Uliassi is one of Italy’s great contemporary restaurants, but its origins are remarkably modest. Mauro Uliassi and his sister Catia opened it in 1990 as little more than a seaside shack between Senigallia’s canal harbour and the beach. More than 35 years later it is a three-Michelin-star restaurant, yet it still feels strongly connected to that original place and family. Mauro’s cooking is rooted in the Adriatic, particularly the meeting of sea and land, but combines this with constant experimentation and an almost playful search for new flavours and textures.

For our dinner we chose The Lab 2026, the menu on which Uliassi presents the results of its annual period of research and experimentation. It is an ambitious menu, but what impressed us most was how completely resolved it felt. Excellent food throughout, technically perfect execution and, importantly, a very well-composed progression. Creativity never seemed to be there merely to demonstrate technique.

The menu began with the duck liver wafer with hazelnuts and a Kir Royal shot, followed by red prawns with green curry, pepper and kaffir lime. Then came razor clam with its own sauce, peach blossoms, celery and Siltimur oil, and one of the more unusual combinations, spaghetti with butter, anchovies, hops and blueberries. The sequence continued with sole with green pepper, followed by the wonderfully indulgent “porchetta-style” bombolini with potatoes and lard.

The later part of the menu moved from citrus and cinnamon to mezzamaniche “cacio e pepe” with pear, then wood pigeon with figs and apricots, before finishing with caramelized apple cake, ice cream and Calvados foam. The combinations sometimes sound almost improbable on paper, but the execution was so precise that they made complete sense on the plate.

Hospitality was equally impressive. In addition to the Lab menu, the kitchen generously sent us three extra dishes: shrimp; sea snails with lardo and roasted potatoes; and lamb. The lamb in particular was extraordinary — one of the best lamb dishes I have ever had. That is quite a statement, but this one deserved it.

Nicolò, the sommelier, looked after us extremely well: knowledgeable without making a performance of it, very friendly, and choosing excellent wines that worked beautifully with the progression of the menu.

What I particularly liked about Uliassi is that despite the technical sophistication and three-star precision, the restaurant never loses its sense of pleasure. Mauro describes his objective as creating moments of happiness and having guests leave thinking that the experience was worth it.

On this evening, that philosophy was very easy to understand. Outstanding cooking, perfect execution, a beautifully composed menu and exceptionally generous hospitality. And that lamb will stay in my memory for a very long time. Less