In the heart of Porta Genova, just across the street from the train station, it is one of the places beloved and cherished in the collective memory of that large segment of artists and intellectuals, musicians and architects, gastronomes and entrepreneurs who had made the Milan of those years a truly international city. The restaurant, not very large, was better known as "La Pina" in honor of the great cook who ran it then, Pina Bellini. She was one of the first to "clean up" traditional Lombard dishes without betraying their concepts, and was awarded 2 Michelin stars. Then in the 1990s, as was the case with many other important places in Milan, La Scaletta also closed its doors. However, unlike other cult places of "Milaneseness," La Scaletta has not disappeared, because thanks to the Teruzzi brothers since 2008 it has come back to life and reopened its doors to Milanese and tourists. A work full of intelligence and culture that of the Teruzzi's, who of the past management have been able to maintain the sober elegance, while bringing the restaurant to respond perfectly to the needs of a more healthy, tasty and light cuisine, with a very interesting quality/price ratio.
How did you come up with the idea of recovering this very space? It was by chance, thanks to a friend. We were running an eatery in the San Vittore area, things were going well, we were having some success, but there were only 35 seats at the table, we couldn't meet the demand anymore, so we were offered this space, we liked it, we didn't know yet that we were setting foot in a place so dear to the Milanese, when La Scaletta was in vogue, we were little kids....
How are the roles divided between you and the brothers? I am the chef, I stay in the kitchen, Karol and Raoul take care of the dining room
Tell a little about yourself, how did you get here? After hotel school, I did a lot of apprenticeship in Italy and abroad, between Castello di Carimate, La Corte di Lurago, the French Riviera, Germany, Switzerland, until I landed at the restaurant La Via Romana in Bordighera, where I won my first Michelin star.
How would you define your cuisine ? E' typically Mediterranean; the menu changes from month to month, allowing us to employ only seasonal products, and is divided between meat and fish with some vegetarian dishes. At La Scaletta, everything is "home made," including bread, pasta and desserts. We have about 50 outside and 45 inside seats, but we never use them at the same time, depending on the weather we eat inside or outside where we have created a small, but very pleasant garden that my brother Karol personally tends.
