The story
Perched at 1,600 meters in Alta Badia, Maso Runch-Hof is an agriturismo that has been in the Nagler family for over two hundred years. Enrico Nagler, a proud Ladin, runs the property alongside his wife Maria and their five children. The original 18th-century building now houses the restaurant, Lūch Maso Runch Hof, where the family’s deep roots in the land are evident in every detail. “This place means roots, history, tradition, love, family,” Enrico says. The rhythm of life here still follows the seasons—caring for the fields, the dairy cows, and the prized Norwegian horses.
The restaurant’s mission is to safeguard the authentic flavours of ancient Ladin cooking—a humble, ingredient-driven tradition that relies on fresh produce from South Tyrolean farms. At Maso Runch-Hof, this means roasting pork shanks in a wood-fired stove fueled by timber from the family’s own forest. The ceiling of the ciasadafüch (smoke room) remains blackened from decades of speck smoking, a deliberate nod to history.
Dining takes place in two cozy stuben on the ground floor, where an antique tiled stove warms the room, or in three more upstairs, once bedrooms and living quarters. In summer, a wooden veranda opens for meals with views of the Dolomites. The setting is simple, intimate, and unmistakably Alpine—guests often remark that it feels like home.
Maria and her son Christian prepare the six-course tasting menu (€52, wines excluded), a careful selection of Ladin classics. It begins with Panicia, a barley soup with smoked pork, followed by Tutres y cajinci arstis—homemade fried panzerotti and ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta. Then come Cajinci t’ega (spinach-ricotta ravioli in butter and Parmesan), Iama de porcel cun polënta (pork shank with polenta), Custëis y craut (pork chops with sauerkraut), and Golasc y polënta (goulash with polenta). Dessert is a rotating Variaziun dla ciasa—apple strudel, apple fritters with gelato, or buckwheat Linzer torte.
Enrico himself serves the wine, selecting the best bottles from Alto Adige, and finishes each meal with a complimentary round of grappa. This personal touch, combined with the quality of the cooking, earned the restaurant a Michelin recommendation—a recognition that feels earned, not sought.
Maso Runch-Hof is not a stage for culinary theatre. It is a working farm where the family lives, cooks, and welcomes guests as they would their own kin. The food is direct, honest, and deeply tied to the land. For those seeking the true taste of South Tyrolean cuisine in the heart of the Dolomites, this is as real as it gets.
Recognition
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