Del Cambio

Del Cambio opened in 1757 on Piazza Carignano, across from the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Cavour ate here daily — his preferred table is preserved as it was — and the restaurant claims, with some evidence, that Italian unification was drafted in its dining room. The room itself, restored in 2014 by the architect Michele De Lucchi, is one of the most beautiful interiors in Italian dining: eighteenth-century boiserie, crystal chandeliers, pale silk upholstery, and an eighteenth-century Bonzanigo fresco restored to life.

Matteo Baronetto, formerly sous-chef to Carlo Cracco in Milan, took the kitchen over at the 2014 relaunch and won his Michelin star within a year. His cooking is a continuous dialogue between classical Piedmontese tradition and modern technique: vitello tonnato remade as a tartare with tuna-dashi cream; tajarin al tartufo cut by hand and finished with white truffle from Alba; agnolotti dal plin with three fillings served in a clear veal consommé. The signature dish — a pheasant "en estofado" slow-cooked with cocoa, juniper, and pairo wine — is an uninterrupted hommage to the Savoy court kitchens.

The wine list, curated by head sommelier Stefano Bonilli, is 2,200 references deep and heavy in Barolo, Barbaresco, and Carema. The collection of older vintages (including Giacomo Conterno Monfortino back to the 1970s) is one of Italy's most important cellars. The restaurant also operates a dedicated bar, Cavour 21, for pre- or post-dinner spirits.

Lunch is served with a three-course menu at €95 that is among the best-value Michelin lunches in Italy. Evening tasting menus at €160 and €190 showcase the kitchen's full range. In white truffle season, supplementary truffle services are charged at €90–180 per course.

Del Cambio is Italy's definitive power room for entertaining clients. The combination of pedigree — you are dining in the room where modern Italy was negotiated — and contemporary technical excellence is a very rare pairing. The service is formal without stiffness; the wine list runs deep enough to reward any level of expertise; and the dining room itself is large enough for discretion but intimate enough to impress. Request a table in the main Sala Risorgimento with a view of Palazzo Carignano. Arrive at 20:30, not 19:30 — Italian dining rhythm keeps the room animated well past 22:00.