Restaurant in Selva Malvezzi, Italy
Two Michelin nods. €€ prices. Book it.
A Michelin Bib Gourmand winner in 2024 and 2025, Locanda Pincelli delivers creative Italian cooking — generous, carefully presented, with an interesting wine list — at an accessible €€ price point in a rustic former workers' club outside Molinella. The summer porch and relaxed atmosphere make it a strong choice for a special occasion dinner without the cost or formality of a full fine-dining room. Book one to two weeks ahead; you will need a car to get there.
At the €€ price tier, Locanda Pincelli delivers creative Italian cooking that has earned back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025. That combination — serious culinary intent at accessible prices, in a small village outside Molinella — makes this one of the more compelling reasons to detour through the flatlands of the Po Valley. If you are weighing a special dinner somewhere in Emilia-Romagna and do not want to spend €€€€, book here first.
The setting frames the decision well. This is a former workers' club, and the building carries that history honestly: rustic proportions, an unpretentious interior, and a porch that becomes the place to be in summer, where cooling fans keep the heat manageable and the mood unhurried. The atmosphere reads as relaxed rather than formal, which matters if you are planning a celebration or a date night , you get a genuinely pleasant room without the stiffness that can accompany tasting-menu temples at higher price points. For a special occasion that does not require a dress code or a reverential hush, this is a sensible match. The energy is warm and personal rather than performative.
Without confirmed hours in our database, we cannot verify whether Locanda Pincelli runs a separate lunch service, and you should confirm directly before planning your visit. That caveat aside, the general principle for Bib Gourmand restaurants in rural Italy is worth keeping in mind: lunch sittings at this category of restaurant often represent the sharpest value moment, with shorter menus and the same kitchen at work. If a weekday lunch option exists here, it is likely the most efficient way to experience the cooking at the lowest spend. Evening sittings at a venue like this tend to be fuller, slower, and better suited to a longer meal with wine, which aligns with the occasion-dinner use case. The porch in summer is most practically enjoyable at dinner when the day's heat has passed, which nudges the evening sitting toward the better atmospheric choice for warm-weather visits.
Chef Andrew Baird's approach steps deliberately away from local Emilian tradition , this is not a tortellini-in-brodo destination , while staying grounded enough that the dishes read as food rather than concept. The Michelin assessors specifically noted mezze maniche pasta with stewed white onion, sour butter and burnt lemon, and a leg of guinea fowl browned with paprika, finished with its own juices and horseradish mayonnaise. Both dishes illustrate the register: Italian structural thinking, unexpected acidic and smoky touches, generous portions. At this price tier, the generosity of serving size is not a small detail. It is one of the main reasons the Bib Gourmand designation, which rewards price-to-quality ratio rather than sheer technical ambition, fits this kitchen well.
The wine list, according to Michelin's notes, is not extensive but is carefully chosen. Owner Danilo's involvement in recommendations means you have a direct line to informed guidance rather than a sommelier-free guessing exercise. For a special-occasion dinner, asking Danilo to steer the wine pairing is the practical move , he knows the list better than the list knows itself.
Locanda Pincelli sits in Selva Malvezzi, a small community within the municipality of Molinella, roughly in the flatlands northeast of Bologna. The address is Via Selva, 52, 40062 Molinella BO. Reaching it requires a car; this is not a destination you arrive at by public transport with any ease. Factor driving time from Bologna into your planning , and if you are combining this with other Emilia-Romagna restaurants, see our full Selva Malvezzi restaurants guide for context on what else the area offers. For accommodation options nearby, our Selva Malvezzi hotels guide covers the local options, and our bars guide and wineries guide round out the picture if you are planning a longer stay.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, but easy does not mean last-minute is safe. A Bib Gourmand restaurant in a small village draws a specific type of motivated diner , people who have specifically sought it out. Weekend tables, especially in summer when the porch is at its leading, fill faster than the restaurant's low profile might suggest. Booking one to two weeks out for weekday visits is reasonable; for Friday and Saturday evenings, two to three weeks is the safer window. No phone or website is currently listed in our database, so your leading approach is to search directly for current contact details before planning travel.
With a 4.6 rating across 670 Google reviews, the guest consensus is consistent with the Michelin recognition: this kitchen performs reliably rather than occasionally. A high volume of reviews for a village restaurant suggests a loyal repeat audience and a steady flow of visitors making deliberate trips rather than accidental drop-ins. That kind of review profile at this price point is a meaningful signal for a special-occasion booking , the risk of a disappointing experience on a night that matters is lower than the setting and address might imply.
