Bislakko

Verdict

Book Bislakko. For Vercelli, a mid-size Piedmontese city better known for rice paddies than restaurant culture, this is the most interesting place to eat in town. If you are planning more than one meal in the area, Bislakko is worth building your itinerary around — the menu has enough range across meat, fish, vegetarian, chocolate-led tasting formats to reward repeat visits. First-timers and returning guests are genuinely catered for here, which is rarer than it sounds at this price level.

Portrait

The name is the first clue that this kitchen does not take itself too seriously in the wrong ways. "Bislacco" means quirky in Italian, but the cooking earns that label on its own terms rather than through affectation. Michelin's assessors have recognised it with Plates in both 2024 and 2025, a signal that the technical execution is consistent rather than occasionally inspired. That matters when you are planning a special occasion meal: you want a kitchen that delivers on the night, not one that peaks unpredictably.

The menu structure is the most decision-relevant thing to understand before you arrive. Bislakko runs both à la carte and tasting menus, which means your visit can look quite different depending on what you choose. The Chocolate Passion tasting menu — in which chocolate appears in measured doses across every course, is the format that most distinguishes this restaurant from anything else in Vercelli or the surrounding province. The kitchen describes itself as a "cioccoristoreria," a portmanteau of chocolate and restaurant, the Chocolate Passion menu is where that identity is most fully expressed. It is not a dessert-heavy gimmick; the point is calibration, with chocolate integrated into savoury courses in a way that is meant to complement rather than overwhelm.

For a first visit, the Chocolate Passion tasting menu is the right call if you are coming for a celebration or a date meal. It gives you the kitchen's clearest statement of intent and the most coherent arc across courses. The à la carte is worth saving for a second visit, when you have a baseline sense of what the kitchen does well and can make more targeted choices among the risotto options, the meat dishes, the fish. Vercelli sits in the heart of Piedmont's rice-growing region, so the risottos here carry genuine local logic, this is not a restaurant in Milan adding risotto to a menu for tourism reasons. Order at least one.

A third visit, if you find yourself in the area again, opens up the vegetarian options more deliberately. The menu is structured to let meat, fish, vegetarian dishes coexist without any category feeling like an afterthought, which is worth noting for groups with mixed dietary preferences. A table that spans all three categories across a shared meal gets a more complete picture of what Bislakko can do.

In terms of occasion fit: the €€ pricing makes this accessible enough that it does not need to be reserved for milestone events, but the Michelin recognition and tasting menu format give it enough formality to work for anniversaries, birthday dinners, or a business meal where you want to impress without the full weight of a €€€€ commitment. It sits in a practical middle register that Vercelli does not have much of otherwise. For a special occasion in this city, there is no stronger local option at this price.

Timing matters at a restaurant with this level of local following. Book in advance for weekend dinners and any night where a tasting menu is your plan. Weekday lunches are likely the easiest entry point if you want more flexibility, though hours are not confirmed in our data and you should verify directly before arriving. The booking process is described as easy, which means you are unlikely to face the weeks-long wait that characterises more pressurised reservations in the region.

Bislakko is at Via Thaon de Revel, 87 in Vercelli, which puts it within the city proper and accessible without logistical effort if you are already in town. If you are travelling specifically for this meal, Vercelli is reachable by train from Milan in under an hour, making it a viable day-trip destination from the city. For a broader sense of what else the area offers, our full Vercelli restaurants guide covers the local dining picture, the Vercelli hotels guide is useful if you are staying overnight. Country cooking fans with a wider touring appetite should also look at 21.9 in Piobesi d'Alba and Andrea Monesi at Locanda di Orta in Orta San Giulio, both of which operate in the same country cooking register and offer useful points of comparison for the wider Piedmont region. The Christian & Manuel modern cuisine restaurant in Vercelli is the other local option worth knowing about if you are planning multiple meals in the city. Reserve ahead for weekend evenings and tasting menu nights. Weekday visits offer more flexibility. Verify hours directly before planning your trip, as confirmed operating times are not available in our current data.

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