"A Grand Award cellar since 2004 above an 1890 osteria pouring Amarone by the glass. Go late, order the risotto."
About Antica Bottega del Vino
Four and a half thousand labels. Nineteen thousand bottles. The cellar beneath Vicolo Scudo di Francia 3 has held Wine Spectator's Grand Award every year since 2004, and the room above it has poured since 1890, on a site that traded as the Scudo di Francia inn back in the sixteenth century. Two minutes from Piazza delle Erbe, open 11:00 to 01:00 daily, this is where Verona's wine trade actually drinks.
Since 2010 the place has belonged to the Famiglie Storiche, the consortium of Amarone houses including Allegrini, Masi, Tommasi, Speri and Zenato, who bought it largely so nobody else could ruin it. Day to day it answers to its oste, Luca Nicolis, a decade into the job, working the floor like the institution's living index.
The Kitchen
Chef Luca Dalla Via cooks the Veronese canon without apology. The risotto all'Amarone, €20, is the dish the city sends visitors here for: rice cooked down in the consortium's own wine until it turns the colour of garnet. The horse chateaubriand in Amarone with onion in salt, €70, carries the pastissada tradition into white-tablecloth form, and the one-kilo bistecca on the bone at €90 feeds a table.
The supporting cast runs from beef tartare with toasted marrow at €22 to tripe parmigiana at €18 and a €12 tiramisù della Bottega, all priced like a city that still eats at its own restaurants. Among Italy's great dining rooms, few put this little distance between a historic cellar and an honest trattoria bill. The Verona dining guide starts here for a reason.
The Room
The front room is a standing bar with a marble counter, bottles to the ceiling and a nightly crowd two deep; the dining rooms behind run to dark wood, frescoed corners and brass rails, lit warm and kept loud. During Vinitaly week and the Arena opera season the noise becomes part of the architecture. Tables sit close, service moves at Veronese pace, and nobody hurries you out before the kitchen's late close. Dress smart casual; locals skew sharper.
Best for a First Date
Book it for a first date because the room solves the hard problems for you: by-the-glass depth that turns ordering into a conversation, a bar where you can start before committing to the table, and a kitchen running later than nearly anything else in the centro storico. If the night works, you split the risotto; if it really works, the cellar list goes deep enough to celebrate on the spot. Our first-date guide rates late-kitchen rooms exactly this flexible near the top.
Not for
Not for hushed tasting-menu reverence or anyone Amarone-averse. The front bar runs shoulder to shoulder in opera season, and red wine is the house religion.
Frequently Asked
Is Antica Bottega del Vino worth it?
Yes, and twice over if wine is the point of your Verona trip. A Wine Spectator Grand Award cellar since 2004, roughly 4,500 labels, and Veronese cooking priced €18 to €90 a plate make it the city's essential table. Treat it as an osteria with a great cellar, not a fine-dining shrine, and it over-delivers.
Do I need to book Antica Bottega del Vino?
Book for dinner, always, via the official site. During Vinitaly in April and the Arena opera season from June to September, tables vanish days ahead and the front bar becomes the consolation prize. Lunch and late-night slots after 22:30 are the easiest walk-in windows in the Verona dining week.
What should I order at Bottega del Vino?
Start with the risotto all'Amarone at €20, the house dish since the Famiglie Storiche took ownership. Carnivores graduate to the horse chateaubriand in Amarone, €70, the dressed-up heir to Verona's pastissada de caval, or the one-kilo bistecca at €90 for two. Finish with the €12 tiramisù della Bottega.
How big is the wine list at Bottega del Vino?
Around 4,500 labels and 19,000 bottles, with Amarone in historic depth from the owner-producers and verticals reaching back decades. It has held Wine Spectator's Grand Award, the top tier, every year since 2004. Ask the staff to pick blind at your price; the cellar rewards surrender better than study.
Is Bottega del Vino good for a first date?
Yes, one of Verona's best. Start at the marble bar, move to a table if the conversation holds, and let the by-the-glass page do the talking. The room is warm, loud enough to forgive silences and open past midnight. For quieter first-date rooms, look outside the centro storico.
Reserve a Table
Reserve at Antica Bottega del Vino
Book ahead for dinner; essential during Vinitaly and the June–September opera season. Bar is walk-in.
Affiliate disclosure: Restaurants for Kings may earn a commission when you book through our reservation links, at no cost to you. Our scores are editorial and never paid for.
Practical Information
AddressVicolo Scudo di Francia 3, 37121 Verona
NeighbourhoodCittà Antica
CuisineVeronese
PricePlates €18–90; risotto all'Amarone €20
Dress CodeSmart casual
SeatingFront wine bar plus frescoed dining rooms
ReservationDirect, via official site
