Borgo Antico

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A 17th-Century Setting for Italian and Mediterranean Cuisine

Borgo Antico sits within Villa Quaranta Tommasi Wine Hotel & SPA, a seventeenth-century estate in the Valpolicella area a few kilometres from Verona and Lake Garda. The setting is architectural rather than decorative — stone, age, and proportion doing the work that newer buildings cannot — and the restaurant matches it with a tone that is warm and elegant without being stiff.

The kitchen is guided by chef Emanuele Selvi, whose à la carte menu brings creativity to Italian and Mediterranean cuisine rooted in the flavours of Valpolicella and the surrounding Lessinia hills. Lunch in summer moves outdoors to a centuries-old park overlooking the swimming pool, served beneath a spacious wooden portico — a genuinely different experience from the private indoor dining room available year-round.

The Wine List as a Destination in Itself

What sets Borgo Antico apart as clearly as its kitchen is its wine program. The list runs to more than 900 labels and has earned Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence for twelve consecutive years — a distinction that recognises exceptional depth across regions, mature vintages, and top-tier producers. The selection spans the celebrated wines of Valpolicella, bottles from the wider Tommasi Viticoltori family of estates, and a broad international range that includes rare and classic Italian labels. It is, as the restaurant describes it, a "lively" list — kept in constant motion with the vintages rather than fixed as a monument.

For those who want to go deeper, the estate offers guided wine tastings, visits to the Villa Quaranta wine cellar (available to groups), and food and wine tours — all within the same property.

Beyond the Dining Room

Borgo Antico is also a considered venue for celebrations. Weddings, private events, and bespoke gatherings are accommodated, with the Valpolicella landscape and the villa's architectural beauty providing a backdrop that requires little embellishment. The Bottega del Gusto, a separate wine-focused space on the estate, offers a more informal setting for a glass and a bite in what the team calls a "truly magical atmosphere."

The combination of serious Italian cuisine, an award-recognised wine list, and a historic property makes Borgo Antico one of the more complete addresses in the Verona region.