La Grotta da Concetta

The people behind it

La Grotta da Concetta is a family trattoria, named after the woman at the stove. The entry of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina names Fabio Gianfelice as the manager and, in the kitchen, Concetta and Lucia Gianfelice; the 50 Top Italy guide speaks of Concetta as the soul of a cooking rooted in its territory, and Visit Molise notes that the place is known to everyone simply as "da Concetta"; Camilla Baresani calls it the Grotta di Zi' Concetta.

The Accademia describes its evolution this way: once it was the simple osteria that welcomed outsiders for quick and modest lunches, today it is the most frequented trattoria in the city, where the true dishes of tradition are served. The reviews consulted agree on one practical point: the place is small and almost always full, and booking is strongly advised. The 50 Top Italy guide also describes the way of ordering, with a menu on which dishes are marked by pen.

Sources: Accademia Italiana della Cucina — Concetta, Campobasso · 50 Top Italy — Trattoria La Grotta da Concetta · Visit Molise — Trattoria La Grotta da Concetta · I Templari del Gusto — La Grotta da Concetta. Campobasso. Osteria imperdibile nel cuore della città · Camilla Baresani — Campobasso, La Grotta di Zi' Concetta

What they make

The cooking is home-style Molise food. The dish not to miss, according to the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, is pizza e minestra: a maize bread with mixed wild greens, which I Templari del Gusto call a "cult" dish of the trattoria and typical of Molise peasant cooking. The Accademia also lists pallotte cacio e uova (cheese and egg balls), pork liver with bay leaf, caciocavallo with pears, braciole in sauce, ciabbotta of vegetables and pasta with chickpeas; the 50 Top Italy guide adds affunnatiello, salt cod dishes and coppetiello among the desserts.

The Touring Club Italiano mentions pasta with potatoes and mussels, meat in sauce and home-made tarts. In their December 2024 review I Templari del Gusto describe spaghetti with garlic, oil, chilli, cauliflower and crusco pepper, spaghetti with salt cod, onions and olives, and roast lamb among the main courses, and note that the menu changes almost daily, with dishes coming and going with the season.

Sources: Accademia Italiana della Cucina — Concetta, Campobasso · I Templari del Gusto — La Grotta da Concetta. Campobasso. Osteria imperdibile nel cuore della città · 50 Top Italy — Trattoria La Grotta da Concetta · Touring Club Italiano — La Grotta da Concetta

Ingredients and territory

The raw materials come from the Molise countryside, and the sources name them dish by dish. In pizza e minestra the protagonists are the wild field greens, combined with the maize-flour bread; among the main courses come pork liver, lamb and salt cod, and among the cheeses caciocavallo, served with pears according to the Accademia Italiana della Cucina. Visit Molise describes a traditional cuisine made with genuine ingredients and accompanied by good local wine.

Wine is one of the clearest links with the territory. In their December 2024 review I Templari del Gusto describe a house Tintilia, Molise's native red, called full-bodied, and close with a gentian liqueur; the 50 Top Italy guide notes a selection of natural wines also by the glass. The menu that changes almost daily, according to the same review, follows what the season makes available.

Sources: Accademia Italiana della Cucina — Concetta, Campobasso · Visit Molise — Trattoria La Grotta da Concetta · I Templari del Gusto — La Grotta da Concetta. Campobasso. Osteria imperdibile nel cuore della città · 50 Top Italy — Trattoria La Grotta da Concetta

Recognition

The main recognition comes from Slow Food. In the official list of Osterie d'Italia 2026 Snails, published by Slow Food on 17 October 2025, La Grotta da Concetta in Campobasso is the only osteria in Molise to receive the Snail, the guide's highest symbol. Camilla Baresani, in her review, also presents it as the city's Slow Food "snail".

The second recognition comes from the 50 Top Italy guide, which in its 2020 Trattorie ranking placed La Grotta da Concetta thirtieth, describing its cooking as simple, tasty and welcoming. These are two different guides, with different criteria, that arrive at the same address in Via Larino.

Sources: Slow Food — Tutte le Chiocciole di Osterie d'Italia 2026, regione per regione · Camilla Baresani — Campobasso, La Grotta di Zi' Concetta · 50 Top Italy — Trattoria La Grotta da Concetta

Going there

The trattoria is at Via Larino 7, in the heart of Campobasso, a few steps from the ancient Porta Mancina, according to Visit Molise. The Touring Club Italiano describes it as a rustic, welcoming trattoria, with wooden tools on the walls that give it an evocative and informal atmosphere; I Templari del Gusto count three indoor rooms, with stone and wooden ceilings, and some outdoor tables, while Camilla Baresani stresses that the place is set in a stone grotto in the city centre.

According to Visit Molise and I Templari del Gusto the trattoria is open Monday to Friday, for lunch from 1 pm to 3 pm and for dinner from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm, and is closed on Saturday and Sunday; the Touring Club also notes that it closes for the whole of August. The phone number for bookings is 0874 311378. It has no website of its own: it is best to call, also to check the opening hours before going.

Sources: Visit Molise — Trattoria La Grotta da Concetta · Touring Club Italiano — La Grotta da Concetta · I Templari del Gusto — La Grotta da Concetta. Campobasso. Osteria imperdibile nel cuore della città · Camilla Baresani — Campobasso, La Grotta di Zi' Concetta

Products and flavours

The region

Molise