What should you eat in Verona?

The three that define Verona

• Risotto all'Amarone. Risotto cooked with Amarone della Valpolicella, the dried-grape red from the hills north of the city, which turns it deep purple, usually finished with a local cheese. Where: trattorie and osterie in the old town, especially the streets between Piazza delle Erbe and the Adige. Tip: it is a primo (first course); in Italy that is followed by a main, but one plate of risotto is a full lunch for most visitors.

• Bollito con la pearà. Mixed boiled meats (beef, tongue, cotechino sausage, chicken) carved at the table or plated, with pearà, a thick sauce of breadcrumbs, beef marrow, broth and a lot of black pepper. Where: traditional trattorie, mostly from autumn to spring. Tip: it is cold-weather food; in summer, look for pearà as a sauce on other dishes, or save the bollito for a visit between October and March.

• Pastissada de caval. Horse meat marinated in red wine and spices and stewed for hours, served with polenta. Local legend ties it to a battle in 489 AD; treat that as folklore. Where: old-fashioned trattorie in the centre and in the San Zeno district. Tip: it is listed in dialect as pastissada de caval; if horse is not for you, the bigoli and the risotto are the other local orders.

Nine more foods to try in Verona

• Gnocchi. Potato gnocchi are Verona's carnival food; the city's Carnival centres on the 'gnocchi Friday', the Venerdì Gnocolar, held in San Zeno. Where: most trattorie, all year. Tip: look for them with butter and sage or with a meat ragù; they are made fresh daily in good kitchens.

• Bigoli. Thick fresh spaghetti, the pasta of the Veneto, served in Verona with duck ragù or with a stew of donkey meat (bigoli co l'aseno). Where: traditional osterie. Tip: duck is the safer first order; the donkey version is the local test of nerve.

• Tortellini di Valeggio. Very thin, small tortellini from Valeggio sul Mincio, south-west of Verona, served with butter and sage or in broth. Where: restaurants in Verona and, best of all, in Valeggio itself. Tip: they are much finer than Bologna's; order them in butter so you can taste the pasta.

• Polenta. Soft polenta comes with stews, cheeses and meats across the Veneto. Where: almost every traditional menu. Tip: ask whether it is soft or grilled; both are normal.

• Monte Veronese. A cow's milk cheese from the Lessinia mountains north of Verona, mild when young and sharper when aged. Where: cheese plates in osterie and the delis around Piazza delle Erbe. Tip: order the aged (stagionato) version with a glass of Valpolicella.

• Pandoro. The tall, star-shaped Christmas cake dusted with icing sugar, first patented by the Verona baker Domenico Melegatti in 1894. Where: pastry shops and supermarkets, mainly November to January. Tip: outside the holidays, ask in pastry shops for pandoro-style sweet breads, or take a boxed one home.

• Valpolicella, Amarone and Ripasso. Valpolicella is the light everyday red; Ripasso is refermented on Amarone skins for more weight; Amarone is the big, expensive dried-grape wine. Where: wine bars (enoteche) across the centre. Tip: order Amarone by the glass rather than the bottle unless you plan to spend a lot.

• Soave and Bardolino. Soave is the white from the hills east of the city; Bardolino is the light red from Lake Garda. Where: every wine list. Tip: a cold Soave is the right order on a July evening before an opera at the Arena.

• Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano. Not Veronese, but one easy day trip away. We went to Parma for a day from Verona; ham and Parmigiano are best eaten in the city that names them. See day trips from Verona. Where: delis in Parma's centre. Tip: ask for the ham sliced to order rather than pre-packed.

Markets and where to eat in Verona

Piazza delle Erbe was the Roman forum and is still a market square, though the stalls now sell more fruit cups and souvenirs than produce. Use it for a look and a drink at the edge of the square, and buy cheese and salumi in the delis on the side streets. The old town inside the bend of the Adige holds most of the osterie; San Zeno, a 15 to 20 minute walk west, is quieter and more local.

The centre is compact, so most visitors cover it in a day; our one-day Verona guide covers the Arena and Juliet's House. For how long to stay, see how many days in Verona.

Cover charges, tipping and ordering in Verona

Most Verona restaurants add a coperto, a per-person cover charge printed on the menu; it is legal and it is not a tip. Our coperto guide explains when to leave something extra; rounding up for good service is enough.

In opera season (summer), restaurants near the Arena fill early on performance nights and some offer an early dinner before the show; book ahead or eat after. Lunch is usually served from about 12:30 to 2:30pm and dinner from about 7:30pm, and kitchens close in between.

If you only have one day: a Verona food plan

Morning: coffee standing at a bar near Piazza delle Erbe, then the Arena before the heat.

Lunch: risotto all'Amarone or bigoli with duck in an osteria between Piazza delle Erbe and the river, with a glass of Valpolicella.

Afternoon: a deli plate of Monte Veronese and salumi, then a walk to San Zeno.

Evening: pastissada de caval or gnocchi with a glass of Ripasso, or a cold Soave before an Arena performance. Verona sits between Venice and Bologna on our Italy itinerary; what to eat in Bologna and our Italy food guide cover the next stop.

Frequently asked questions