This post was originally written in January 2020, and then updated in November 2024.

For the uninitiated, Osteria Francescana is a three Michelin-starred destination that has redefined Italian fine dining. Set in the heart of Modena, the restaurant is the vision of native local chef Massimo Bottura, whose culinary artistry is said to bring Italian tradition into modernity. His restaurant welcomes food lovers from around the globe. Frequently named among the world’s top restaurants, it held the title of World’s Best in 2016 and again in 2018. 

Dining at Osteria Francescana isn’t your typical Friday night out, but rather a highly anticipated, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I was lucky enough to experience.

Osteria Francescana is more than a restaurant; it’s a culinary pilgrimage for those seeking to experience the future of Italian cuisine through the eyes of a true master. If you are planning to visit Modena & Emilia Romagna to eat some of Massimo Buttero’s incredible cuisine, continue reading to find out what the experience is really like and how to prepare for a meal at the best restaurant in the world. 

Everything You Need to Know About Dining at Osteria Francescana

Why Eat at Osteria Francescana?

Eating at Osteria Francescana was the entire inspiration for my 5-day trip to Emilia Romagna. My husband and I love the show Chef’s Table on Netflix. One of our favorite episodes is about Massimo Bottura. I love the moment when he knocks on the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheel, and knows that it is ready just from the sound.

As bonafide foodies, we have eaten at a few other chef’s restaurants from the show like Alinea in Chicago and Pujol in Mexico City. So when we decided to move to Germany in 2019, I knew we had to go to Osteria Francescana. It was actually the first trip I planned…. one month before we even moved to Europe. That’s right–I planned our trip to Emilia Romagna before I even finished planning our move to Germany.

About the Restaurant & Chef

Chef Massimo Bottura is a culinary visionary, known worldwide for his groundbreaking approach to Italian cuisine. With a deep respect for traditional ingredients and techniques, Bottura blends classic flavors with innovative techniques, humor, and artistry. Bottura’s cooking is a narrative experience. His philosophy is one of storytelling through food, where each dish explores Italian history, culture, and nostalgia with a contemporary twist. 

At Osteria Francescana, his acclaimed three Michelin-starred restaurant in Modena, Bottura brings this philosophy to life. Osteria Francescana offers a highly curated tasting menu that has gained international acclaim for its whimsy and creativity. Since being featured on the Netflix blockbuster show “Chef’s Table”, Osteria Francescana’s notoriety has increased even more. 

Osteria Francescana has been in the top five “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards since 2011. It won its third Michelin star in 2012. Taking home the title of the best restaurant in the world in 2016 and 2018, Osteria Francescana is now a culinary icon. It is also, according to Michelin, the best restaurant in Europe. 

Beyond Osteria Francescana, Massimo Bottura has expanded his culinary vision through several other acclaimed ventures, each showcasing his creativity and dedication to Italian cuisine. I talked about my lunch at his Florence restaurant Gucci Osteria here. 

Bottura’s influence extends far beyond fine dining. Bottura also came out with a web series during Covid, in which he taught folks some of his favorite homemade recipes. He is also a passionate advocate for social change and sustainability. His Food for Soul initiative has inspired several “Refettorios” in cities like Milan and Naples—community kitchens aimed at reducing food waste and feeding underserved populations.

What to Know Before Visiting Osteria Francescana

Booking Process

Reservations at Osteria Francescana are notoriously hard to secure. Just have a look at the website to see! The restaurant opens bookings three months in advance, and that’s about how early you need to book a table. Reservations often sell out within minutes! If you join the email list, you can usually get alerted about the bookings about 1 day before. There are both lunch and dinner seatings available. Lunch is usually slightly easier to secure. If you’re flexible, the waitlist can be an effective route for getting a more last-minute reservation. 

Dress Code

The scale of how “fancy” a Michelin restaurant is varies widely with some being very formal while others are quite relaxed. If this is your first time dining at a Michelin star restaurant, I've got a first-timer's fine dining guide to make sure you know what to wear, what to expect, etc. I would say Osteria Francescana is medium-fancy. While the servers are outfitted in suits, Bottura himself is known for his laid-back attire and famously wears joggers. I saw fellow patrons wearing full suits to cargo pants, so it is hard to say what is “appropriate”. In our case, my husband and I decided to dress up nicely but not insanely fancy. I wore a dress and he wore a sportcoat.

