South Tyrol's cuisine: 10 things we love

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Learn all about what makes the cuisine of this northern region of Italy so special from local chefs Roland Lamprecht and Florian Fink. From festive traditions to local pasta dishes and excellent wines, there is plenty for foodies to enjoy. Plus, we share some of the top places to eat in the region and our picks of the best places to stay.

Want to learn more about regional cuisine? Check out our guides to the cuisines of Trentino in Italy, the Algarve in Portugal, Cork in Ireland or Istria in Croatia.

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Where to eat and drink in South Tyrol
Where to stay in South Tyrol

South Tyrol cuisine: 10 things we love

Austro-Italian culture

The region’s difficult recent history is now embraced in a fusion of Austrian and Italian cuisines and culture. Historically the South Tyrolean kitchen is German-Austrian, featuring the likes of dumplings, veal schnitzel and kaiserschmarrn, but the Italians have added elegance, plus fish, vegetables, olive oil and salt. The two cultures – along with the Mediterranean and mountain climates – are now very much intertwined, to the extent that all towns have both an Austrian and Italian name.

Speck

While many cured meats are popular in South Tyrol, speck is the most popular (previously smoked venison). This air-dried, cold-smoked ham is lightly spiced and encased in a juniper crust. PGI-protected farmhouse bauernspeck is made only with the highest-quality meat and has a higher ratio of nutty marbled fat that melts on the tongue. Its red and white colour reflects the Tyrolean flag, and it’s a signature ingredient in countless dishes.

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Törggelen

Celebrated following the grape harvest in late September or early October, and running through the end of November, Törggelen, the region’s ‘fifth season’, is a culinary trademark. It’s a time when Alpine huts and farmhouses throw open their doors for tastings of freshly pressed wine (grape must), alongside roasted chestnuts, large feasts (featuring schlachtplatte meat plates), folk tales and merriment.

Knödel dumplings

There are more than 20 types of regional dough dumplings, from rustic buckwheat to those flecked with spinach and herbs, and even sweet varieties made with apricot or plum. It’s a versatile dish, served as a soup garnish, main or side, that reflects our rich agricultural traditions inherited from generations past.

Venison

We use a lot of game meat, particularly venison, as it is abundant in the forests and includes roe deer and chamois. There’s also hare and wildfowl. The meat is naturally lean and healthy, and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways – braised, raw or roasted – always offering that distinct game flavour.

Festive sweet treats

Zelten is a traditional sweet bread flecked with dried fruit, nuts and spices. It’s a hybrid of Italy’s panettone and Austria’s stollen. We usually come together as a family to prepare it around 1 December then take it along to gatherings through the festive season. Other popular regional treats are krapfen (chewy doughnuts usually filled with apricot jam), apfelküchlein (apple fritters) and knieküchle (deep-fried dough with a thin middle and thicker edges).

Christmas traditions

South Tyrol is very religious, so Christmas is an important holiday. We mark Christmas Eve with soup and bread, and usually the 25th involves a centrepiece of braised venison or fillet of roast beef served with potatoes, red cabbage and herb dumplings to soak up the jus. Many traditional households celebrate with a bauernbratl (farmer’s roast) of pork belly or ribs in a caraway seed marinade.

Bolzano Bozen Xmas, Bolzano, Bozen, südtirol, Alto adige, mercatino di natale, christkindlmarkt

Pasta dishes

The contemporary Italian influence is evident in the likes of ravioli filled with spinach and mountain cheese, tagliatelle with venison ragu and mountain herb pesto stirred through spaghetti. The most traditional regional speciality is schlutzkrapfen – ravioli-like pasta pockets, often filled with porcini mushrooms.

Wine

South Tyrolean wines have a great reputation, dating back hundreds of years thanks to wine-making traditions in the monasteries. The Eisack Valley makes the most of warm days and cold nights, which results in excellent fresh white and sparkling varieties. Merano and Bolzano, in the south of the region, benefit instead from warmer climates for elegant reds.

Ladin culture

A unique combination of German and Latin, this small Alpine community is one rooted in folklore and ancient traditions. The Ladin communities live in two valleys in the heart of the Dolomites: Val Gardena and Alta Badia. Signature dishes include ravioli-like cajinci, panicia barley soup and sweet grappa-infused furtaies (‘funnel cakes’), traditionally served to celebrate wedding engagements.

