The pleasure that pervades a visitor when he enters a museum or an art gallery pushes him to prolong the state of grace by remaining at the table, in many places of culture that offer menus resembling artistic projects.
The sensorial experience of visiting the current exhibitions at the Gallerie d’Italia is increased with a bite to eat Voice Aimo and Nadia, restaurant with garden led by chefs Pisani and Negrini. A sculpture by Rodin dialogues with Enrico Bartolini’s three-starred sculpture at Mudec. At the Rovati Foundation – which houses wonderful Etruscan finds on the underground level – there is Andrea Aprea, two Michelin stars. The Rovatis, pharmaceuticals and patrons, took over the restaurants founded by Giacomo Bulleri, now entrusted to Emanuele Sette, executive chef of the Group.
The address is always full at Arengario (chef Josè Otoya), Museo del Novecento, spectacular view of the spiers of the Cathedral. The continuity with the brand’s classics remains. We found the turbot and the Milanese rib more distinct, on the palate and on the plate. A foreigner returns here with a good image of Italian cuisine. What’s new in Triennial Terrace, top floor of the rationalist building in Sempione Park, home to contemporary art and design exhibitions. It is managed by Compass Group Italia, an offshoot of the British company. Gastronomic direction is entrusted to Tommaso Arrigoni (of Innocenti Evasioni, a garden restaurant now at Bovisa), who has chosen the young and promising Albano Rrapi as executive chef, giving him a free hand. «We want to talk about the cultures of the Mediterranean», says Rrapi, of Albanian origins and a CV with big names, including Alain Ducasse, Carlo Cracco, Bartolini, Antonio Guida. In the Mediterranean world, in a broad sense, there is also Milan. And here is the Meneghinas aperitif, with spoonful Gorgonzola, fresh celery and panettone crouton, or Milanese rice arancini with mayonnaise on the osso bucco base. Accompanied by Lorenzo Rossi’s cocktails. Rrapi also offers the convincing Riso Milano, with chicken broth and sour butter. But he doesn’t want to compete with the Milanese establishments, but rather to mark his belonging to the Triennale, a place where a dish – from orecchiette with broccoli to cuttlefish cooked in oil – invites you to stop and recharge, immersed in art and culture.
The culinary revelation comes from Prada Foundation. A monumental dove-grey alabaster lift leads to the Torre restaurant, floor 6. The large bar counter has a a bottle holder that seems suspended in the sky. It overlooks the terrace from which you will soon see the Olympic village. The room hosts works by Fontana and Koons: they deserve to spend an evening observing them, sipping signature cocktails. The Livorno chef Lorenzo Lunghi boasts a very respectable path: from the Pierangelini in Livorno, to the clubs of Iñaki Aizpitarte. Flagship dish, risotto with saffron shellfish sauce and raw red prawns. Creativity and rigor meet in the roasted artichoke, truffle, hazelnut cream, hollandaise sauce. The sommelier Francesco Stasi is very good and says: «The Prada family comes frequently. He loves this place, immersed in beauty.”
