Modena is a small, pastel-yellow city in Emilia-Romagna that you can cross on foot in fifteen minutes. Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana sits on Via Stella, but the real food life is under the arcades: tortellini in capon broth, tagliatelle al ragù, gnocco fritto, cotechino and a glass of dry Lambrusco. The Mercato Albinelli has fed the town since 1931, a four-table hosteria hides behind a 400-year-old salumeria, and balsamic vinegar ages in attics a few kilometres out. Lunch is the main meal here, and many of the best rooms are open at noon only. Michelin's 2027 guide, out on Nov 12 2026, gives Modena a three-star, a new two-star and a one-star.
Modena at a glance
What to eat
Tortellini in brodo; Tagliatelle al ragù; Gnocco fritto with salumi; Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale; Parmigiano Reggiano.
When to go
Best: April–June and September–October. Also good: March and November. Hardest: August.
Top tables
This guide lists 4 award-winning restaurants, starting with Osteria Francescana, Al Gatto Verde, L'Erba del Re and Cavallino.
Where locals eat
Local favorites off the prestige lists include Hosteria Giusti, Trattoria Aldina, Osteria Ermes and Bar Schiavoni.
Markets
Mercato Albinelli, Salumeria Giusti and Acetaia Marchi.
4 award-winning10 local favorites4 hot right now3 markets7 walking tour stops10 chef's picks5 sandwich shops5 romantic dinners5 breakfast spots2 new openings20 dish spots17 more in our database
Going with a group?Give Chef your dates and hotel and he drafts every meal. Then send the group one link: they heart what they'd go to, add their own, and see the morning each table opens.
Modena is a lunch town. Walk the arcades from Via Albinelli to Via Emilia, eat the main meal at noon, and keep dinner for Franceschetta58, Da Danilo or a wine bar. These ten places come from Michelin's 2027 list, 2foodtrippers' 2026 update, Mes Prestiges (June 2026) and local press.
The well-known five
Osteria Francescana
Via Stella
Three Michelin stars (2027)Modern Emilian€€€€
Order: The tasting menu, or à la carte tagliatelle al ragù and culatello
Three Michelin stars, a menu of about 350 euros and a tiny dining room. Tables open about a month ahead.
Best for: a once-in-a-decade dinner · Reserve: online only, book the day tables open · Hours: Check the site
Order: Cotechino, eel and Parmigiano cooked over fire
Jessica Rosval's fire restaurant won a second Michelin star on Nov 12 2026. It sits in Bottura's country house, about 15 minutes from the centre.
Best for: a second starred meal · Reserve: book on the Casa Maria Luigia site, non-refundable rate · Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from noon; no Sunday seatings
Restaurants that opened or relaunched recently, from current opening guides. In no ranked order.
Bar Mosaico
New opening reported
Palazzo dei Musei, Viale Vittorio Veneto 5 · Bar and vermouth room
A bar in the ground floor of the Palazzo dei Musei, open from 8 am to 11:30 pm for breakfast, seasonal lunch and aperitivo. It aims to be Modena's first vermuteria.
Order: A vermouth or artisan bitter in the evening
New places change fast. “Provisional” means a guide or directory lists it as new but we have not confirmed the opening date. Check hours and book ahead before you go.
Memorable breakfasts in Modena
Five places chosen for the food, the room, the history or the local character. In no ranked order.
Pasticceria Dondi
Strada Vignolese 578
Order: Cappuccino with a cream cannolo or gnocco fritto with salumi
The true Modenese colazione, busiest from 7:30 to 9.
Picks come from romantic-dinner lists on booking and review sites. Confirm dinner service, menus and availability before you book.
Food walking tour
Market to tortellini: a Modena arcades day
Gnocco fritto at the market counter, amaretti, a four-table lunch, gelato, then aperitivo and dinner.
Start 9:00 at Bar Schiavoni, Via Luigi Albinelli 13Time 11.5 hoursDistance about 1.6 milesBest days Tuesday to Saturday, when Hosteria Giusti serves lunch and the market is open.
Modena is small enough to eat across in a day. Start where the town shops, take a pastry, book one hard-to-get lunch, then drift towards aperitivo and a trattoria dinner. Book Hosteria Giusti first and plan the rest around its seating.
Crazes move fast. “Just spotted” means one report so far, and most entries rest on a single source: confirm hours and expect a wait.
The Modena food map
Every place in this guide, pinned. Tap a pin to see what to order, then add it to your trip.
Open the full Modena food map: every place on our lists too (pizza, ice cream, romantic, where locals and the famous eat, cooking classes), searchable by dish.
· Pins are placed by address or name and can be a little off; always confirm in your maps app.
Plan my days in Modena
Tell us what you like and we will line up the places on this page into a day-by-day plan. Only places from this guide, never anything else.
What to eat in Modena, and where
Each dish comes with the places that do it best. Tap Add to my trip on the ones you want, or find them on the map above.
Tortellini in brodo
Tiny pork, prosciutto, mortadella and Parmigiano parcels served in a clear capon broth, the dish that defines Modena
The top 4 restaurants in Modena, per Michelin Italia 2027, Gambero Rosso, 2foodtrippers (Aug 2026), Mes Prestiges (June 2026), Atlas (May 2026), Scatti di Gusto, Italy Segreta, Emilia Delizia.
