In the garden of the Botania Relais & Spa, Chef Tommaso Luongo presents a plant-based cuisine deeply rooted in Ischian tradition, featuring preserves, wild herbs, and bittersweet memories.
Ischia is an island that has always looked to the sea, yet it has always thrived thanks to the land as well.Long before the crowded beaches, the large hotels, and the swarming spa resorts, there were terraced vegetable gardens, vineyards, and fruit trees, with preserves to store for the winter. A cuisine built on simplicity and ingenuity, where nothing was wasted and where even a single vegetable could take center stage at the table. It is from this more agricultural side of Ischia that Il Mirto was born—the plant-based restaurant at Botania Relais & Spa, nestled within three and a half hectares of greenery just a short walk from the gardens of La Mortella.
The Restaurant
Experiencing Il Mirto—and thus Il Botania—means also embracing their approach to the environment. Amid aromatic plants, olive trees, and paths nestled in the greenery, you quickly learn that nature is not only a picturesque backdrop to the region but, above all, the living essence of an ever-evolving cuisine. The philosophy of the Polito family, owners of the relais, begins right here: restoring the centrality of Ischia’s rural culture and building a model of hospitality that respects the environment.
It’s no coincidence that 70% of the vegetables used in Botania’s three restaurants come from the resort’s own garden, located just two kilometers away. This commitment is also reflected in the beverage offerings, with a vegan and carbon-neutral wine list curated according to a philosophy that considers not only the ingredients but also respect for the entire production process. Even the aperitif experience becomes a story of the island, with vegetables and aromatic herbs making their way right into the drinks.
Yet, Il Mirto’s decision to go vegetarian wasn’t welcomed by everyone. “At first, the people of Ischia were a bit skeptical,” says chef Tommaso Luongo, “they’d say to me: ‘In Ischia, where there’s plenty of fish and where rabbit is a tradition, you only serve vegetables?’” But then they came back. And that was the best outcome: it wasn’t just the curiosity of that first visit—it became an experience people wanted to repeat.”
The Chef and the Return to the Land
Tommaso Luongo, born in 1991, was born right here on Ischia—in Forio. Before joining Il Mirto, Luongo had built his experience in seafood cuisine, working for ten years as a sous chef at the one-Michelin-starred restaurant Indaco. His connection with the Botania, however, began for a completely different reason. “I had come here to plan my wedding. My wife—who works at Botania—and I were organizing the reception. Then the owners offered me a position here as the hotel’s chef.” The proposal was to create a new culinary concept, dedicated to plant-based cuisine. This was anything but a simple challenge for a chef accustomed to working primarily with seafood. “I’ve never done this before, but give me some time and I’ll be able to do it” were Tommaso’s first words in response to that proposal.
That time thus became a personal quest, with a valuable lesson learned on the other side of the world. “My experience in Brazil with Alex Atala taught me a great deal. When certain ingredients, like meat or fish, ran out, they would offer vegan menus with great ease. The interesting thing was that it wasn’t perceived as a shortcoming, but as an opportunity. I realized that even with humble ingredients, you could do so much.”
The Dishes: A Journey Through the Garden, Memory, and Landscape
The dinner begins with a series of tastings that play on the fine line between familiarity and surprise. The aged carrot—marinated, dehydrated, and then rehydrated with blueberry whey—completely transforms: its texture is almost like that of cured meat, while the sweet-and-sour skin that accompanies it immediately evokes a Mediterranean memory of preserves and food preparations. Celeriac becomes a wrapper for green beans and friggitelli peppers, complemented by a soy mayonnaise. Among the most delightful dishes is the fermented savoy cabbage pancake, a Korean memory of the chef’s that finds balance with peanut butter and sweet-and-sour vegetables, without ever losing its connection to the Mediterranean.
And it is precisely the theme of sweet-and-sour that recurs time and again, almost like the island’s signature. It is not a reference to a distant cuisine—perhaps Asian—but something deeply rooted in Ischia’s gastronomic culture. It is found in the chef’s family memories, in his grandmothers’ dishes, and in vegetables prepared with sugar, vinegar, and cooked grape must. A balance between sweetness and acidity that becomes a contemporary key to telling the story of the region. In fact, one of the most iconic and expertly executed dishes is the watermelon preserve, which embodies Luongo’s vision of transformation and preservation. The watermelon—dehydrated, processed, and baked—takes on a meaty texture, almost like sashimi. The white part is fermented and fried, while the flesh is transformed into carpaccio and served with an oil extracted from the rind. All around it is a sauce that resembles a pizzaiola sauce but is actually made from watermelon and oregano. A play on memory and perception: the flavor evokes tomato, even though there is no tomato present. To round it out, a homemade vegan flaky bread.
Another dish that revives traditional flavors is “Pane e puparuolo,” a tribute to simple, peasant cuisine that seems to look to the distant past with its bell pepper chimichurri, only to return to its roots with fried capers and stale bread used in the pasta. In contrast, the dish dedicated to Picasso is different, almost painterly. A small bouquet of flowers featuring zucchini—marinated, grilled, fried, and puréed—abounds with blooms and sauces (so many, in fact, that the Bernese sauce served on the side seems excessive) and draws on every nuance of the garden to convey the brotherhood among peoples through the universal language of color and the beauty of nature.
Next up, a stroll through the garden. With every bite, a unique flavor; with every bite, another step along the trails of the relais. Herbs and flowers that grow at Botania come together in a breadstick-shaped tasting menu, and the same goes for wild thyme, which is right at home here in Ischia. Playfulness and memory—this, after all, is Tommaso Luongo’s motto: he expresses it through “A Te,” a tribute to his wife featuring her two favorite dishes (tomato salad and ricotta tortelli); he expresses it through the white eggplant with cherry sauce. But above all, he expresses it through the midnight (sweet) spaghetti feast. Migliaccio—a traditional dessert from Campania—takes on a new form of conviviality as dinner draws to a close. There are spaghettini, as Ischian tradition dictates, but there’s also rice milk, turmeric instead of eggs, lemon stealing the show, vanilla, and a sprinkling of crystallized extra-virgin olive oil. Everything is plant-based, everything is imaginative, and the result is a joyful celebration at the table with the chef in the dining room tossing this concentrated sweetness in the pan.
Botania: The Garden Where Ischia Returns to Its Rural Roots
However, Il Mirto would not be fully understood without the setting that hosts it. Il Botania Relais & Spa was born from the vision of Luigi and Rita Polito, a couple from Ischia who, starting in the early 2000s, gradually began building a sprawling hotel immersed in nature. Their idea was to restore value to that part of the island often overshadowed by its reputation as a seaside resort.
Today, the relais is a place where hospitality is rooted in its relationship with the environment: from produce grown in the garden to solar panels, from plastic-free choices to Green Globe certification. With its villas nestled in lush greenery, its thermal pool, spa, and other restaurants, the Botania reveals a different side of Ischia—one that’s slower-paced and more authentic. There’s Il Corbezzolo, where Mediterranean cuisine meets produce from the garden; there’s Nonna Marì, the restaurant dedicated to the legacy of traditional Ischian home cooking, featuring Sunday meals and cooking classes; and then there’s Il Mirto, the place where the land speaks for itself. And when you think about it, its essence lies not in bringing something new to the island, but in reminding us of what Ischia already had: a rich agricultural culture, built on respect, patience, and the seasons. A heritage that today, through the sensitivity of Tommaso Luongo and the vision of the Polito family, finally returns to the center of the table.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Via Provinciale Lacco - Fango, 284, 80075 Forio, NA;
Tel. +39 081 99 79 78;
