“Overlooking a picturesque Renaissance square, the cafe here dates back to the early 19C, and the restaurant shortly after. Today the decor is a nostalgic mix of Art Nouveau and the 1960s. The menu focuses on regional fare, including charcuterie, fresh pasta, fish from the lake and meat, with the renowned savarin di riso taking pride of place.”
Michelin Guide 2017
Where taste meet with local history and traditions…
In the halls of the 15th century Palazzo della Guardia, facing the wonderful square – one of the most beautiful squares of minor Italy – Caffè La Crepa has been able to draw wonderful dining halls. A little patch of history in the Po Plain where you can smell the perfume of traditions becoming stronger as you draw nearer the place, until you can read the rounded and white enameled iron sign on the facade.
- The Restaurant
A place bringing you back to the past, situated in a 15th century palace facing the main square of the tiny town. You will feel comfortable thanks to a warm welcome and a kind and professional service.
A rich wine list which does not include all the bottles the restaurant can offer. The brothers Fausto and Franco, always ready to welcome you, will combine the deep knowledge of the wines with the attention to their guests in an extraordinary manner. Such cellar is properly completed by the cuisine, where the word “territory”, elsewhere often misused, can be mentioned here rightly, together with memory and culture.
- Traditions and Recipes
Isola Dovarese is a small town between the provinces of Mantua and Cremona, situated on a drop-shaped terraced area stretching forward in the oxbow of the river Oglio.
The waters surrounding the three quarters of the town perimeter transformed it in ancient times into a settlement of great importance. The river Oglio runs around the town, highlighting the ups and downs of the terraced areas formed by the river flow during the centuries.
“We must be imaginative professionals. Creativity can only be expressed when you know the parts of the animal, you know what sweetbreads are, you know how to use them. This knowledge has been almost lost, but we need to preserve it.”
Fausto Malinverno
- WineShopItalia.com
Since 1974 we have been suggesting a selection of the best wines in the world, as well as a careful choice of high-quality regional gastronomic products.
Vintage liqueurs and alcoholic drinks complete our proposals aiming at making our guests discover the pleasure of tasting. We offer a great variety of wines that can satisfy any palate.
- International Press
- from “Locum Destination Review”, Autumn 2003 written by Nicholas Lander
- The 25 best restaurants by Nicholas Lander “FT Magazine”, March 2004
- from Jancis Robinson – Nick’s Top 25 Restaurants, April 2004
- from “British Airwais Magazine”, July 2004
- from Financial Times “Fresh, simple, fantastic by Nicholas Lander”, 10 June 2006
- from Financial Times “The buzz is back by Nicholas Lander”, 30 December 2006
- from “milliyet.com.tr” – May 2012 (turkish)
- from “Vogue Brasil” – June 2012 (portuguese)
- from “Le Blanc et le Rouge”, December 2012 (french)
- from “Gastromondiale” by Vedat Milor, December 2013
- from Terra Madre 2014 “Lombard Leftover Cooking” by Simone Gie, October 2014
- from Süddeutsche Zeitung – 13 January 2016 (german)
- from Fantasy Tale Travel – 4 July2016 (english)
- from National Geographic “Lombardy: Buon Appetito” by Christine Smallwood, July 2020
- from ZestOfItaly “Caffe la Crepa, genuine hosts of the low lands, Lombardia”. Dec. 2020
. . .
“Here you can travel through the history of this land between Mantua and Cremona, where the cuisine belongs to <<the common people and the court>>: you can taste it in dishes merging love for the local roots and technique, perceiving that same history that the Malinverno Family wants to make contemporary. Just think that there are five proposals for lunch, from 18 to 35 euros. In short, a small paradise of taste where the passion for freshwater fish (pike in sauce, marinated eel, mixed fry-up, noodles with lake-fish ragout) goes hand in hand with boiled mixed meats and island-style tripe. You can also enjoy fine cold-cuts, burgundy snails and local cheeses, be moved by the Stefani-style guinea fowl salad and the rice Savarin
with ragout and corned tongue. As for desserts, La Crepa guarantees a forty-year experience: the ice-cream parlour was opened in 1976. The cellar conquers by the range, the depth and the origin of the proposed labels.
And there is also a grocery store to buy home-made delicacies.”
GENTLEMAN Magazine, April 2019
. . .
- Stay in Isola Dovarese, between Cremona and Mantova
Located in one of the most beautiful of the less-known piazzas in Italy, this trattoria is housed in a XVI Century palazzo. La Crepa has been successfully run by the Malinverno family for three generations. Franco and Fausto work side by side in the trattoria. Franco in the kitchen with his wife Laura, and Fausto in the dining room with his nephew Federico.
Tradition and history are reflected in all the dishes on the menu and the cellar offers a wide selection of local and non-local wines. The recipes represent the best produce of the land bathed by the river Oglio. The trattoria includes a grocery and wine store. Just steps away, on the other side of the Renaissance piazza, lies an elegant hotel.
Hotel Palazzo Quaranta a Isola Dovarese (CR)
B&B 9 Muse a Canneto Sull’Oglio (MN)
B&B Dimora&Arte a Canneto Sull’Oglio (MN)
B&B L’Airone a Castelfranco d’Oglio (Comune di Drizzona – CR)
B&B La Casa nel Borgo, Castelfrando d’Oglio (Comune di Drizzona – CR)
Hotel Gambara a Gambara (BS)
Hotel Astoria nel centro storico di Cremona (CR)
- Discover our land
Download the guide for free… visit www.ogliochiese.it
- Contact us
Tel 0039 (0) 375 396161
Caffè La Crepa 