Where to eat and drink in Cortina d'Ampezzo: long lunches, then the Corso
Lunch is the main event, long and slow on a hut terrace, and dinner is in the town or just out of it. Rifugio Mietres is the lunch looking across at the town, Baita Piè Tofana is the dinner to book, the Ariston Bar is where to queue for casunziei, and Bar Sport on the Corso does coffee through to aperitivo.
Cortina takes lunch seriously. It is the long part of the day, on a hut terrace with the Dolomites in front of you, and the huts cook properly: fresh pasta, polenta, local cheese, pizza at altitude. Dinner is in the town or a short way out of it, and the standard holds. Ski in the morning, eat slowly, ski gently after, then an aperitivo on the Corso: that is the rhythm, and it is easier to go with it than against it.
Two lunches show the range. Rifugio Mietres has no road to the door, so it is the chairlift or a walk up, and from the terrace you look across at the whole town. Come for the sunset, and book the outdoor hot tub with dinner if you want to make a night of it. Capanna Ra Valles is the easy one, on the Tofana cable car from the middle of town, so somebody not skiing can come up for the house pizza with everyone else.
For dinner, book Baita Piè Tofana and treat it as the evening: a destination room beside the slope at Rumerlo, a long tasting menu, and game, the roe deer above all. The Ariston Bar works the other way, because it takes no bookings and the queue forms before the doors open. Join it. Cortina's own pasta is casunziei, beetroot ravioli in butter and poppy seeds, and this is the room to eat it in.
Bar Sport, on the pedestrian Corso, is the bar for the whole day, coffee first thing and aperitivo later, and the chamomile grappa, made in house, is the one to ask for. Pasticceria Panificio Alverà is breakfast before the lifts. Book the huts as well as the dinners, and for Mietres or Piè Tofana, know how you are getting back before you set off.
Mountain lunch
Pizza on the way up the Tofana cable car, no skis needed, and a rifugio with no road to the door, facing the town at sunset.
Rifugio Mietres
There is no road to the door, so it is the Mietres chairlift or twenty to thirty minutes on foot from the nearest parking. The terrace looks straight across at Cortina and the sunset over the town is what people come up for. You can book an outdoor hot tub together with dinner, arranged by email. Ravioli and spatzle are the orders.
Capanna Ra Valles
Pizza is the reason to stop, and there is a house one with spicy salami and a chilli oil brought to the table. You get here on the cable car from the middle of town without skis, on the way up to the top, so a non skier can do it as easily as anyone. Cheaper than the altitude suggests, and there are sockets if your phone is dying.
Dinner
Cortina's own beetroot ravioli in the centre, worth the queue, and a long tasting menu beside the slope that is the whole evening.
Baita Piè Tofana
A destination restaurant beside the slope rather than a lunch hut, and priced as one at around a hundred and twenty five euros a head. There is a long tasting menu, and a party who booked nine courses were served twelve or thirteen with the extras. Game is the signature and the roe deer is the dish. Book, and treat it as the evening.
Restaurant Ariston Bar
No reservations, so people queue before the seven o'clock opening and you should join them about a quarter to. Casunziei ampezzani, the beetroot ravioli with butter, parmesan and poppy seeds, is Cortina's signature pasta and this is where to eat it. Homemade tagliatelle and game are the house style, the steak gets picked out, and the portions are generous.
Bars
On the Corso from the morning coffee to the aperitivo, and the house grappa to ask for is the chamomile.
Bar Sport
On the pedestrian Corso in the middle of town and open more or less all day, so it covers morning coffee, an afternoon toast and aperitivo without changing character much. Draught Augustiner, plus espresso martinis and a Bombardino for apres. The house made grappas are the thing to know about, and the chamomile one is the one to ask for.
Cafes and quick bites
A working bakery, and the pastries come small enough to try several before the lifts.
Pasticceria Panificio Alverà
A working bakery and pasticceria rather than a cafe with bought in cake. The pastries come in small mignon portions, which is the reason to go, because you can take several without committing to any of them. Tiramisu and strudel get named repeatedly and the hot chocolate is worth ordering. Croissants for a fast breakfast before the lifts.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Opening times and ownership change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.