Osteria senza Oste

The "inn without an innkeeper" is a small stone house among the vines above Santo Stefano, left permanently unlocked and unstaffed. Inside are wine, cheese and salami; you help yourself, and leave what you owe in a box. It has become one of the best-known things in the Prosecco hills, and it still works on trust.

The entire arrangement depends on people paying honestly and clearing up after themselves. Its survival as an unstaffed, unlocked building in a working vineyard is not guaranteed, and it has come under strain as it has become better known.

Take your rubbish down with you; there is no one to empty a bin. Pay in cash, at the listed price, and leave the place as you found it.

Walk up rather than trying to drive the vineyard track -- it is private working ground.

Always open, no staff, no booking. Bring cash -- small notes and coins -- because the box is the only way to pay and there is nobody to give change.

Park in Santo Stefano and walk up; the track is not for cars. Around twenty minutes on foot, uphill throughout.

It is a hut, not a restaurant: expect bread, cheese, salami and wine, and nothing prepared.