About Us

La Chiocciola in Cuneo, since 1989

An osteria, a wine shop, and the pleasure of giving good things time.

There are places you return to for a dish. And then you stay for the wine, the people, and the pleasure of sitting at the table. The Osteria della Chiocciola was born in Cuneo on November 29, 1989, at Via Fossano 1, with an idea that still guides us today: giving good things time.

Our history

Those were the years when Slow Food was taking shape. On December 8, 1989, in Paris, the movement founded by Carlo Petrini placed "good, clean, and fair" food at the center of the conversation.

Meanwhile, following the methanol scandal, Italian wine was also changing its face: young producers from the Langhe were beginning journeys that would make them known throughout the world. Some of those labels are still on our wine list.

In that climate, the project was born to open the first Slow Food restaurant in Cuneo, using the movement's name and symbol. Maura Biancotto was in the dining room alongside Gigi Riva, who is still the owner today; in the kitchen, Beppe Lucia and Davide Testa.

The snail became our sign: an invitation to slow down and choose with care.

The cuisine: tradition, without haste

Today the Osteria is a restaurant with a wine shop that continues to seek out local products and tell the story of the territory through food and wine.

Raw meat, vitello tonnato, tajarin, and panna cotta have become our classics: dishes that many regular customers order before even opening the menu.

The bond with the Chiocciola also lives on through those who have sat at our tables for over thirty years and keep coming back.

Gigi and the idea of opening an Osteria

Gianfranco “Gigi” Riva was born in Saluzzo in 1956. After earning his accounting diploma, he worked in a bank for ten years while cultivating his passion for wine, travel, and good food shared with others.

He met Carlo Petrini and others with whom he embarked on gastronomic trips to France and Spain, tastings in the Cuneo area, and, finally, the idea for a joint project.

On July 14, 1989, as the coordinator for the Saluzzo chapter, he organized an outdoor dinner for 200 people with Carlin, supported by three local restaurants. A few months later, partly for fun and partly as a challenge, he opened the Osteria della Chiocciola.

The wine shop: 600 labels and a curiosity that continues

His curiosity for wine has never stopped: our wine list, which features 600 labels, still contains Italian and international wines collected by Gigi over the years.