La Locanda di Piero

The story

La Locanda di Piero, Montecchio Precalcino – Nuova Cucina Popolare Italiana near Vicenza

A House That Grew, Not a Restaurant That Opened

On 7 January 1992, chef Renato Rizzardi and sommelier Sergio Olivetti turned a country farmhouse near Vicenza into something that resists easy categorisation. More than thirty years later, La Locanda di Piero is still shaped by the same two hands — and by everyone who has passed through the kitchen or the dining room and left something behind.

The place earned a Michelin star in 1996, but the tone never changed. What changed was only the awareness, as the team puts it. Gambero Rosso has since recognised the restaurant with 2 Forks, confirming a consistency that trends have not managed to dislodge.

The Nuova Cucina Popolare Italiana

For decades the cooking had a clear identity but no name. After a long period of collective reflection, the team found one: La Nuova Cucina Popolare Italiana — contemporary Italian cooking that resists, nourishes and returns. Not a reinvention, they insist, but a discovery. Every dish tells a piece of territory; every service is a way of being together. The menu changes with the seasons while remaining immediately recognisable.

Renato's path — from the San Domenico school to San Francisco and back — informs a kitchen that moves with rhythm and curiosity. Sergio works the room with precision and quiet irony, connecting wine, food and table as the other half of the Locanda.

What to Expect at the Table

Guests can arrive for a focused midday meal — one well-chosen dish, water and coffee in an hour at €32 — or settle in for the evening with the full à la carte, a tasting menu, and wine pairings chosen by Sergio. The seven-course surprise tasting, "Osmosi," has drawn particular praise from guests for its balance and harmony.

Recent seasonal menus have featured dishes such as crystal bread with Russian salad, a frittatina with wild hops and prawns in saor, white asparagus orzotto with green asparagus foam, and gratinated cannelloni — plates that speak directly to the Veneto without being bound by it.

The Atmosphere

Guests consistently describe the sensation of walking into a beautiful private home rather than a restaurant. The space is warm and elegant, spread across several rooms. Service is attentive but never intrusive. The wine list is serious. There is ample private parking.

The Locanda sits a few minutes from Vicenza, open Tuesday through Sunday for both lunch and dinner — a place where a short break or a long evening both feel exactly right.