Restaurant in Teramo, Italy
Niko Romito-trained cooking at trattoria prices.
Spoon is a Michelin Plate-recognised restaurant in Teramo's historic centre, where chef Marco Cozzi (trained under Niko Romito) reinterprets traditional Abruzzo recipes using seasonal, regional ingredients. Two meat-focused tasting menus at a €€ price point make this one of central Italy's better-value contemporary dining options. Google-rated 4.7 from 101 reviews.
The common assumption about Teramo is that serious contemporary cooking requires a long drive — to Castel di Sangro for Reale, or further north to better-known dining cities. Spoon corrects that assumption. Right in the historic centre, steps from the 13th-century cathedral, this small restaurant with an outdoor terrace delivers Michelin Plate-recognised cooking at a €€ price point that would be difficult to find at this quality level anywhere in central Italy. Book it now, while it remains genuinely accessible.
Spoon is a chef-driven neighbourhood restaurant, not a special-occasion showpiece with a €200 cover charge. The setting is simple and unpretentious — an intimate interior with outdoor seating on the street, the kind of room where the food does the talking rather than the décor. The ambient feel runs quiet and focused, particularly early in the evening: this is not a loud, social dining room. Conversation is easy, energy is calm, and the attention in the room is on the plate. If you are looking for a buzzy, high-energy atmosphere, this is not it , and that is not a criticism.
What the room offers instead is the particular pleasure of eating well without theatre. The outdoor space, weather permitting, adds a layer of ease that makes this a strong option for a long, unhurried dinner. For the Teramo dining scene, the combination of quality and informality is notable.
Understanding Spoon's menu means understanding its sourcing commitments. Chef Marco Cozzi trained under Niko Romito , one of Italy's most rigorous contemporary chefs, whose three-Michelin-starred Reale in Castel di Sangro has built its reputation on a precise, ingredient-led philosophy. That training is visible in how Spoon approaches its material.
The cooking draws entirely from seasonal, regional Abruzzo produce. Navelli saffron , one of the most prized in Italy, grown at altitude in the province of L'Aquila , appears in a reworked pancotto dish alongside Robiola cheese, cime di rapa, and cured pork loin. This is not fusion or novelty: it is a serious attempt to reinterpret traditional Abruzzo recipes through a contemporary technical lens, using ingredients that are locally documented and regionally specific. The menu structure reinforces this: two tasting menus focused on meat, with vegetables given significant supporting weight throughout.
This sourcing approach matters for how you assess the price. At €€, you are getting produce quality that at comparable creative Italian restaurants , think Piazza Duomo in Alba or Le Calandre in Rubano , would cost two to three times as much. The Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 confirms that the kitchen is executing at a level above casual dining, even if the room does not broadcast that ambition.
Spoon is the right choice if you are a food traveller in Abruzzo who wants to eat the region's ingredients at a level above a trattoria, without the planning and expense of a full Michelin-starred tasting experience. It is also a strong option if you are already visiting the cathedral district and want a dinner that justifies the trip. The meat-focused tasting menus make it less suitable for vegetarians or anyone avoiding meat entirely, though the vegetable components are clearly taken seriously.
For those travelling through the wider Abruzzo and Marche corridor, pairing Spoon with Uliassi in Senigallia on a longer itinerary gives you a useful contrast between Cozzi's land-focused Abruzzo cooking and Mauro Uliassi's Adriatic seafood approach. Other regional Abruzzo options worth comparing include Bacucco d'Oro in Mutignano and Borgo Spoltino in Mosciano Sant'Angelo, both of which lean more traditionally. For Japanese in Teramo, Oishi is the relevant alternative if the tasting format is not what you are after that evening.
Spoon holds a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, meaning Michelin's inspectors consider the cooking worth noting, even without awarding a star. Its Google rating stands at 4.7 from 101 reviews , a score that suggests consistent quality rather than a single well-reviewed peak. For a small restaurant in a mid-sized Italian provincial city, that combination of sustained professional recognition and strong guest feedback is meaningful. See our full Teramo restaurants guide for further context on how Spoon sits within the local scene, and browse hotels in Teramo, bars, wineries, and experiences if you are planning a full visit.
Booking at Spoon is currently easy relative to the quality on offer , a direct consequence of its location in a city that does not attract high volumes of destination-dining tourists. That said, small restaurants in Italian historic centres fill quickly on weekend evenings, and the Michelin Plate recognition adds pressure. Book one to two weeks ahead for Friday or Saturday dinners; midweek tables at €€ price points in cities this size are rarely more than a few days' notice. Contact the restaurant directly, as no central booking platform data is available. Reservations: Advance booking recommended, particularly weekends. Dress: Smart casual is appropriate given the Michelin recognition and intimate setting; there is no evidence of a formal dress code. Budget: €€, making this one of the more accessible entry points to Niko Romito-lineage cooking in Abruzzo. Address: Via Mario Capuani 61A, 64100 Teramo.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spoon | Located in the heart of the historic centre, just a stone’s throw from the beautiful 13C cathedral, this small, simple restaurant with an outdoor space is home to owner-chef Marco Cozzi, whose cuisine is the main attraction here. Having trained with Niko Romito, this chef creates dishes from seasonal, regional ingredients, reinterpreting traditional recipes to give them a contemporary flavour (for example, he transforms pancotto into a cream of bread and Navelli saffron, which he then crowns with Robiola cheese, cime di rapa and triangles of cured pork loin). His two tasting menus focus entirely on meat and feature an impressive selection of vegetables.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | €€ | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Dal Pescatore | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Osteria Francescana | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Quattro Passi | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Reale | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
A quick look at how Spoon measures up.
Spoon is a small, simple neighbourhood restaurant — not a formal dining room. Neat casual clothing fits the setting. There is no indication of a dress code, and the unpretentious atmosphere does not call for jackets or heels.
For comparable ambition in Abruzzo, the closest reference point is Reale in Castel di Sangro — but that is a three-Michelin-star operation at a significantly higher price. Spoon is the option if you want contemporary regional cooking in Teramo itself, at €€, without travelling across the region.
Spoon is described as a small restaurant, which makes it a tight fit for large parties. Groups of four to six are likely manageable, particularly if the outdoor space is in use, but anything larger should check the venue's official channels to confirm availability before assuming capacity.
Booking is currently easier than the quality warrants — Teramo does not pull high volumes of food tourists, so a week or two of lead time is likely sufficient for most visits. That said, Spoon holds a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, and visibility will grow; book sooner if your travel dates are fixed.
Yes, at the €€ price range. Chef Marco Cozzi, trained under Niko Romito, structures two meat-focused tasting menus around seasonal Abruzzo ingredients — pancotto reinterpreted as a bread cream with Navelli saffron and Robiola, for example. That level of technique at this price point is the reason to book the tasting menu over ordering à la carte.
At €€, yes. Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 confirms the inspectors find the cooking worth noting. You are getting a chef trained by Niko Romito, working with Abruzzo's best regional ingredients, in a city where comparable cooking would otherwise require a long drive and a much larger bill.
It works for a food-focused celebration, but set expectations correctly: this is a simple, intimate room near Teramo's 13th-century cathedral, not a grand dining room with ceremony. If the occasion calls for tasting-menu cooking in a low-key setting, Spoon delivers. If it requires formal service and theatrical presentation, it is the wrong choice.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
