Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli

12 Apostoli is one of Italy's oldest continuously operating restaurants — established in 1750 on a corticella (small courtyard) two minutes' walk from Piazza delle Erbe. The Gioco family ran it for four generations. In 2022, Giancarlo Perbellini — a Veronese chef who had held two Michelin stars at his eponymous Casa Perbellini in a nearby street — took over the restaurant, merged the two operations under the name Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli, and within two years had earned the third star (Michelin Guide 2024).

The dining room is one of Italy's most historic interiors: a twelfth-century vaulted ground floor (originally a Roman trading arcade), a first-floor fresco room decorated in 1928 by the Veronese painter Angelo Dall'Oca Bianca, and a wine cellar that extends into the original Roman substructure. The restoration Perbellini commissioned preserved the historic rooms and modernised the kitchen and service infrastructure without disturbing the architectural fabric.

The cooking is Perbellini at full expression — pizza-dough focaccia with wild herbs (a signature since the 1990s), a risotto al tartufo bianco made with rice from his own Veneto paddies, a venison in juniper-caramel sauce, and the famous "Tagliatella fredda" (cold egg-pasta ribbons with anchovy and parmesan) he has served for three decades. The tasting menus run at €180 (seven courses) and €260 (twelve courses).

The wine list is one of Italy's great cellars — 1,900 references — with particular depth in Amarone and Recioto from the Valpolicella hills immediately north. Head sommelier Daniela Balducci is one of the country's best; the pairing at the twelve-course tasting is itself an education in Veronese wine.

Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli is the definitive client-impressing room in northern Italy after Enoteca Pinchiorri. The 12th-century architectural setting, the three-star cooking, the depth of the wine cellar — every element signals a level of taste and investment that takes years of dining experience to assemble. Request the first-floor fresco room at 20:30. The twelve-course tasting runs 3.5 hours; allow a full evening. For proposals, the cellar private room (seating eight) is available by advance request and is the most characterful underground dining space in the Veneto.