Veneto, Shakespeare’s favourite Italian region, is a rich and diverse area of northern Italy. It has a varied landscape, incorporating both mountains and plains, coastlines and lagoons, and the cuisine, in a reflection of this landscape and the produce it yields, is equally mixed. There are many dishes unique to each province within the region, including paèta al malgaragno (turkey with pomegranate) in Vicenza and polenta e renga (polenta with herrings) from Verona. Perhaps most famous of all is carpaccio, a preparation of thinly sliced raw meat or fish popular on menus throughout the world, which was believed to have been created in Venice. Despite the striking variations in meat and fish preparations across the region, most dishes are likely to have one thing in common; the presence of either rice or polenta.

This collection features the best places to eat in the north of Italy, including some of the country's most esteemed restaurants. For one of the best restaurants in Verona, Giancarlo Perbellini’s two Michelin-starred restaurant, Casa Perbellini, is hard to beat, while over in Vicenza lies both El Coq and Damini e Affini, a Michelin-starred butchers.