Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia ** | Milano (IT)
What a joyful celebration of tastes, textures and flavours.
At Il Luogo’s they impress with perfectly prepared top quality ingredients, served with pride.
Aimo and Nadia Moroni, partners in life and at work, opened their restaurant on Via Montecuccoli in Milan (Italy) in 1962. It’s a simple trattoria, offering a regional cuisine from their motherland, Tuscany, mastering its history, tradition, products and using many of its raw materials.
Almost 60 years later, Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia (“the place of Aimo and Nadia”) is still there, tucked away in a quiet suburb of Milan. They were awarded their first Michelin star in 1980 and their second in 1990, which the restaurant has held ever since. The restaurant has been completely renovated recently and the dining room is very modern yet contemporary with a chic feel to it.,
Current chefs are Alessandro Negrini and Fabio Pisani. Fabio, from Puglia, worked at the Grand Vefour in Paris for 3 years and two years at Alain Roux’s Waterside Inn, a year at the restaurant Dal Pescatore, before moving to Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia in 2005. Alessandro, from Valtellina, worked at the Palace Hotel in St. Moritz and at the Gallia Palace in Punta Ala before moving to Il Luogo di Aime e Nadia. He continued his training for two years at the Domaine de Châteauvieux in Geneva and one year at Dal Pescatore before returning here in 2005.
Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia is open for lunch on Monday to Friday and dinner on Monday to Saturday. Beside à la carte, they offer a 9-course Il Luogo’s Delights Menu (at €170), a 6-course Spring Journey Menu (at €120) and a 10-course Territories Menu (at €200).
I went for dinner last week and had the Spring Journey Menu.
First to arrive were 5 canapés. From left to right: Fig basket with salty almonds. Fried Parmesan cheese, carrot and dill. Grissini with scamorza cheese and tomatoes. Tartlet with pureed peperone Crusco (small dried red peppers) and yoghurt. Cannoli with cauliflower and orange.
All nice, delicate, full of flavour and texture. My favourite was the profiterole with Parmesan, carrot and dill. Simply delicious.
Another amuse bouche followed. Smooth parsley cream with saltiness from the anchovy and the crunchy biscuit. Just 3 elements working perfectly together.
The sardines marinated in lemon together with the creamy burrata cheese. Scrumptious. The menu said Filled Sardinian Mussel, but as the quality of the mussels were not up to the standard the chef wanted, he served the sardines instead. Good alternative to me!
Chickpea cream, ever so smooth and delicious taste and flavour. Combined with the other elements a nice symphony of flavour. Miss a bit of texture though, maybe a bit of crunch to go with the smoothness of the cream. But definitely chickpeas of another level!
Excellent flavoursome olive oil. But what else to expect when in Italy!
Cuisson of the sole was perfect. Very young artichokes with a hint of saffron. Shrimps were like the Dutch shrimps (grey shrimps). Just a joy of flavours dancing on the plate.
Gnocchi full of texture. Not made from potato, but from taralli bread dough. Really different and delicious. Love the lamb ragù. This is top level cuisine! Fennel from the bread dough coming through ever so slightly. This would make a nice meal on it’s own. Wow!
Taralli bread (the oval shapes in the back), the same dough as the gnocchi was made of. Taralli are toroidal Italian snack foods, common all over the southern half of the Italian Peninsula. A cracker similar in texture to a breadstick, a pretzel, or a sushka. Taralli can be sweet or savory. The savory version used here may be flavoured with onion, garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, fennel, pepper, chili or just salt. Sweet and plain taralli are often dunked in wine.
The veal was so tender and beautifully cooked. The onion crust on top was just divine. Such deep flavour that it almost didn’t need the jus. The carrot in raspberry was surprisingly fresh in taste. Chive mousse between the potato slices had nice green flavour and texture. All together a perfectly balanced dish.
Pre-dessert was a carpaccio of young artichoke, with sweet caramel and bitterness from the foam of beer. No really texture, just flavours going through the mouth. Clever dish.
Chocolate, jelly like, casing filled with banana and mango creams and a Sicilian orange sauce. Naughty but nice! Not sure about the presentation though. Rich but worthy finish of a great dinner.
Some nice sweets to finish things off. Coffee praline, raspberry marshmallow and manage jelly.
At the end I was given a menu signed by the Head Chefs and Maitre D’. Nice souvenir and very attentive.
What a joyful celebration of tastes, textures and flavours. Perfectly executed dishes with a nice level of innovation. The gnocchi dish and the red onion crust on the veal tenderloin being the highlights of the evening.
Maitre D’ Nicola Dell’Agnolo is the perfect host and eager to explain Il Luogo’s peculiarities with pride. Together with the rest of the staff, he creates a relaxed, yet well organised, atmosphere which adds to the total dining experience.
Before leaving, Head Chef Fabio Pisani came to say goodbye. Inviting me to have a look in the spotless and well equipped kitchen. You could just smell the team spirit and enthusiasm of the kitchen brigade.
At Il Luogo’s they don’t want to impress with modern tricks or fancy plating, but by using top quality ingredients, preparing then perfectly and serving them with pride. Bellissima! Can’t wait to visit again.
