Vecchia Malcesine

The story

Vecchia Malcesine, Malcesine: Michelin-Starred Lake Garda Cooking

Vecchia Malcesine sits at via Pisort, 6 in Malcesine, where Lake Garda meets the rock of Monte Baldo. Chef Leandro Luppi runs this country cooking kitchen, and it holds one Michelin star (2026).

A chef who fishes and paints

Luppi was born in Alto Adige and opened his first restaurant in Bolzano in 1986. He moved to Lake Garda in 1991, and Vecchia Malcesine followed in 1998. He spent years rediscovering freshwater fish that gastronomy had overlooked, then looked for the right cooking technique for each one. Wild herbs from Monte Baldo and Garda extra virgin olive oil share the plate.

What arrives at the table

The 2026 tasting menu, Qcina, opens with smoked lavarello, bread and tomato. Later come char with smoked egg, burnt onion ravioli with pecorino, and grouper with hollandaise. A shorter half menu and a choose-your-own format are also on offer, the latter with a lake Carbonara. Wine pairing runs to three or five glasses. Gambero Rosso awarded the kitchen 2 forks in 2022.

Art made by the cook

Luppi furnished the room himself. He hand-painted the bottle holders, and the glasses are 1950s Murano. A table was cut from a salvaged antique door. A painting by Riccardo Licata hangs there too, a gift to the chef after a dinner at the restaurant.