Restaurant in Ventimiglia, Italy
One menu, no shortcuts, book ahead.

Casa Buono holds a Michelin star and ranks #332 in Europe on Opinionated About Dining, making it the strongest fine-dining option in the Ventimiglia area for a tasting-menu format. At €€€, it undercuts nearby Balzi Rossi while matching it on seriousness. Book three to four weeks ahead for weekend dinner — this is not a walk-in venue.
Getting a table at Casa Buono is not casual. The restaurant operates on a tight schedule — closed Monday and Tuesday, lunch service runs just 90 minutes (12:30–2:00 PM), and dinner wraps by 10:00 PM — which means there is no margin for flexible plans. Add a Michelin star earned in 2024, an Opinionated About Dining ranking of #332 in Europe for 2025 (up from #337 in 2024), and a Google rating of 4.9 from 327 reviews, and you are looking at a restaurant with genuine demand and very limited supply. Book at least three to four weeks out for weekend evenings. If you have already visited once, Sunday lunch is the slot to try next: it runs the same tasting menu, likely with a shorter queue and a different, more relaxed pace than Friday or Saturday dinner.
Casa Buono sits on Corso Cuneo in Trucco, a small village in the Val Roia valley a short drive inland from Ventimiglia. The dining room is compact and deliberately simple: colourful, welcoming, without the stiffness of formal fine dining. The restaurant has recently been extended following its commercial success, but the expansion has not changed the register , it remains a room that feels personal rather than polished. The service is run by the chef's wife, supported by a professional team, and the overall atmosphere leans warm and attentive rather than ceremonial. If you are returning after a first visit, the new extension means you may find the room feels slightly larger and better-paced than before, though the core character of the space remains intact.
There is no choice to make at the table beyond a few add-ons. The menu is "Orto e Mare" , a single tasting menu that anchors around vegetables and seafood, with optional additions of a meat dish and a selection from the cheese trolley. Antonio Buono trained at Mirazur, the three-Michelin-star restaurant in nearby Menton, and that background shapes the approach: the cooking is creative and technically precise, occasionally drawing on Ligurian tradition but not bound by it. The We're Smart Green Guide has flagged Casa Buono for its vegetable-forward potential, though it notes the produce has not yet fully taken centre stage. Dishes are described across multiple sources as beautifully prepared and genuinely surprising.
For a returning visitor, the cheese trolley is worth committing to. The selection is described as well-stocked, and in a restaurant operating at this price point (€€€) without à la carte flexibility, it represents one of the few places to personalise the experience.
Casa Buono is not. The format , a tasting menu with cheese trolley service, formal pacing, and an intimate dining room , is built entirely around the in-room experience. There is no website listed and no delivery infrastructure referenced in any available data. The editorial angle here is worth stating directly: if you are considering this restaurant for off-premise dining or a quick meal, it is the wrong venue. The food is designed to be eaten in sequence, in the room, at the pace the kitchen sets. Compare this with a Ventimiglia alternative like Marixx, where the seafood-focused menu and different price structure may be better suited to a lighter or more flexible meal format.
The recognition behind Casa Buono is substantive. A Michelin star in 2024 confirms technical consistency. The OAD ranking movement , from recommended new restaurant in 2023 to #337 in 2024 to #332 in 2025 , shows a restaurant still moving in the right direction, not coasting on early attention. For context, Italy's most celebrated tables , Osteria Francescana in Modena, Uliassi in Senigallia, and Piazza Duomo in Alba , occupy the very leading of that list. A #332 ranking at a rural Ligurian address with a single tasting menu format and limited covers is a meaningful credential. The We're Smart Green Guide recognition adds a further dimension: this is a kitchen being watched by the vegetable-forward fine dining community, even if it has not yet fully delivered on that potential.
| Detail | Casa Buono | Balzi Rossi | Marixx |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price range | €€€ | €€€€ | €€€ |
| Cuisine | Progressive Italian | Ligurian, Country cooking | Seafood |
| Format | Tasting menu only | A la carte available | A la carte available |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Moderate | Easier |
| Closed days | Mon–Tue | Varies | Varies |
| Sunday lunch | Yes (12:30–2 PM) | Check ahead | Check ahead |
| Michelin star | 1 (2024) | Yes | No |
For more on where to eat, drink, and stay in the area, see our full Ventimiglia restaurants guide, hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Buono | Progressive Italian, Country cooking | €€€ | Hard |
| Balzi Rossi | Ligurian, Country cooking | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Marixx | Seafood | €€€ | Unknown |
| Il Giardino del Gusto | Creative | €€€ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Ventimiglia for this tier.
Yes, and it is better suited to a special occasion than a casual dinner. The fixed Orto e Mare tasting menu, cheese trolley service, and Michelin-starred kitchen create a structured, event-like experience. The intimate room and attentive service from the chef's wife and her team give it a personal quality that larger tasting-menu restaurants rarely deliver. Budget for €€€ per head and book well ahead — this is not a walk-in venue.
There is no à la carte option at Casa Buono, which makes significant dietary restrictions harder to accommodate than at a menu-choice restaurant. The Orto e Mare format is a set tasting menu, so guests with serious restrictions should check the venue's official channels before booking to confirm what adjustments are possible. Chef Antonio Buono's background at Mirazur suggests vegetable-forward cooking is within his repertoire, but do not assume the menu will adapt without prior notice.
The room is described as simple, colourful, and welcoming rather than formal, but a Michelin-starred tasting menu in rural Liguria calls for neat, considered dress. Think polished casual: well-cut trousers, a shirt or blouse, clean footwear. Shorts and beachwear are out of place; a jacket is not required but would not look odd at dinner.
There is nothing to order — the Orto e Mare tasting menu is the only option. The meaningful decisions are whether to add a meat course and whether to engage the cheese trolley, which is well-stocked and worth the addition if you have the appetite. Both are the kind of supplemental choices that reward saying yes.
Balzi Rossi is the most prominent alternative, a longer-established name on the French border that trades more heavily on seafood and setting. Marixx and Il Giardino del Gusto offer less structured formats if you want à la carte flexibility rather than a committed tasting menu. If the drive inland to Trucco and the fixed menu format give you pause, those three are worth comparing — but none currently hold a Michelin star or OAD Top 400 placement matching Casa Buono's 2024–2025 recognition.
Dinner is the fuller experience: service runs from 7:30 PM to 10 PM Wednesday through Saturday, giving you the complete tasting menu without the time pressure of the 90-minute lunch window. Lunch (12:30 PM to 2 PM, Wednesday through Sunday including Sunday) is the only option on Sundays, and is practical if you are passing through on a day trip from the coast — but the pacing of a tasting menu fits an evening better. Sunday lunch is also the one slot available mid-week visitors cannot access, so it is worth noting if your schedule is tight.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.