Where to eat and drink in South Tyrol

Finsterwirt and Vitis, Brixen

Though housed in one of the oldest buildings in town, enveloped in wood panelling and stained glass, the tucked-away Finsterwirt restaurant serves creative contemporary plates, such as veal with salsa verde, Eisack Valley wine soup and duck leg with potato rösti and orange jus. Adjoining wine bar Vitis is home to 500 wines, many of which are local and best sipped by the stone fountain in the leafy courtyard. adlerbrixen.com

Toma Spirit & Winebar, Bolzano

Local duo Tobias and Marian’s compact but well-stocked wine bar is a great spot to soak up Bolzano’s bustling vibe while tasting some of the region’s finest wines by the glass, from Appiano’s sparkling elegant pinot bianco, to cabernet franc grown on the slopes above Lake Caldaro. instagram.com/toma.bozen

Wirtshaus Vögele, Bolzano

This traditional inn was an ancient meeting spot for poets, philosophers and intellectuals, and has wood-panelled walls that provide cosy surrounds for South Tyrolean classics such as spinach ravioli with bacon butter, wiener schnitzel, apple strudel and kaiserschmarrn. voegele.it

Apollonia, Sirmiano

Perched in the hills up a winding road above Bolzano, this Alpine guesthouse serves cuisine from Alto Adige and dramatic views of the Dolomites. Most ingredients are locally foraged or grown on site to create spicy beef goulash with speck dumplings, Passeier Valley char fillet with herby sweet potato cream and affogato doused in homemade nut liqueur. apollonia.it

Decantei, Brixen

Set in a cloistered courtyard, this is an atmospheric spot to try hearty South Tyrolean dishes – a colourful trio of knödel dumplings, pumpkin-topped ravioli and deep-fried puffed potato dough blattln with sauerkraut – alongside a wide selection of craft beers. decantei.it

Where to stay in South Tyrol

Forestis, Plose

At 1,800m above sea level, surrounded by panoramic views of the Dolomites, this unique property embraces its original intention as a climate spa for Austrian monarchy. Split between the original 1912 larchwood building and three modern towers, everything is designed to bring the landscape in – floor-to-ceiling windows allow the sun to dance around pinewood suites, bathrooms are made from Dolomites stone and two-level penthouses sit at the tip of two of the towers.

Wellbeing is at the hotel’s heart – there’s Plose spring water sweetened with pine syrup on arrival, plus the spa’s successive indoor-outdoor mineral pools and saunas, daily rituals and a wyda studio (a local Celtic version of yoga). Mountain activities include ski-in, ski-out facilities as well as forest bathing and foraging.

In the main restaurant, individual booths are arranged in an amphitheatre-like structure, allowing for prime views while you enjoy Roland Lamprecht’s forest cuisine. This is also where breakfast is served – a buffet featuring pretzels, chocolate caprese, ricotta cake, pistachio cream, Eisack Valley honeycomb and wild berry jams. There’s also speck, mountain cheeses, foraged fruits, a salad bar and DIY juice room with bottled mountain apple juice ready to drink.

An evening at new restaurant concept Yera is an experience like no other – follow a torch through the forest into an earthy mountain cave, hand in phones at the door and let Roland and his team guide you through an immersive spectacle of fire, ferments and ancient Celtic traditions. A nightcap at the bar might be a fresh fig old fashioned, apricot-enriched Plosestar martini or negronis infused with Plose cranberries for added fruitiness. forestis.it

Check rates and availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Fink, Brixen

Nestled in the arcades of one of Brixen’s oldest monastery townhouses, this boutique hotel has been passed down through four generations. Husband-and-wife owners Petra and Florian Fink have a deep respect for the 1450s building, creating an intentionally minimalist feel to allow original features to shine in the nine suites – thick stone walls left bare, restored ceiling frescoes decorating cosy window seats and the terrazzo flooring flecked with South Tyrolean stone. A compact vaulted spa awaits behind an ancient wooden door, its central stone plunge pool ideal for cooling down after sessions in the sauna, steam room and Roman bath outhouse.

Choose to dine in the chic vaulted restaurant or outside beneath the arcade’s graceful curves. Florian curates produce from 50 local farmers – most specialising in a single ingredient – for his fresh, simple, zero-waste monastery kitchen style. The main menu is vegetarian and includes clever alternatives, such as root veg tartare, tagliolini with red cabbage cream and black truffle, and organic grain ravioli filled with chanterelles and mountain cheese. Meat and fish options are succinct and include local game and freshwater fish, from lake trout fillet to venison stew with beetroot dumplings, and veal schnitzel with lingonberry sauce. Sweet plum dumplings come with black beer ice cream, while three South Tyrolean apple varieties are showcased in a tartlet with ricotta and caramel sauce.

An elegant breakfast kicks off with a soothing herb broth followed by fresh juices and fruit salads, crudités to dunk into herb ricotta and compotes to spread over warm croissants and breads, plus made-to-order spelt pancakes and crisp buckwheat waffles. fink1896.it