, the tasting menu structure is actually an advantage: it removes the friction of decision-making and lets the kitchen set the pace. If you are bringing a group of food-oriented guests who trust the chef's direction, this format delivers more coherence than a shared à la carte spread. That said, contact the restaurant directly to confirm whether a private room or exclusive hire is available , that information is not confirmed in current records, and it would be a material factor for larger parties.
Solo diners are a natural fit for tasting menu restaurants, and Casa Mazzucchelli is no exception. The structured format means a solo guest has the same complete experience as a table of four, without the usual pressures of a large group ordering dynamic. If you are travelling through Emilia-Romagna alone and want a serious meal, this is a good choice , though it is worth noting that booking difficulty is rated hard, so plan well ahead regardless of party size.
Casa Mazzucchelli opens Wednesday through Sunday for both lunch (12:30–14:30) and dinner (19:30–22:00). Monday and Tuesday are closed. Lunch here is genuinely worth considering: the same kitchen, the same menus, and often a slightly more relaxed pace than dinner service , which can make it the better setting if you want time to engage with the food rather than feel the turn of an evening service. Sasso Marconi is a short distance from Bologna, making a lunch visit bookable as part of a wider Emilia-Romagna itinerary without requiring an overnight stay.
Booking is rated hard. With a Michelin star, two tasting menus, and a kitchen with this level of recognition, tables fill. Book as far in advance as your schedule allows , a minimum of three to four weeks is a reasonable baseline, and further out for weekend dinner slots. No website or phone number is currently listed in Pearl's records, so contact details will need to be sourced independently or through a hotel concierge in the Bologna area.
For context on what else the area offers, see Antica Trattoria la Grotta dal 1918 and Nuova Roma for Emilian alternatives at a lower price point. The full Sasso Marconi restaurants guide, hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide are available on Pearl for broader trip planning.
Quick reference: Michelin 1 Star (2024) | €€€ | Wed–Sun lunch and dinner | Booking: hard , book 3–4 weeks minimum.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Mazzucchelli | Creative | €€€ | Hard |
| 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 |
How Casa Mazzucchelli stacks up against the competition.
Groups should approach with caution. Casa Mazzucchelli is not a large-format venue, and the tasting menu format (two set menus: Attimi di cucina and Momento contemporaneo) means the kitchen runs at a deliberate pace. Small groups of 2–4 will be best served here; larger parties should check the venue's official channels well in advance to confirm capacity. This is not the right venue for a corporate dinner or a celebratory table of eight.
It works for solo diners willing to commit to a tasting menu format. The Michelin-starred kitchen at €€€ pricing is focused on the food, and solo visits are a reasonable way to experience chef Aurora Mazzucchelli's vegetable-forward creative cuisine without a large spend. That said, the format here is designed around a full menu experience rather than a quick counter meal, so arrive unhurried.
Book at least 2–3 weeks ahead for dinner, and further out if you are visiting on a Friday or Saturday. The restaurant opens Wednesday through Sunday only, which compresses weekly demand into five services. Monday and Tuesday are closed, so weekend slots fill fastest. Given the 2024 Michelin star, last-minute availability at dinner is unreliable.
Yes, at €€€ pricing in the context of a 2024 Michelin-starred kitchen, both menus (Attimi di cucina and Momento contemporaneo) represent reasonable value for the level. Chef Aurora Mazzucchelli's cooking draws on both Sicilian and Emilian traditions, with vegetables as the anchor and stuffed pastas that are a particular strength. If you want à la carte flexibility, this is not the right format — the menus are the point.
Lunch (12:30–14:30) is the better choice if you are day-tripping from Bologna, as it leaves the afternoon free and the kitchen runs the same tasting menus as dinner. Dinner (19:30–22:00) suits those staying nearby or combining it with a longer visit to the area. There is no evidence of a different pricing structure between services, so the decision is logistical rather than culinary.
Yes. A 2024 Michelin star, a chef with a documented track record (Aurora Mazzucchelli was named Italy's best emerging chef), and two distinct tasting menus give this enough weight for a birthday, anniversary, or significant dinner. It is a considered, food-first experience rather than a grand dining room with theatrical service, so calibrate expectations accordingly. For a more formal occasion with a larger group, Dal Pescatore near Mantua offers a comparable Michelin-level experience in a more traditional setting.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
