Ristorante Del Lago

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Family Story, Half a Century in the Making

Ristorante Del Lago has been in the same family since 1971, when it was founded at Acquapartita — a quiet locality in the Apennine hills above Bagno di Romagna — by the parents of current owner Catia. What began as a passion for good food and the flavors of the surrounding territory has grown, across three generations, into one of the most quietly accomplished Italian restaurants in the region.

The first significant turning point came in 2009, when Catia's eldest son Andrea joined the restaurant as sommelier. His arrival lifted the wine program and pushed the kitchen toward more ambitious, elaborately crafted plates. The second, and perhaps more decisive, shift came in 2018 when his younger brother Simone took over the stoves.

The Chef and His Kitchen

Simone arrived with serious credentials: formative years at San Domenico in Imola, a two-Michelin-star institution, followed by time at Piazza Duomo in Alba, which holds three Michelin stars. That experience shows in his cooking — dishes that lean heavily on vegetables, light in texture, clean and deep in flavor. The restaurant describes its approach as cucina d'autore: authored Italian cuisine, personal and considered rather than conventional.

The menu is structured around tasting formats — a contemporary path, a classics path, and a seasonal path — allowing guests to engage with Simone's cooking at different registers, from the familiar to the more exploratory.

The Cellar

The wine list earned Ristorante Del Lago the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in 2024, a recognition that speaks to the depth and curation of the cellar overseen by sommelier Andrea. For a restaurant of this scale, in a location this rural, that level of wine program distinction is remarkable and reflects the family's long commitment to pairing the table with serious bottles.

Where It Sits

The setting — Apennine hills, a locality called Acquapartita — is part of what makes a meal here feel particular. This is not urban fine dining; it is Italian cuisine rooted in a specific landscape, shaped by the produce and character of that landscape, and served in a place the family has tended for over fifty years.