Alla Lanterna

The story

Alla Lanterna in Fano – Classic Seafood Restaurant with Michelin Recommendation

Alla Lanterna in Fano

On the Adriatica Sud road, just outside Fano, Alla Lanterna has been a family affair since 1976. The restaurant was founded by Flavio Cerioni, and almost from the start his wife Elide was in the kitchen. Today their children Enrico and Silvia work alongside them, keeping the spirit of a place that defines itself with a simple, evocative phrase: “the sea with feet in the grass.”

That phrase captures the essence of the cooking here. Flavio, the son of farmers rather than fishermen, explains that the kitchen revolves around the sea but moves at the slow pace of the nearby countryside. The result is a perfect symbiosis between land and sea. The restaurant’s location in Metaurilia, a hamlet where early-20th-century families received a house and a hectare of land and often fished as well, is no coincidence. The local tradition of “pescantadini” — farmers who fished — lives on in the dishes.

Elide is described as a cook by love, skilled at creating harmony between the flavours of the earth and the day’s catch. Her cuisine is one of simple elegance, built on the tastes of memory and the freshness of the market. Bread is made in-house, desserts are delicate, and the fish — from scampi to the day’s market selection — is treated with respect. Signature dishes include sea bass with Casciotta d’Urbino, traditional gnocchi with prawns and Blu di Dadone cheese, tubefish “in porchetta,” and the classic crestaiate (a local pasta) with broad beans and langoustines. The restaurant is also known for its Fano scampi baked in salt, a light and fragrant fried fish, and Brodetto alla Fanese, the local fish stew.

The wine cellar is part of the experience, and the restaurant has received recognition from the Accademia Italiana della Cucina and from journalist and gastronome Davide Paolini. Its consistent quality has also earned it a place among Michelin’s Recommended restaurants, a testament to the family’s ongoing commitment to a cuisine that respects tradition while evolving naturally.

Alla Lanterna is more than a restaurant; it also offers rooms and hosts events. The atmosphere is welcoming, informal, and rooted in the idea that hospitality is an extension of family care. The kitchen does not start in the kitchen, as the family says — it starts at the market, where the best of the Marche region is selected.