San Brite

The gourmet restaurant of passionate Cortina-born chef Riccardo Gaspari, San Brite draws foodies from all over Italy to taste his brand of innovative mountain-inspired cooking. Gaspari, whose family have been farmers in Cortina for generations, studied with the three-Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana, which has been named by food critics as the best restaurant in the world.

He then opened a dairy farm with his wife Ludovica called Piccolo Brite. In addition to operating the farm and the more casual rifugio, El Brite, San Brite also benefits from the farm’s fresh ingredients, but crafted with a more gourmet twist. A typical lunch starter may start with cauliflower foam served in paper-thin ceramic bowls and five kinds of fresh-baked breads with whipped butter, all created from ingredients sourced directly from the farm.

There are also special pasta options like wild duck and foie gras ravioli, or risotto cooked in green tomato, olive and laurel broth. Some of the farm-fresh options include boiled hen, accompanied with root extract and mustard sorbet, or pancetta cooked in milk with parsnip pureé and marinated carrots. You can also order å la carte (just don’t miss the cheese and meat plate) or try the 10-course “Mountain” tasting menu option. The atmosphere celebrates the forest location just as the cuisine does. As Riccardo declares on the menu: "The secret of a story lies within its own existence. Mine starts from the story of a land and a family who chose this land as its home.” Open for lunch and dinner; reservations recommended.