Alli Due Buoi Rossi was founded in 1741 as an inn and over time became an organised reception and catering establishment. The origins tell of a young wine and truffle merchant from Alba, Antonio Capra, who fell in love with a girl from Alessandria to such an extent that he bought the house opposite the inn in Via Cavour where she worked with her family, thus starting his restaurant business to convince the girl's parents to give her in marriage to him. The new family soon became one of the best known in Alessandria and their restaurant one of the best known in the city and beyond.

The name come from  the popular narrative of what happened in the 19th century. In fact, the inn was an essential stop-off and place of  business for traders, including livestock, the wealth of the time. Two oxen, tending to red, tied up outside the inn waiting for their owners to conclude business, struck the curiosity of the townspeople so much that nothing else was talkedabout in the town. Therefore the name of the inn, then restaurant, then hotel, which in recent times has become a group of activities that stand out in Alessandria.