What to Eat in Verona: Local Dishes, Where Locals Eat, Valpolicella Wine & the Best Food Tours

The short version: in Verona, eat risotto all’Amarone, bollito with pearà (boiled meats with a peppery bread and marrow sauce), pastissada de caval (horse stew with polenta) and bigoli with donkey ragù, then buy a pandoro in season. Book one of the two Michelin Bib Gourmand osterie, Al Bersagliere or Osteria Mondo d’Oro, and do a cheap lunch at Osteria al Duca. Drink Valpolicella, Ripasso and Amarone at the Antica Bottega del Vino, with Soave and Lugana as the local whites. On a short visit, a food or wine tour is the shortcut to the right osterie and the Valpolicella cellars. Below: what to eat, where to eat it, what to drink, and the food experiences worth booking.

What to eat in Verona, and where to eat it

Where to eat in Verona

Verona eats in osterie: bigoli, risotto all’Amarone, horse stew, boiled meats with pearà in the cold months, and a glass (an ombra) of Valpolicella. Book dinner, especially at weekends, during the summer opera season and around Vinitaly in April, and note that the risotto all’Amarone usually has to be ordered for two.

For a classic dinner

Al Bersagliere on Via Dietro Pallone holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (Michelin listing) for substantial Veronese cooking: whipped baccalà, pasta e fagioli, pastissada de caval and the diplomatico, a dessert made with pandoro and caramel. It opens Tuesday to Saturday, so book. Osteria Mondo d’Oro, in a lane off Corso Porta Borsari, is the other Bib Gourmand (Michelin listing), for pasta reale in capon broth and beef cheek braised in Amarone; it closes on Tuesdays and serves only dinner on Wednesdays. Near Piazza delle Erbe, Hostaria La Vecchia Fontanina is rustic and good value at about 40 euros a head, with risotto all’Amarone with truffle at 18 euros a person (minimum two) and pastissada with polenta at 18 euros. For bollito with pearà, Osteria Il Bertoldo on Vicolo Cadrega is a more polished, intimate room, also good for risotto all’Amarone.

For a local lunch

Osteria al Duca, in a medieval palace by the Scaliger tombs, is the lunch bargain: 26 euros for a first course and a main, or 30 euros with beef stewed in Amarone or baccalà alla vicentina, both with polenta. Order bigoli al torchio with donkey ragù or pasta e fasoi. Across the river in Veronetta, Da Morandin on Via XX Settembre is a rustic, no-frills family osteria for bigoli col musso and pasta e fasoi. By the cathedral, Osteria Trattoria Al Duomo makes its own pasta, including bigoli with donkey ragù and macaroni with tastasal (seasoned sausage meat). Osteria A Le Petarine on Via San Mamaso is an old-style family osteria whose risotto all’Amarone is the dish to order.

For a cheap, fast meal

At Caffè Monte Baldo on Via Rosa, open since 1909 near Piazza delle Erbe, order a selection of ten tartine (small open sandwiches) (from about 70) for 20 euros with a glass of wine. Osteria del Bugiardo on Corso Porta Borsari, opened in 2005 by the Buglioni winery, is the place for a board of cicchetti with a glass of its own Ripasso. For pizza, Pizzeria Du De Cope in the Galleria Pellicciai, linked to chef Giancarlo Perbellini, bakes a buffalo margherita for 9.50 euros, with an average bill of about 25 euros.

For a special dinner

Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli holds three Michelin stars (Michelin listing), with tasting menus, à la carte and a five-seat chef’s table at the open kitchen; it serves lunch and dinner Tuesday to Friday and lunch on Saturday. Il Desco on Via Dietro San Sebastiano holds one Michelin star (Michelin listing) (closed Sundays and Mondays). For a classic Veronese blow-out, Trattoria al Pompiere is in the Michelin Guide (Michelin listing): a historic room hung with salumi, known for local cured meats and cheeses and veal tongue with cotechino, pearà and mostarda; closed Sundays. Osteria all’Organetto in San Zeno is younger and more modern, with a risotto of the day (15 euros a person, minimum two) and tables out on the square.

For a glass of wine with dinner

Two osterie double as serious wine bars. Alcova del Frate by the Ponte Pietra has nearly 1,500 labels and specialises in horse meat, with a trio of carpaccio, raw and grilled for 26 euros and bigoli with donkey ragù for 17. Osteria Da Ugo, a short walk from Juliet’s House, cooks seasonal dishes such as duck breast in saor (sweet and sour onions) and baccalà mantecato.

