Gaddi Palacewith its seven hundred years surpassed by at least twenty years, is the new elegant setting of the gastronomic project of Isis of Caesarchef of the restaurant The Word from Trevinano, one Michelin startwo forks Red shrimp. We are inside the NH Collection in via del Giglio a Florence, in a palace that saw the Middle Ages and the Renaissance take shape in the floors that start from a secret garden, up to the only skyline that overlooks the whole of Florence. Including hills. A few steps from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and as many from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, on the ground floor of the building you can pass the hall of the luxury hotel and head straight for the dining tables Terrae, this is the name of the restaurant. A word that represents not only the sense of belonging that the chef has always had towards products and traditions, but which in this case is the symbol of a meeting: on the one hand, with the Florentine land and, on the other, with Salvatore Canargiu. Canargiu has Sardinian roots and has been working with Iside for years «he taught me to experience the kitchen and know how to guide it, he passed on to me the love for this profession and for the raw materials to be worked with care. More than anything, however, she taught me the value of human relationships.”
Terrae’s cuisine in Florence
It will be right Salvatore Canargiu to lead the Terrae kitchen together with Isis, building a refined Mediterranean menu which keeps the essentiality of taste at the centre. Approximately twenty seats, distributed in two private colonial-style rooms. Naked tables in polished wood with an essential mise en place. An intimate garden, between large windows and evergreens, which offers the possibility of enjoying the outdoors in season. As Terrae Restaurant opens to the public only in the evening, from Thursday to Monday.
From the menu we tried some dishes, such as the cuttlefish, artichoke and mint. A perfect course for full flavor built on different tastes and consistencies, interesting for the stratification of flavors and aromatic persistence in a vegetal key.
Buttons garlic, oil and chilli pepper served with seafood soup, they are literally an explosion. Great technique in the creation of the stuffed pasta and in the use of garlic as a sounding board, the fish soup taken from the Cacciucco is intense and remains to pleasantly fill your mouth.
There “Cartellata” rabbit and peppers it’s a satisfying first course. The history of the Cartellata dances between sweet and savory and takes shape in a strip of pasta which in this case is filled with rabbit stew and pepper sauce. Tasty and strong in flavour.
The Piglet, apricot and stabbed, arrives as a substantial second course and so it proves itself on the palate. What makes it fun is the marination of the meat with late mandarin, then sautéed over the coals and served with a puree of dried apricots and seared on the grill with umeboshi and shiso.
Among the desserts, the passion fruit millefeuille is an inevitable and gratifying ending. Sitting at Terae Restaurant, you will find a menu concentrated in taste, characterized by a common thread of well-executed funds. Lightness in the processing of the main raw material and concentration of substance in the sauces, a characteristic that satisfies everyone’s palate.
To enrich the Terrae experience, it should also be added that before dinner it is possible to have an aperitif on the terrace. The skyline we mentioned before is accessible from 6.30pm and has another offering identity called Aria Rooftop. The spaces are large and really offer the complete profile of Florence on the horizon, from the hills to the Brunelleschi’s dome which dominates the entire panorama with the bell tower of the cathedral. A privileged place where you can drink classic cocktails, a refined list of champagne and a selection of wine labels accompanied by some treats such as the Bolla di Iside de Cesare, a sphere of soft dough filled with carpaccio and seasonal preparations.
Isis runs from one side to the other of hers kitchens, between Trevinano and a Florence that she discovered was closer than she imagined, thus describing her choice «when I arrived in Florence for the first time to see this place I fully breathed an air that I hadn’t had for a long time. For me it all started here and this is like a return. Then when they are climb onto the terrace I decided, I couldn’t not do it. The luck is that I can do it with Salvatore, a very talented boy who here can finally consolidate his desire to express himself in a new project for both of us.” Her eyes shine, she exudes energy from every pore of her skin and that contagious smile is the same as that of all the staff who accompany her, from Antonella Sinisgallo (Restaurant manager) to Mirko Eutizi (F & B Manager). What can I say, the project has the character of an ambitious table where nothing is missing to do well.
Terrae Restaurant – NH Collection Palazzo Gaddi – Via del Giglio, 9 Florence – terraeresturant.it
