Once in Piazza della Signoria, perhaps after a visit to the nearby Palazzo Vecchio, look around you well until you see a special banner on the Court of Merchandise. With its pastel pink, it indicates at times, unmistakable, one of the most fascinating new attractions of the city: Gucci Garden. Come closer and get a better look, because on the ground floor of the new fantastic world created and designed by the director of the maison Alessandro Michele, from January 9th 2018 has come to life what has already entered right in the most popular restaurants in the city: Gucci Osteria, the new bistro of the multi-starred Massimo Bottura, called for the occasion to complete an artistic project that includes in addition to the restaurant itself, a boutique, Gucci Garden, and an unmissable exhibition, Gucci Garden Galleria, which extends over the first two floors of the building.
If you are looking for a particular spot for lunch or dinner, where you can travel with your mind and your palate, you have come to the right place. The atmosphere is that of the old Florence, mirrored by the furniture, borrowed from historic boutiques and antique shops and returned to new life. The colors follow all the shades of green: from the olivastro of the walls, restored boiserie, to the green pine of the seats upholstered in velvet, to the floors decorated with floral motifs typical of the Florentine boutiques of the past. On the walls huge windows overlooking the square and the adjacent store, fill the space with natural light and alternate with original coats of arms of the Florentine arts carved in stone.
To complete the scene the verses of the “Canzona de ‘sette pianeti”, 15th century carnival song by Lorenzo de’ Medici, dominate the top in golden letters, contributing to the timeless charm of the place. While you focus on the inscriptions, perhaps you will not notice the rigor of the mise en place yet, very elegant in its minimalism, but once seated the beauty of the porcelain line of décor, on sale in the adjacent shop, kidnap will make you want to buy them even before you see the presentation of the dishes.
But what do you eat at Gucci Osteria? We intuit it as soon as they bring the menu, bound in leather in the same pink that struck us at the entrance and on which stands the Gucci Eye, directed in his inquisitorial gaze that makes us feel constantly observed: “Our kitchen sublimates everything that let’s see, discover and taste in our travels around the world. We keep our eyes open to be surprised by the unexpected. Discover with us new orbits of taste”. Ready to make us overwhelmed by the novelty, we run the proposals that alternate typical dishes of Bottura’s kitchen, such as Tortellini in cream of Parmigiano Reggiano and Lingua with green sauce and grilled lettuce to curious revisitations of great classics, such as the Chianina Hot Dog and the Risotto where the forest meets the sea, or the steamed Taka Bun Bun with pork belly.
In the kitchen, the Modenese chef has wisely positioned Ana Karime Lopez Kondo, wife of Taka Kondo, sous chef Francescana Osteria, as well as Mexican chef of great talent with spent in the best restaurants around the world as the Central Lima, the Pujol of Mexico City, the Mugaritz of San Sebastian, the Noma of Copenhagen and the Ryugin of Tokyo. An original menu is therefore full of surprises, in an even more magnetic context that makes you want to get lost to find yourself as late as possible.
While enjoying a glass of excellent wine, sitting in this magical place, savor the value of time, rather than the dishes, and do not miss even a second of this magical experience that will make you estrange from your life. If you can live it with the calm it deserves, only then you will be able to fully appreciate the beauty of this new address where art, culture, fashion, food and design intertwine to the point of becoming one.