Osteria Francescana

Massimo Bottura · Modena, Italy

Via Stella, 22, 41121 Modena, Italy

Osteria Francescana is one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world — a twenty-eight-seat room in the medieval heart of Modena where Massimo Bottura cooks food that is simultaneously rooted in Italian tradition and utterly contemporary. It has been named the best restaurant in the world twice by The World's 50 Best.

Massimo Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in 1995 in a centuries-old building steps from Modena's cathedral. The restaurant is as small as its ambition is large — just twenty-eight seats, walls hung with museum-quality contemporary art, and a kitchen producing some of the most intellectually rigorous food in the world. The tasting menu treats Italian culinary tradition as a subject for reinterpretation: 'Oops, I Dropped the Lemon Tart' — a deliberately cracked tart — is among the most iconic dishes in contemporary gastronomy. 'Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano' celebrates the cheese produced twenty minutes from the restaurant. Osteria Francescana has held three Michelin stars since 2011 and was named the best restaurant in the world in 2016 and again in 2018.

What to know

• —Number 1 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2016 and 2018
• —Three Michelin stars since 2011
• —Only 28 seats — among the smallest rooms at the very top of world rankings
• —Menu rooted in Italian tradition, executed with avant-garde intelligence
• —Museum-quality contemporary art throughout the dining room