6 Great Restaurants in Rimini

Ristorante Guido on Miramare beach is a classy place to enjoy an excellent lunch or dinner with beautiful sea views. Choose from the à la carte menu, featuring Adriatic produce, or tasting menus with house specials. 

For a typical delicacy of the Riviera Romagnola, try brodetto. This soup has working-class origins but is now part of the repertoire of top chefs. It used to be prepared with fish that was too small or low-quality to sell, which fishermen would bring home to their families. Every town on Romagna's coast has its own way of making it, and ingredients vary by season. But there's a universal rule: at least a dozen different varieties of fish must be used.

If you're looking for a place to eat homemade egg pasta and traditional cappelletti (filled, hat-shaped pasta), head to Osteria Brodo di Giuggiole in the centre of Rimini. They use stone-ground flour to make their dough, as per tradition. The ingredients and sauces for the pasta vary depending on the time of year. 

The menu features wild mushrooms and seasonal vegetables, truffles from the Montefeltro region, wild boar and rabbit. The cheeses come with homemade chutneys. Choose from a selection of local red and white wines, including Sangiovese, Cabernet and Rebola. Between courses, remember to visit the earthenware and stone room beneath the main dining area, where you can see an old focone, which was used to chargrill meat.

Ristorante Zi' Teresa is a local restaurant about half an hour’s drive inland from Rimini. It’s the perfect opportunity to taste a local speciality: coniglio in porchetta (rabbit in spit-roasted pork). The method’s similar to that for porchetta, and the meat is stuffed with chopped garlic and wild fennel, giving the recipe its unique flavour. When it’s done cooking, you’re left with a crispy outer crust and soft interior. 

The prices are affordable, and you can choose from different types of set menus. There's also a vegetarian tasting menu, popular for its passatelli imbufaliti (homemade pasta with aubergines, cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella). Or opt for the 100% vegan buffet, ranging from hot and cold starters to desserts.

La Marianna is an atmospheric place to eat in Rimini in the fishing district of the city. To find it, cross Ponte di Tiberio (Bridge of Tiberius), the continuation of the Decumanus Maximus around which Roman Rimini was developed. This takes you to San Giuliano, the old fishing district nestled between the sea, Marecchia river and Porto Canale. Beside a lagoon reflecting the park’s greenery is Trattoria La Marianna, where fish and traditional Romagna cuisine take centre stage. 

It's all about the sea here. Even the furnishings in the dining areas and on the veranda are adorned in wood and a blue-and-white colour scheme. The bar is in an old boat from the harbour. We recommend grigliata mista cotta alla brace (mixed grilled seafood): the fish varies daily, depending on the catch.

Come to Locanda dell'Ambra, perched on a hill and surrounded by chestnut trees in the stunning village of Talamello, in Rimini's backcountry to try formaggio di fossa (pit-matured cheese). They serve local, high-quality delicacies and offer an unrivalled experience, with real attention to detail. The walls are covered in local stone, and the restaurant stands above the pits where the cheese is prepared.

A holiday in Rimini is a brilliant opportunity to taste this gastronomic speciality with a unique flavour. The unmistakable flavour of this one-of-a-kind cheese owes to it being matured in sandstone pits and coated in straw. This long and laborious process reaps a wonderful reward: a pronounced flavour, rich in herbaceous aromas, delicious with honey, jam and balsamic vinegar.