Contraste, the acclaimed restaurant by Matias Perdomo, Thomas Piras, and Simon Press, undergoes a transformation: after three months of renovation, it reopens at its Via Meda location in a completely revamped form. "We're reborn: now we play as adults," exclaims the Uruguayan chef.
Photo of the renovated dining room: Matteo Bellomo & Stefania Zanetti
Chef's cover photo: Andrea Ghirelli
The news
Matias Perdomo's restaurant Contraste reopened on March 15th, after 3 months of renovating work, accustomed to shaking things up since the days of Pont de Ferr. The project, carried out in collaboration with architect Luca de Bona and Debonademeo Studio, has profoundly transformed the spaces: each room is inspired by one of the four elements and conceived by transforming nineteenth-century vedutismo into an enigma, with symbolism and alienating elements. While the contrasting flavors of the dishes find their counterpart in the alternation between warm and cold tones, rough and opaque surfaces, antique and contemporary furnishings.
The chef is enthusiastic: "We did this work because it was necessary from several points of view. We felt the need to renew ourselves in a total rebranding, also spiritual, from the inside out. And we felt the need to bet on ourselves and our first 8 years again, focusing solely on Contraste.
A year ago, we had already decided to invest all our energy in changing the menu and renovating, in search of a broader and more defined identity. It was a way to get back into the game. It's true that the place was already very beautiful, but you get used to beautiful things and you lose some passion. We preferred to transform ourselves, while maintaining our essence and identity.
These rooms now feature striking colors, which almost seem not to communicate, yet in the end they show a unique harmony. And the entrance has changed. But for two years we had been working on the new menu 'Reflections', to accompany the classics of 'Reflections'. We played extensively with the raw materials, creating vivid figurative effects, which however retained the identity of memory, of the known, I would even say of tradition. I call it 'playful deception': inside a strawberry, veal with tuna sauce, inside a donut, lasagna.
Now we're moving on to a different game, from dolls to Sudoku or crossword puzzles. A grown-up amusement. So we create pairings far from any memory of taste, among ingredients always recognizable, never forced in their appearance. A menu contrasting with the other, where the guiding thread is to discover new flavors, without nostalgia for grandma or Sunday. I think of boiled peanuts in the bottom of a roast with passion fruit, peanut praline, and caviar; avocado mousse with almonds, lard, and Brussels sprouts; goat and coconut, which is already becoming an icon. Dishes where the protagonist often seems secondary. For example, grilled oysters with tomato water, borage flowers, apricot puree, and peas rely on the peas and when they're gone, they'll be removed from the menu.
This project has brought about our rebirth, we have a new home, with the same spirit as always, but with the novelty that one day you can eat one menu and the next day another completely different one. Like two restaurants in one space. With us are Marian Tamas, Contraste's new director, and Demis Deluca, executive chef, who for months have followed the renovation and participated in trials in the laboratory. But the real strength comes from the guys who stayed on the boat in a difficult time for the restaurant industry and its staff.”.