For broader context on creative Italian cooking at higher price points , useful if you are building an itinerary around serious restaurant visits in Italy , see Osteria Francescana in Modena, Piazza Duomo in Alba, Reale in Castel di Sangro, Uliassi in Senigallia, Quattro Passi in Marina del Cantone, and Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli in Verona. For creative cooking outside Italy, Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen and Arpège in Paris represent the upper end of the same category.
It is a former workers' club in a small village outside Molinella , rustic, unpretentious, with a summer porch. The cooking is creative Italian, not traditional Emilian, so do not come expecting tortellini and ragù. It holds the Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2024 and 2025, which signals serious cooking at a price point that does not require a splurge budget. You will need a car to get here. Ask owner Danilo about the wine list , it is short but considered, and he knows it well.
Yes, with the right expectations. At €€, it is one of the better options in the Bologna province for a celebration dinner that feels special without the formality or cost of a full tasting-menu restaurant. The porch in summer adds a genuinely atmospheric dimension. It is a better fit for a relaxed, intimate occasion , anniversary, birthday dinner, a meaningful meal with someone you want to impress without theatre , than for a high-ceremony event where a formal dining room matters.
One to two weeks out for weekday evenings is generally sufficient. For weekend tables , particularly Saturday dinner in summer when the porch is in use , aim for two to three weeks. The Bib Gourmand recognition draws motivated diners who plan ahead, and the restaurant is small enough that a popular sitting can fill quickly. No website or phone number is currently listed in our database; confirm current contact details before committing travel plans.
The relaxed, former workers' club atmosphere makes it a more comfortable solo experience than a formal fine-dining room. At €€, a solo meal is not a significant financial commitment, and the counter-style interaction with staff , particularly with Danilo on wine , means a solo diner is unlikely to feel ignored or out of place. It is not a large-group destination by format, which works in a solo diner's favour for atmosphere and pacing.
At €€ with back-to-back Bib Gourmand recognition, yes. The price-to-quality ratio is precisely what the Bib Gourmand designation is designed to identify, and the 4.6 Google rating across 670 reviews confirms that the kitchen delivers consistently. If your benchmark for value is what you spend at a standard trattoria versus what you get here in terms of creative cooking and careful wine service, Locanda Pincelli comes out well ahead.
We do not have confirmed information on whether a tasting menu is offered, so we cannot assess it directly. What Michelin's notes describe is generous, beautifully presented individual dishes , including a pasta course and a main of guinea fowl , which suggests an à la carte or fixed-price format rather than an extended tasting sequence. The Bib Gourmand designation specifically rewards value, which typically aligns with accessible multi-course formats rather than long tasting menus. Confirm the current menu format when booking. Also note that our Selva Malvezzi experiences guide can help you plan the wider visit.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locanda Pincelli | Creative | €€ | 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 |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
This is a former workers' club in Selva Malvezzi — a genuinely small community northeast of Bologna — so do not expect a city-centre dining room. What you get is back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition (2024 and 2025) at €€ prices, chef Andrew Baird's creative cooking that deliberately steps away from Emilian tradition, and a summer porch setting that is considerably more pleasant than the address suggests. Ask owner Danilo for wine guidance; the list is compact but chosen with care.
Yes, particularly if the occasion calls for something personal rather than grand. Two consecutive Bib Gourmand awards signal consistent kitchen performance, and the creative cooking is more considered than what €€ pricing normally implies. It is not a white-tablecloth splurge like Enoteca Pinchiorri, but for a birthday or anniversary where value matters and you want something with genuine culinary credibility, Locanda Pincelli makes a strong case.
Book at least two to three weeks ahead, and further out for weekend evenings. Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in consecutive years generates demand that outpaces what a small-community restaurant can absorb, and the venue has no confirmed online booking portal in our records — contacting them directly is the safest route. Summer bookings for the porch fill faster, so plan accordingly.
The rustic, former-workers'-club setting and the involvement of owner Danilo on the floor suggest a convivial atmosphere where solo diners are unlikely to feel out of place. The €€ price tier keeps a solo meal financially low-stakes relative to other Bib Gourmand options in the region. Without confirmed seating configuration in our database, it is worth asking when booking whether counter or bar seating is available.
At €€, yes — this is one of the clearest value cases in the Bologna province for Michelin-recognised cooking. Back-to-back Bib Gourmand awards (2024, 2025) at this price tier are not common in Emilia-Romagna, a region where quality dining often commands significantly more. If you are comparing on pure value-per-plate, Locanda Pincelli outperforms most alternatives at its price point.
We do not have confirmed tasting menu details or pricing for Locanda Pincelli in our database, so we cannot give a verdict on format or course count. What the Michelin recognition does confirm is that the kitchen performs reliably on creative dishes at €€ prices. When booking, ask Danilo directly about menu formats — his involvement in guiding both wine and the dining experience suggests he will give a straight answer on what is worth ordering.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
