El Brite de Larieto

Every time we arrive in Cortina, we do the same thing. We put down our suitcases and book a table at Brite de Larieto. The rest can wait. As you emerge from the larch woods, cows, barns, and other animals greet you before you even reach the restaurant. A scent wafts through the air, far removed from anything in the city. Some may find it too strong, but not us. It is the scent of milk that will become cheese, of the mountains before they turn back into a postcard. A few steps farther on, you are seated at the table, and the postcard reappears. Before becoming one of the Dolomites’ most admired chefs, Riccardo Gaspari was already here. He never chased after a style of cuisine. He simply continued cooking the mountains where he grew up. His father, Flavio, looks after the farm. The cheeses come from the family dairy run by Matilde, while the vegetables from SanBrite’s garden are carefully grown by Ludovico. Here, sourcing locally is simply a way of life. The menu is short. Four starters, four primi, four secondi. Some change every week, while others are always available. The “Soreghina” gnocchi with cheese cream. The tagliatelle with sausage ragù. On paper, everything seems simple. A buttermilk cream, a fermented ingredient, or an herb picked that very morning is enough to elevate a potato or a carrot. The dishes do not shout. They quietly set the bar higher. Alongside Riccardo, Ludovica Rubbini designs everything that surrounds the plate: the table, the spaces, the lighting. Nothing tries to impress. Yet everything feels just right. There are restaurants you try once. And then there are those you return to. Brite de Larieto is one of them. To discover this same culinary vision taken even further, book a table at SanBrite as well. Another chapter in the same story.