in modena, italy (march’24)

part 1/2
the osteria francescana ‘brand’ has now diverged into two main restaurants, the one with all its glory in modena city center serving all the experimental dishes, and the one inside the maria luigia estate, serving francescana signatures of the years like the broken lemon tart, which are no longer in the menu of the modena shop.

i visited the maria luigia restaurant, and stayed overnight (that will be in the 2nd post). personally didn’t love the setting of the dinner, long communal tables ‘for bonding’ and for someone introverted it makes it quite hard to enjoy my meal. the food was also not up my alley at all, very flamboyant with their presentation of course, but also flavours - like a trio of risotto of seafood, herbal and mushroom all in one plate, a mess of a plate of veal with sauces which did not work with the meat at all and was there for visual purposes. ended with a surprise dish which was probably my favourite of the night, a classic of the region tortellini but was still a distance away from some of the versions we had this weekend.

some may love the gimmick of it and the idea that each dish comes with a story as most diners did on our shared table. plus a lengthy speech given by chef massimo himself before and after the meal and the freedom to leisurely stroll into the kitchen whilst they’re cooking. the whole dinner experience was subpar of what i imagined as a restaurant with such accolades, can’t imagine what the experience must be like in the experimental side. had to feel it once for myself out of curiosity, but overall just one of the most overhyped and unworthwhile dinners i’ve visited this year.

dinner tasting menu: (€330)
mont saint michel
tribute to monk
riso camouflage
five ages of parmigiano reggiano
the crunchy part of the lasagne
beautiful psychedelic, spin painted veal, charcoal grilled with glorious colours as a painting
autumn in new york, winter in modena
oops! i dropped the lemon tart
surprise surprise
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would revisit: no
reservations online
price range pp: over €300
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📍FRANCESCANA AT MARIA LUIGIA
location: stradello bonaghino, 56, modena
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