The Osteria Valdostana style of restaurant — a small, simply furnished room with a short menu that changes by season — represents the best approach to eating in Aosta. The kitchen follows what is available locally: in the mountain valleys, that means Fontina cheese in various guises, cured meats from the valley's small producers, polenta prepared from local corn, and braised meats that have been slow-cooked long enough to handle the altitude-chilled appetite.
Seuppa valpellinentze, the valley's signature layered soup of bread, Savoy cabbage, beef broth, and melted Fontina, is a dish worth seeking out specifically — it appears on menus in winter and early spring and rarely elsewhere in Italy. Lard d'Arnad (DOP cured fatback from the village of Arnad, flavoured with rosemary and mountain herbs) served on rye bread is the standard antipasto opening and is far more delicate than the name suggests to the uninitiated. The valley's alpine cheeses, served as a closing course with local honey and walnuts, complete a meal that reflects the geography of the place better than any description could.