Luxury travellers searching for 2025’s most talked-about dining experience need look no further than South Tyrol. FORESTIS, the celebrated five-star mountain retreat, has officially opened YERA, an immersive culinary concept hidden within the Dolomites. Open since June 21st, YERA is already attracting global attention for its rare blend of elemental design, ancient ritual, and innovative forest cuisine.
A Restaurant Hidden in the Mountain
Tucked discreetly behind the historic FORESTIS house, YERA is accessed via a woodland path that leads to a concealed entrance. Guests step into a cave hand-carved from the red earth of Peitlerkofel mountain, a space that feels both intimate and monumental. With interiors shaped by natural materials and a timber ceiling reminiscent of an upturned boat, the restaurant honours Alpine craftsmanship and Celtic traditions of protection and harvest.
At the centre, a glowing fire pit anchors the dining room. Guests are seated in a circular formation around the flame, a design that recalls ancient rituals of community and shared nourishment. YERA’s setting is not just a backdrop, it is integral to the dining philosophy.
Forest Cuisine Without Borders
Executive Chef Roland Lamprecht leads the culinary journey, reimagining his renowned forest cuisine in an entirely new format. Rather than a fixed tasting menu, dishes flow throughout the evening in harmony with the cycles of nature. Ingredients such as spruce needles, birch sap, wild mushrooms, and alpine herbs are foraged locally and prepared with ancestral methods including fermenting, drying, and low-temperature infusions.
Guests are encouraged to eat with their hands or with bespoke wooden utensils crafted exclusively for YERA. Communal tables made from tree trunks reinforce the sense of connection to the forest, while the open kitchens and central fire bring guests into direct dialogue with the culinary team.
A Ritual of Food and Drink
Every dish is created in-house through natural fermentation and never exceeding 5% ABV. These drinks extend the narrative of the meal, weaving together taste, ritual, and storytelling. Nothing is incidental, each element, from presentation to pace, has been carefully designed to immerse guests in a ceremonial experience.
As Chef Lamprecht explains: “We do nothing differently than our ancestors, we only see it anew. The forest gives us everything we need. We simply listen.”
Exclusivity and Access
Part of YERA’s allure lies in its intimacy. With space for just 18 guests, the restaurant is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. Dinner is priced at €650 per person, and reservations are available both to FORESTIS guests and non-residents.
This is not dining in the traditional sense, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that merges architecture, cuisine, and philosophy into a unified whole.
Why it matters
At a time when luxury travellers are seeking deeper, more meaningful connections with place, YERA represents a new kind of fine dining: one rooted in heritage, intimacy, and elemental design. It is both avant-garde and ancestral, both indulgent and grounding.
For those who wish to be among the first to experience Europe’s most exclusive new restaurant, YERA is open now—and it may just set the standard for immersive dining in 2025.