In the Valpolicella hills

If you have a car or a driver, lunch among the vineyards. Trattoria alla Ruota in Mazzano above Negrar holds a Bib Gourmand (Michelin listing) and has wide views over the hills; it opens Wednesday to Sunday. Dalla Rosa Alda in the hilltop village of San Giorgio is another Bib Gourmand (Michelin listing), at the guide’s lowest price level, known for its hand-made tagliatelle with borlotti beans; it closes on Mondays and Tuesdays and serves only lunch on Sundays. Antica Osteria Paverno in Marano serves country cooking: salumi and cheeses, pike with polenta and ravioli with Lessinia pear mostarda.

Names link to Google Maps for directions. We checked these places in October 2026. Opening days change, especially out of season, so check before you go.

Where to shop for food

Real pandoro is seasonal: the artisan bakeries make it for the Christmas season, and a fresh one is best eaten within a few weeks. Look out too for the nadalin, the older, flatter star-shaped cake that came before pandoro. Pasticceria Flego, with its main shop on Corso Porta Borsari, is one of the last strongholds of the nadalin, and Pasticceria Lorenzetti is another long-established name for Verona’s Christmas cakes. The best artisan versions can sell out before Christmas, so order ahead. To taste pandoro at the table, order the diplomatico, a pandoro and caramel dessert, at Al Bersagliere. The stalls of Piazza delle Erbe, on the site of the Roman forum, are for a look and a bag of fruit.

What to drink in Verona

Verona is a wine city. Valpolicella, from the hills just north, is made mainly from Corvina grapes in four styles: light Valpolicella Classico, fuller Ripasso, the powerful Amarone from dried grapes, and sweet Recioto. East of the city, Soave is the crisp white from Garganega; south of Lake Garda, Lugana is a richer white from Turbiana; and the Garda shore gives light red Bardolino and pink Chiaretto.

The address for a glass is Antica Bottega del Vino on Vicolo Scudo di Francia, a historic wine bar and restaurant with a deep wine list and a dining room that serves risotto made with Amarone. Osteria del Bugiardo pours the Buglioni winery’s own Valpolicella and Ripasso by the glass. Caffè Monte Baldo is the aperitivo stop, with a wine list recognised by Wine Spectator.

Food experiences to book in Verona

Verona’s food is easy to taste in town, but its wine is out in the hills, and the Valpolicella cellars need a car and an appointment. A wine tour from the city solves both, with Amarone tastings at family estates. In town, a food tour or cooking class gets you to the right osterie and teaches you risotto all’Amarone or fresh pasta.

Our pick: the Food Walking Tour with Amarone Tasting, rated 4.9 (289) on GetYourGuide.

Ratings as shown on GetYourGuide in October 2026. Check the listing for live prices and availability.

Food day trips from Verona

The Valpolicella starts just north of the city: see our Valpolicella wine tours, the guide to Amarone tastings from Verona and Amarone vs Ripasso vs Valpolicella. Lake Garda, for Lugana, Bardolino and Chiaretto, is a short drive west: compare Lake Garda wine tours and read our Lake Garda wine tasting guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the one dish to eat in Verona?

Risotto all’Amarone, ideally with a glass of Valpolicella. Osteria A Le Petarine and Hostaria La Vecchia Fontanina both do a good one; most places cook it for a minimum of two.

Where do locals eat in Verona?

In osterie such as Al Bersagliere, Osteria Mondo d’Oro and Da Morandin in Veronetta, and at the wine counters of the Antica Bottega del Vino and Osteria del Bugiardo.

Where can I eat cheaply in Verona?

The 26-euro lunch menu at Osteria al Duca, ten tartine for 20 euros at Caffè Monte Baldo, cicchetti with a glass of Ripasso at Osteria del Bugiardo, or pizza at Du De Cope.

Do I need to book restaurants in Verona?

For dinner, yes, especially at weekends, in opera season and during Vinitaly. Al Bersagliere and Osteria Mondo d’Oro take bookings by phone.

What is pearà?

Verona’s own sauce for boiled meats: breadcrumbs, beef marrow and broth, cooked slowly with plenty of black pepper. Try it with bollito at Osteria Il Bertoldo or with cotechino at Trattoria al Pompiere or Pane e Vino.

Is a Verona food or wine tour worth it?

Yes, especially for wine: the Valpolicella estates are hard to reach without a car, and a tour handles the driving and the bookings. Compare them above or on our Verona food tours page.

Plan your Verona food trip

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