Eichhalde Freiburg to close on New Year's Eve after seven years
Chef Federico Campolattano and Valentina Tito announced the end of their one-star Italian restaurant on Instagram. They give a date, 31 December 2026, and no reason.
Eichhalde Freiburg, the one-star Italian restaurant in the city's Herdern district, will serve its last dinner on 31 December 2026. Chef Federico Campolattano and restaurant manager Valentina Tito announced the closure in an Instagram post on 7 October.
The post names no business reason. "After seven years our Eichhalde chapter ends," it reads, according to the Schwarzwälder Bote, which reported the announcement the same day. The Badische Zeitung writes that the couple are stopping at the turn of the year to pursue new prospects. What those prospects are, neither paper says.
Campolattano and Tito have run the restaurant since 2019. The Michelin Guide gave it a star in 2023 and it has kept the star since; in their post the two call it "a special milestone". Before Freiburg, the Badische Zeitung reports, Campolattano cooked for years alongside Niko Romito at the three-star Reale in Abruzzo. Romito, for his part, is still adding addresses, most recently Da Niko inside the Bulgari Hotel in Milan.
A closing date and no reason: the announcement says when, and leaves why and where next unanswered.
What Eichhalde Freiburg serves until the last night
Michelin lists the restaurant at Stadtstraße 91 under Italian and modern cuisine, in its highest price bracket. There are two set menus. The modern one runs to five, six or nine courses; the traditional one to three or four.
The inspectors' text mentions an octopus dish and a cheese course built on five DOP Parmesans of different ages, and describes a wine list that is mostly Italian. The room is in a historic building in a residential street, plain inside, with a small terrace. Guests can also buy jars of the kitchen's pasta sauce to take home.
None of that changes before the end of the year. The couple promise in their post to keep running the Eichhalde "with the same passion and care as before" until the final service.
A second German star ending on the same date
The date is shared. Haebel in Hamburg, also starred since 2023, ends regular service on 31 December as well. There the owner blamed an old building with 20 seats and failing wiring. In Freiburg no cause has been given, and none should be assumed.
Two things are still open: what happens to the premises on Stadtstraße, and whether Campolattano and Tito will cook in the city again. The post ends with two sentences: "One chapter ends. And a new one begins." It does not say where.
A Michelin star belongs to a restaurant at an address, not to a chef. When Eichhalde Freiburg closes its door after the New Year's Eve service, the star goes with it, and Freiburg counts one fewer.
