At Bologna’s 1-Star MICHELIN 2026 restaurant, a spectacle for the senses
Ristorante I Portici is an invitation to step into a spectacle for the senses, awarded 1 MICHELIN Star in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide. The curtain rises in Teatro Eden, amid Liberty frescoes, designer furnishings, and Belle Epoque echoes. The story takes shape course after course: emotions built through subtraction, with just a few carefully selected ingredients brought together with technique and creativity. This is the cuisine of Executive Chef Nicola Annunziata: broad in reference yet essential in execution, rooted in the territory and in seasonality, capable of moving through tradition and reinterpreting it. The service follows the rhythm of the narrative with elegance and precision, the carefully curated wine selection adds nuance and depth, and the pastry creations of Pastry Chef Vincenzo Digifico mark the final, memorable act. More than a Michelin-starred restaurant in Bologna, I Portici is an experience that stirs all the senses and lingers in the memory. A place where you are not a spectator, but the protagonist.
Ristorante I Portici is located in Teatro Eden-Kursaal, a 19th-century cafe-chantant on the ground floor of Palazzo Maccaferri, home to I Portici Hotel. Adjacent to it, the 14th-century La Ghiacciaia, an intimate and evocative medieval space, hosts weekend lunches and special experiences.
Tuesday through Saturday from 7:15 PM to 9:30 PM (last reservation). Also open for lunch on Friday and Saturday from 12:15 PM to 2:15 PM.
Teatro Eden-Kursaal was Bologna’s first cafe-chantant and, until 1923, the city’s most fashionable venue. A past that still lives within these walls and inspires the evening menu of Ristorante I Portici, awarded 1 MICHELIN Star in the 2026 MICHELIN Italia Guide, with tasting journeys dedicated to theatrical al works: La spudorata by Carlo Bruno, L’ora precisa and La Luce by Cangiullo, and the vegetarian menu Monologo La Natura. In a setting so rich with meaning, the cuisine works with ingredients by subtraction, allowing form to emerge naturally.
The Bolognese territory guides ingredient selection, seasonality sets the rhythm, and Italian tradition is reinterpreted with contemporary sensitivity. Technique intervenes with grace, defining flavors and placing them in relationship while leaving room for their identity. The result is elegant, essential dishes capable of telling the story of both the place and its history.
Executive Chef Nicola Annunziata
From the flavors of his childhood in Sarno to those of Ristorante I Portici: every step in Nicola Annunziata’s career has been a step toward the territory, understood as both living matter and culture, and toward the pure expression of ingredients. At a very young age, he refined his technique at Ristorante Il Faro di Capo d’Orso. Then, at just 25, his first major milestone: he became Executive Chef of Ristorante Vistamare in Latina and earned his first MICHELIN Star. In 2020 he accepted a new challenge at Ristorante Pietramare Natural Food in Isola di Capo Rizzuto, where he earned another MICHELIN Star. In 2023 he arrived in Bologna as Executive Chef of I Portici Hotel, helping confirm the MICHELIN Star awarded to Ristorante I Portici since 2012.
His is distinguished cuisine, refined yet simple, which now finds full expression in the territory and culture of Bologna.
The Chef’s Table where cuisine tells its story up close
PRIMA FILA is the Chef’s Table at Ristorante I Portici: an intimate experience that intertwines preparation, service, and storytelling.
An exclusive space conceived to welcome only four guests and offer a privileged view into the creative universe of Executive Chef Nicola Annunziata and his brigade.
Seated just steps from the kitchen, you may witness the preparation and finishing of each dish, following gestures, technique, and inspiration up close.
A gastronomic journey designed for those who wish to go beyond the simple pleasure of the table and experience haute cuisine from its most authentic perspective: that of those who create it.
When cuisine becomes a visual story
Other moments of Ristorante I Portici
Not only menus: the experience of Ristorante I Portici also continues through weekend lunches, tastings, Portici Shop and the many rituals of the I Portici gastronomic offering.
On Fridays and Saturdays from 12:15 PM to 2:15 PM, the restaurant’s signature cuisine moves to the 14th-century La Ghiacciaia, a more intimate and evocative space.
Also in the 14th-century La Ghiacciaia, signature cuisine and wine meet through visits and tastings, exclusive fine-dining dinners and bespoke private events.
Only four guests, one privileged perspective on signature cuisine. Seated just steps from the Chef and brigade, you experience haute cuisine at the very moment it takes shape.
I Portici Gift Cards capture the restaurant’s sensory experience in a precious gift, to be shared with someone you love.
At Portici Shop you will find select tastes and products that accompany the restaurant experience, so you can enjoy it at home as well.
Signature cuisine, beyond the restaurant
The gastronomic experience of I Portici continues in other spaces within Palazzo Maccaferri, between conviviality, daily pauses and artisanal sweetness.