Via Stella, centro storico · Modern Emilian · Chef Massimo Bottura · €€€€
Three Michelin stars (Michelin Italia 2027); 50 Top Italy 2026 best restaurant in Italy, Grandi RistorantiGambero Rosso Ristoranti d'Italia 2026: 97/100
Bottura's tasting menu treats Emilian memory as raw material, with Parmigiano, balsamic and tortellini pulled through contemporary art. Tables open about a month ahead and go in minutes.
Casa Maria Luigia, San Damaso · Wood-fired Emilian · Chef Jessica Rosval · €€€€
Two Michelin stars, new in Michelin Italia 2027Michelin Green Star (2026 guide)
Rosval cooks Emilian ingredients over live fire in Bottura and Lara Gilmore's country house. Michelin named her among the new two-star chefs on Nov 12 2026.
Via Castel Maraldo, centro storico · Creative Emilian · Chef Luca Marchini · €€€€
One Michelin star (Michelin Italia 2027)
Marchini has cooked here since 2003 in a small palazzo with a 700-label cellar. Clean, balanced cooking from Emilian roots, a different palate from the Bottura houses.
Maranello, 25 minutes from Modena · Emilian · Chef Riccardo Forapani and Virginia Cattaneo · €€€
One Michelin star (new in the 2026 guide, kept in 2027)
The farmhouse opposite the Ferrari factory where Enzo Ferrari took lunch every day, reopened under Bottura's direction. The Welcome to Emilia menu starts at 65 euros.
April to June and September to October are the easy months, with porcini at the Albinelli market in autumn and Vignola cherries in early summer. August is hot, 40C in one 2foodtrippers visit, and Hosteria Giusti shuts for the month. Winter is cold and foggy but it is tortellini and bollito weather.
In season
Porcini mushroomsSep–NovAutumn is the best time to buy them at Mercato Albinelli, and they turn up on tagliatelle at the trattorie.
Vignola cherriesJun–JulSummer produce that gets prime shelf space at the market and ends up in Trattoria Bianca's duroni jam.
Cotechino, bollito misto and tortellini in brodoJan–Mar, Nov–DecThe cold-weather lunch: boiled meats from the trolley and capon broth at Da Danilo and the old trattorie.
Food events
Fiera di San GeminianoJanFair for the city's patron saint at the end of January, with stalls of local food and crafts. The 2027 dates were not confirmed.
FestivalfilosofiaSepSept 18-20, 2026 in Modena. A philosophy festival, not a food one, but the town is full and the portici cafes are busy.
Sagra del Tortellino, Castelfranco EmiliaSepSept 4-13, 2026 in the province, hand-made tortellini for ten days.
Sagra dell'Uva e del Lambrusco Grasparossa, CastelvetroSepSept 19-27, 2026 in the hills south of Modena, on the third and fourth weekends of September.
Closures to plan around
Hosteria Giusti is closed Sunday and Monday, all of August and December and the first week of January.
Osteria Ermes and Trattoria Aldina are lunch only.
Menomoka is closed on Thursdays.
Franceschetta58 is open Monday to Saturday, lunch and dinner.
Al Gatto Verde at Casa Maria Luigia is open Tuesday to Sunday from noon and does not seat guests on Sunday.
Trattoria Bianca is closed at weekends.
From published guides and tourism boards. Months are our mapping of how guides describe the seasons; 2027 event dates are expected, not confirmed. Prices come from single sources of varying age, so treat them as a rough guide. Compare cities by month
The best of Modena, by category
The top pick in each, then every place on its own page with what to get and a map.
Locally loved places that are not on the big prestige lists.
classic
Hosteria Giusti
Behind Salumeria Giusti, centro storico · €€€
Order: Tortellini, tagliatelle, cotechino and gnocco fritto
Four tables in the old salumeria slaughterhouse, lunch only, with hand-rolled egg pasta. Closed Sunday and Monday, all of August and December and the first week of January. Book weeks ahead.
Order: Passatelli in brodo, tagliatelle al ragù, roast chicken
Open since 1963, lunch only, no printed menu and no phone bookings. Antipasti, water, wine, dessert and coffee are all in the price, about 30 euros in 2026 per 2foodtrippers.
Order: The five daily panini from midday, or gnocco fritto and coffee at breakfast
A sandwich counter attached to the market since 1932, run by sisters Sara and Chiara Fantoni. Fillings change daily and come from the stalls next door.
Awards come from the guides named on each listing (Michelin Italia 2027, Gambero Rosso, 2foodtrippers (Aug 2026), Mes Prestiges (June 2026), Atlas (May 2026), Scatti di Gusto, Italy Segreta, Emilia Delizia). Researched November 14, 2026. Restaurants change; confirm hours, reservations and current stars before you go. Some addresses, phone numbers and websites come from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), so call ahead to confirm. Local favorites are editorial picks, not rankings.
Chef Amazing’s lists for Modena: where locals eat, new openings, romantic dinners, ice cream, cooking classes and more, each place with what to order. Cooking classes in Modena: who teaches, what you cook, how long and how to book.
