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Bergamo, a charming town in Lombardy, Italy, is located between Milan and the beautiful lakes of Como and Iseo. Bergamo stands out because of its unique cityscape: being divided into two centers, città alta, the upper historic center located on a hill that dates back to the 16th century, and città bassa, the lower, modern city. Here is a guide to the best restaurants in Bergamo.

Bergamo, Italy

Trattoria Camozzi da Claudio

This trattoria has been receiving excellent reviews for years. It specializes in Mediterranean dishes and desserts inspired by homemade recipes. The menu offers a large number of seafood pastas, such as spaghetti with clams and risotto with frutti di mare, as well as seafood second courses, such as shrimps with cognac sauce and scallops with porcini mushrooms. The wine list offers a wide range of regional and Italian options.

Da Mimmo

Market, Italian, Mediterranean

Bergamo, città alta
© Zuffe/WikiCommons
Da Mimmo, was established in 1953 and is situated in the middle of Bergamo’s beautiful città alta. It characterises itself as traditional, but fresh. The place offers a different menu every day, always combining world-famous Italian dishes, seafood and vegetables straight from the market, fresh pastas, and a selection of cheese. Da Mimmo also offers old-fashioned, authentic Italian pizza with mozzarella di buffalo, fresh basil and tomatoes, and four types of their own.

Da Franco

Restaurant, Italian, Seafood

Da Franco is a restaurant and pizzeria located in città alta, next to Bergamo’s cathedral and main square Piazza Vecchia. The interiors of the restaurant are cozy, and the atmosphere relaxed and friendly. The restaurant specializes in the local Bergamo cuisine: fresh pastas with porcini mushrooms and polenta (cornmeal porridge) with various additions. Other highlights of the menu are the seafood and pizza from the oven.

Il Pianone

Restaurant, Italian, Mediterranean

The Cathedral and Battistero in Bergamo
© Francesco Bassanelli/Flickr
Also located in Bergamo’s città alta, Il Pianone offers one of the finest terraces with a splendid view of the historical buildings and alleys of the town. During the summer, you can also eat in the restaurant’s garden and admire both the view of Bergamo and the blossoming flowerbeds. Il Pianone’s menu comprises the local and Tuscan cuisines, offering delicious food combinations, such as walnuts or beetroot gnocchi with asparagus and cream of mountain cheese for the first course, and grilled tuna fish in sesame seeds crust on crispy vegetables for the second course. The restaurant’s wine cellar contains a selection of wines from all over the Lombardy region.

Pozzo Bianco

This historical place is situated near an Augustinian convent used to stand. The rooms of Pozzo Bianco are decorated with beautiful stained glass windows and wooden arches. The menu contains dishes from the Alto Adige region, a mix of Italian and Germanic traditions. Pozzo Bianco, however, specializes in beers, both draft and bottled, from Italy, Germany, and Belgium. Every one is accompanied by a description of its origins.

Roof Garden Restaurant

Restaurant, Italian, Seafood, Mediterranean

Bergamos historical centre
© Francesco Spada/Flickr
The Roof Garden Restaurant is situated on the eight floor of the Hotel Excelsior San Marco, in Bergamo’s città bassa.The generous view through the glass walls reveals the historical part of the town. In addition to a standard Italian menu, the Roof Garden Restaurant offers a menu of local dishes and a vegan menu. The elegance of the place makes it a perfect place for a business meeting or a wedding reception.

Antica Osteria del Vino Buono

Restaurant, Italian, Mediterranean, Vegetarian

The historical, Romanesque-looking interior of this osteria and the thatch benches make the place charming and unique. It only serves typical dishes of Bergamo, such as casconelli pasta stuffed with mushrooms, roasted polenta with asparagus and eggs, and roasted veal meat with mushrooms. The place also offers homemade desserts and ice-cream. As the name of the restaurant suggests, it also specializes in wine production.

Taverna Valtellinese

Restaurant, Italian, Vegetarian

Bergamo, città alta
© Alessandro Patano/Flickr
Taverna Valtellinese offers traditional products from the Valtellina valley, an area in Lombardy near the Italian-Swiss border. The valley is famous for its beef, cheeses, and wine, all of which you can try in the restaurant. Taverna Valtellinese specializes particularly in starters and first courses with bresaola, air-dried, salted beef that originated in Valtellina. The interiors of Taverna Valtellinese, will remind you of the Alps, just like the wooden houses which can be found in the mountains.

Ristorante Da Nerone

Restaurant, Seafood

Da Nerone, a restaurant with long family tradition, is a prefect place for fans of seafood. It offers all the classic fish dishes as well as traditional southern Italian cuisine and raw fish. The typical menu comprises spaghetti or risotto with seafood for the first course and oven-baked sea bream for the second, whilst the seasonal spring menu offers cooked scallops, swordfish with rucola and tomatoes, and seared red tuna fillets.

Osteria Al GiGancia

Restaurant, Italian, Gluten-free

Located in Bergamo’s città bassa,Al GiGancia combines elegant and modern decor. It offers a large selection of meat (duck, rabbit, and beef) and the local stuffed pasta (casconelli) with sage and bacon sauce. The owners and chefs of the restaurant highly value the ethical treatment of animals and eco-friendly origins for their products. Al GiGancia also offers a vast selection of Italian wines from almost all the regions alongside a selection of French and German bottles.

About the author

Olga Lenczewska is from Szczecin, Poland. She currently lives in the UK, where she is studying philosophy and Italian at Oxford. She spent the last year in Italy as a researcher. Aside from academia, Olga is interested in publishing, journalism, anthropology, and global development. During her free time she also dances salsa and writes – she wrote a travel novel last year. She is the co-founder of a socio-political platform on Eastern European studies, ‘New East Platform’. She wants to pursue a career as a researcher in philosophy (especially epistemology, aesthetics, and Immanuel Kant) or as a literary editor.

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