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EAT BEYOND THE OBVIOUS
The Austrian brewer, the Liberty dining room and Bassano’s five generation restaurant
Ristorante Birraria Ottone · Via Giacomo Matteotti 48/50, Bassano del Grappa
Know before you go
About
The Austrian brewer, the Liberty dining room and Bassano’s five generation restaurant Place Ristorante Birraria Ottone · Via Giacomo Matteotti 48/50, Bassano del Grappa Phone 0039 0424 522206
North of Vicenza, Bassano del Grappa makes an excellent detour for anyone exploring the wider Vicenza area, with the Brenta, Monte Grappa, Palladian country and some of the province’s strongest food traditions all within easy reach. Before Bassano became internationally associated with grappa, white asparagus and the Ponte degli Alpini, an Austrian teenager arrived with beer. Ottone Wipflinger left Salzburg and came to Italy as a master brewer. His family established the business in Bassano in the nineteenth century and moved it in 1882 to the present restaurant, inside a fifteenth century palazzo in the historic centre. The Wipflingers are still there five generations later.
The interiors are almost as good as the genealogy. Liberty decoration from 1924, enormous mirrors, white linen and old family details give the dining room the air of a Mitteleuropean restaurant that somehow ended up in the province of Vicenza. The kitchen has kept the connection too. The Accademia Italiana della Cucina names the goulash with potatoes as the dish to order and traces it directly to the family’s Austrian origins.
The menu reflects both sides of that history. The Accademia Italiana della Cucina singles out the family goulash with potatoes and also lists risotto with Brenta trout and celery from Rubbio, plus Morlacco del Grappa with polenta made from Marano corn. In spring, Bassano white asparagus appears as part of the local seasonal repertoire.
In 2023, Birraria Ottone won the Bassano del Grappa episode of Alessandro Borghese’s 4 Ristoranti, devoted to the city’s historic restaurants. La Cucina Italiana also highlighted the same combination of family ownership, traditional cooking and goulash.
WHY GO
For a lunch that explains a less obvious side of Vicenza’s food culture, Austrian brewing history, Bassano produce and a dining room that has retained its early twentieth century character.
Address Via Giacomo Matteotti 48/50, Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza
AS TOLD BY
La Cucina Italiana Sky TG24 Accademia Italiana della Cucina Locali Storici d’Italia