Menu Options

The menu changes throughout the year, especially around the change of the season. Our fall tasting menu was themed all around the Po River, drawing significant inspiration from ingredients that swim and live around the river. 

Osteria Francescana’s most famous creations—“Five Ages of Parmigiano” and “Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart”—have earned a spot in culinary history but are no longer part of the current tasting menu. 

Guests choose between a 8, 10 or 12-course tasting menu and an à la carte selection. There is also a wine pairing to go along with it. If you want to order some of those iconic dishes, they are typically available as an add-on in the ala-carte menu.

Cost

Dining at Osteria Francescana requires an investment: the 10-course tasting menu we ordered was priced at €290, with a wine pairing costing an additional €190. Then, if you want to add on any extra dishes, such as the “Five Ages of Parmigiano” that’ll run you an extra €50/add-on. The experience doesn’t come cheap, but the meticulous craftsmanship of each course and the restaurant’s world-class reputation set a high bar.

My Review of Osteria Francescana

Dining Experience & Service

I loved the unassuming entrance of the restaurant, which is now iconic in Modena. The light pink color is noticeable, but the small brass sign with the restaurant name is tucked nearly behind a bush. If you didn’t know what it was, you might easily walk past without realizing it was one of the best restaurants in the world. 

I think this is the whole point. Osteria Francescana has this refined yet humble elegance about it. The restaurant’s three intimate dining rooms each house just four tables. Featuring a minimalist decor, it gives you the feeling of tasteful restraint. The only thing that adorns the tables when you arrive are homemade grissini breadsticks and your place settings. 

Like many other 3-Michelin restaurants, service here is a spectacle in itself. Dinner and a show! The servers’ timing was exceptional, removing plates only once everyone had finished and ensuring minimal disruption to the ambiance. Even the plates are carried individually to avoid any clatter. The dishware itself added an unexpected element of artistry, each one designed to complement the dish it presented.

The Food

I know this will come as a total surprise.... the food was incredible!! I knew it would be. Whenever I've eaten at Michelin restaurants in the past, the food has almost always been wonderful. At Osteria Francescana, the food was next level. Starting from the amuse bouche until the petits fours, each dish had some many different textures and unique techniques to extract the most flavor out of the ingredients.

The menu is full of these cryptic dish titles. A few names from the dishes on our tasting menu were:

• Pollution Revolution
• ‘Caviaro’: from Messisbugo till today
• The garden in autumn
• Snow under the sun
• Here the Po is born

Because it was hard to discern what was coming next, I found myself eager with anticipation for the upcoming courses. The team approaches each dish with attentiveness, allowing guests to fully experience and contemplate the flavors. I would listen attentively to the staff’s beautiful explanations of the dishes, and my curiosity about the dishes often led to questions, which deepened the experience even more.

Expectations

I was absolutely PUMPED to eat here, jittery with excitement in the hours before. While it was an absolutely unforgettable experience, it’s nearly impossible for a restaurant with a reputation like Osteria Francescana to meet the towering expectations it carries. For me, it did live up to my expectations. I wish our menu had a few less fish courses, and a few more cheese or meat courses, but I think that is mostly a personal preference. And it certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the meal! 

Would I Go Again?

This was a bucket-list meal for my husband and I. Undeniably, I am so happy that we went! I would definitely eat at Osteria Francescana again – but maybe in like a decade, haha. It is certainly a special occasion experience. For us, it was about celebrating our move to Europe and the achievement of a lifelong dream. 

I will certainly return to Modena—it’s one of my favorite spots in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region—but it may take another special occasion to dine at Osteria Francescana again. There are many other 3-Michelin restaurants I am eager to try for the first time, rather than returning to somewhere I’ve been before. 

Have thoughts or questions about Osteria Francescana? Tell me in the comments!