Antica Osteria da Penacio

The story

Antica Osteria da Penacio, Vicenza – Michelin Recommended Venetian Cuisine

On the Colli Berici above Vicenza, Antica Osteria da Penacio has been a steady presence for a century. The name – “Penacio” means ox horns in the local dialect – hints at the farming roots of the family that owns it. Imera Gianello, her husband Roberto Mattiello, and their daughter Nikki Eveline run the place with a philosophy that tradition is not something to inherit passively, but to earn through effort. That seriousness shows in every dish.

The kitchen is seasonal and deeply Venetian. Pasta 40 a 1 – forty egg yolks to one kilo of flour – changes its condiment with the season: spring peas, autumn truffles. The truffles, like the herbs and mushrooms, are foraged personally. Game, spit-roasted meats, bigoli, and baccalà alla vicentina are longtime specialties. The menu also offers a soufflé of Parmigiano Reggiano with black truffle and Asiago sauce, tortellini of veal in double broth, and a risotto with black truffle from the Colli Berici. The cooking is precise, the flavours deep.

The wine list is generous and reasonably priced. Service is smiling. It is this combination – honest ingredients, skilled hands, and a family that lives its work – that earned the restaurant a Michelin Recommended distinction. For anyone seeking Venetian cuisine that is both rooted and alive, Antica Osteria da Penacio is a genuine destination.