Best Mountain Rifugi for Lunch Near Cortina
Rifugio Averau, Scoiattoli and Da Aurelio at Passo Giau — how to time a mountain lunch so the kitchen isn't shutting the pass as you arrive at your table.
Reviewed by the Cortina Compass desk
Last verified on foot: June 2026 How we research
Cortina eats late, seriously, and with strong local loyalties. This is not a ranked list; it is what I have learned about best mountain rifugi for lunch near cortina after several seasons of long lunches, near-misses without reservations, and quiet dinners that outshone the famous rooms across the street.
Where numbers appear — times, prices, distances — they are the ones I would plan against myself, not the optimistic version printed on signboards.
What the place is
A rifugio lunch works only if you respect the kitchen's clock — arrive after 14:00 in most of these huts and you'll be offered a shrunken menu of whatever didn't sell, not the dish you came up the mountain for.
Rifugi worth planning a hike around
Da Aurelio (Passo Giau)
Kaiserschmarrn as a whole event, not a dessert — the terrace has one of the best panoramas in the valley, but it fills fast on clear weekends.
Rifugio Averau
White-tablecloth service at 2,413m with a proper wine list — the walk up from the chairlift adds real appetite, but the last hot orders go out around 14:00.
Rifugio Scoiattoli
The classic Cinque Torri lunch stop with a view straight at the towers — busiest of the three, so go for the view rather than a quiet meal.
Rifugio Nuvolau
Cortina's oldest rifugio, basic but atmospheric — the food is simple soups and canederli, not a destination meal in itself.
Ristorante 5 Torri
Sits lower and reachable without a lift, useful as a fallback if the chairlift queue for Scoiattoli is too long.
What I would order
One regional primo, one seasonal secondo, one dessert shared badly. Casunziei — beetroot ravioli with poppy seeds and browned butter — is the plate I always start with, and canederli or a barley soup if the weather has turned. The internationalised pasta list is competent and forgettable.
Food and the menu
Rifugio kitchens at 2,000m-plus cook to order in tight windows because supplies come up by cable car or 4x4 track once a day; Da Aurelio at Passo Giau and Rifugio Averau near Cinque Torri both run a proper sit-down service, not a snack bar, but both stop taking hot orders well before the lift or road traffic actually thins out.
Price and value
Atmosphere
Small rooms, timber, low light, and a service style that treats dinner as two hours rather than a covers target. Smart-casual is right; nobody here is fussy, but nobody turns up in hiking trousers either.
Location and access
In-town tables are an easy walk from Corso Italia and worth doing on foot — parking in the centre after seven is a slow game. Anything up the valley or at a rifugio needs a car, a taxi booked in advance, or a lift with an evening service you have checked twice.
When to go
The kitchen starts around 19:30 and the first sitting is the good one; the second often arrives after the room has lost its edge. Lunch is the underrated slot — same cooking, shorter waits, better light. Book two to three weeks out for the celebrated rooms in high season, a few days out for everywhere else.
What surprised me
Don't plan a rifugio lunch as the last stop before a long descent. Da Aurelio's terrace especially tempts people into a second bottle of wine, which is a bad idea with three more hours of trail ahead.
Small detail
Ask before photographing staff or other diners, especially in small family rooms.
My experience at the table
My best meal here was a half-empty Tuesday in shoulder season, when an off-menu venison ragù appeared because a local hunter had come by that morning. That is the version of Cortina dining worth planning for — regional, personal, and slightly unrepeatable.
My tip
Order the moment you sit down, even before you've decided on wine — at Averau and Scoiattoli on a sunny August Saturday, tables that order at 12:35 eat by 13:10, and tables that dither eat at 14:00 with the kitchen already stressed.
Who it is best for
Book the first dinner sitting and ask about half portions.
Local alternatives
Lunch menus and rifugio plates often offer better value than central evening dining.
How a rifugio kitchen day actually runs
Most of these kitchens are staffed by two or three people who also live at the hut for the season, and the day's ingredients arrive once — often by the first cable car or an early 4x4 run up the service track. That means the menu isn't infinite: by early afternoon, the kitchen is cooking down what's left rather than the full board, and asking for the capriolo special at 14:15 is often a no.
This is also why 14:00 is treated as a real cutoff rather than a suggestion. Staff need the afternoon to restock, prep for the next day, and — if the hut also has beds — turn over rooms, so a lunch order after 14:00 competes with jobs the kitchen genuinely needs to do before evening.
Frequently asked questions
How late can I arrive for rifugio lunch?
Aim to be seated by 13:00. Kitchens at these huts start winding down around 14:00 and the interesting dishes go first.
Do rifugi take reservations?
Yes for terrace tables in August — call in the morning, since most don't run an online booking system.
Can I drive to Da Aurelio?
Yes, it sits right on the Passo Giau road, unlike Averau or Scoiattoli which need the Cinque Torri chairlift or a walk-in.
Is card payment reliable at altitude?
Not always — bring cash as backup, since weak signal at 2,000m-plus can knock out card terminals at busy times.
Do any rifugi serve dinner?
A handful open for a fixed dinner sitting by reservation only in summer, but most close after the last lift down, so lunch is the reliable meal.
Take the early sitting, order what the valley actually cooks, and give the meal the two hours it wants.
Sources & further reading
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