Al Camin

Al Camin is the chef-driven mid-village dining room that locals push first-time Cortina visitors to. The room sits at the edge of the Alverá hamlet, a five-minute walk from the centre, and is built into a 19th-century stone farmhouse with a single open fireplace (the 'camin' of the name) at the back wall. Fabio Pompanin took the kitchen in 2013 after a decade at Hotel de la Poste in the village centre and has run the room as a one-man chef-and-pass operation since.

The menu is short and seasonal, a dozen à la carte plates rewritten monthly, and unapologetically Veneto-Alpine in sourcing. A hand-rolled tortelli with smoked Bassano white asparagus and 36-month Parmigiano; a slow-cooked Ampezzano lamb shank with rosemary and Cadore polenta; a roasted Adriatic turbot with green olive and lemon; a Bassano-and-Treviso radicchio salad with Veneto pumpkin oil. There is no tasting menu, Pompanin is deliberate about that, but the chef will run an off-menu chef-pick four-course for guests who book the chef's-counter.

The wine list is one of the most interesting in the village, 350 references built around Italian Alpine smallholders, with deep coverage of Trentino sparkling, Alto Adige Pinot Bianco, Friuli orange wine, and a serious Cadore section that no other Cortina cellar carries. Glass pours start at €7 and the corkage philosophy is forgiving. The Champagne section is small but well-chosen.

Service is family-run, Fabio in the kitchen, his wife Daniela on the floor, the captain rotates from the village's seasonal staff pool. The room runs at a moderate volume on a Saturday night; the open fireplace is the room's anchor and the seat closest to it (a four-top in the corner) books out first every night. Al Camin is also the most reliable client-entertaining address in the under-€150-per-person tier, the room is good enough to take a senior visitor and the kitchen never overreaches.

Al Camin is the easy-first-date room in Cortina, quieter than the rifugio lunch experience, less formal than SanBrite or Tivoli, and chef-driven enough to be a meaningful conversation starter. The chef's-counter is a strong format for a date as it lets you watch the kitchen work. Book the corner four-top by the open fireplace; ask Daniela for the 'cantina del giorno' off-menu pairing, three glasses against the chef-pick four-course.