Contemporary Italian tasting menu · Centro storico · Modena, Italy
How to book Osteria Francescana
The drop
Each month opens at 10:00 Modena time on the first working day of the month six months earlier (April 2027 opens Thursday 1 October 2026), on the official booking site.
Rule from the restaurant's own site, last read by us 30 September 2026.
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- Books on
- Own site
- Release
- the first weekday at 10:00, 6 months out (Modena time)
- Next release, your time
- 10:00 Modena time (turn on JavaScript to see it in your time zone)
- Dates released through
- Needs JavaScript: work it out from the rule above
Released means the booking window is open, not that a table is free. Check their booking page for what is left.
When do my tables open?
Pick a date and we’ll tell you the minute to be ready.
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About Osteria Francescana
Osteria Francescana is the restaurant of chef Massimo Bottura, a Modena native, on Via Stella in the old centre of Modena1,3. It opened in 1995, and in its early years it came close to closing because conservative local diners resisted Bottura's habit of breaking with Italian kitchen tradition5. Bottura and his wife, Lara Gilmore, also founded the Food for Soul project in 20163.
The cooking takes Emilia-Romagna classics and reworks them, with menus that draw on jazz, painting, childhood memories and the region itself6. Long-known creations include "Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano", "The Crunchy Part of the Lasagna" and a deconstructed lemon tart dessert5,6. The current tasting menu, called "Ho Fame!", is priced at 350 euros, with a 240 euro wine pairing, and an à la carte menu is also offered2.
The dining rooms double as a gallery of contemporary art, a shared passion of Bottura and Gilmore, and the restaurant describes the works on its walls as part of its creative process rather than decoration1,5. Osteria Francescana was voted The World's Best Restaurant in 2016 and 20185. Tables are booked on the restaurant's own reservation site, which takes a card guarantee with a hold of 300 euros per person four days before the visit4.
What people like
- Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano, the local cheese in five textures and temperatures, which a 2016 Euronews report named as a signature dish.6,7
- Playful, story-driven reworkings of familiar dishes, such as The Crunchy Part of the Lasagna and a deconstructed lemon tart.5,6
- The contemporary art collection that fills the dining rooms, turning the restaurant into a gallery.1,5
- Seamless service across a series of cosy rooms and a warm style of Italian hospitality, according to The World's 50 Best.5
Pictures
Sources
Last checked 30 September 2026.
- osteriafrancescana.it official: web booking release calendar at 10:00 a.m., each month six months ahead, checked 2026-09-30
- reservations.osteriafrancescana.it official: card guarantee, €300 hold, 4-day cancellation, checked 2026-09-30
- guide.michelin.com secondary: three Michelin stars, checked 2026-09-30
- theworlds50best.com secondary: not on the 2025 list 1 to 100, checked 2026-09-30
Sources for the description and pictures
- osteriafrancescana.it official: OSTERIA FRANCESCANA - Massimo Bottura
- osteriafrancescana.it official: Menu - OSTERIA FRANCESCANA
- osteriafrancescana.it official: Massimo Bottura - OSTERIA FRANCESCANA
- reservations.osteriafrancescana.it platform: Reservations - Osteria Francescana
- theworlds50best.com guide: Best of the Best |Osteria Francescana
- theworlds50best.com guide: Osteria Francescana - Modena - Restaurant - The 50 Discovery
- euronews.com press: Italian 'poet chef' named world number one | Euronews