Crossing the threshold of Sui Generis, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Saronno, means leaving the outside world to enter a dimension where taste, memory and emotion intertwine. It is here that brothers Alfio and Agata Nicolosi have created a reality that transcends the boundaries of space and time. Here one doesn't only come to eat: one comes to explore, to lose oneself, to be surprised.
The cuisine as a story, the plate as a journey
"Our cuisine is memory, emotion and journey, ” says Alfio, the chef, with the intensity of one who seeks no shortcuts. Each dish is a tale that weaves together familiar flavors and visionary ideas, local ingredients and suggestions gathered far away, ancient techniques and cutting-edge tools. But it all starts with a simple question, “What do we want the guest to remember about us?” Take the stale bread ice cream with hazelnut cream: a tribute to the breakfasts of yesteryear, when yesterday's bread became the dessert of the day. Alfio has made a surprising dessert out of it, in which bread is not wasted, it is enhanced, and childhood blends with technique. Or the rice mantecato with smoked eel and bittersweet onion, which seems like a portrait of the earth: humble, deep flavors, yet presented with a grace that enchants.
Each taste is crafted with the precision of an orchestra: scents that tell stories, textures that play with the palate, temperatures that surprise. And then, there is always that unexpected element, that note that disorients you and invites you to look at each ingredient with new eyes.
The perfect rhythm of the room
If the kitchen is the beating heart of Sui Generis, the dining room is its welcoming face. Agata Nicolosi, with her elegant smile and natural empathy, is the metronome of a service that flows smoothly and without smearing. Every gesture is calibrated, every glance anticipates a need. “Our goal is for the customer to feel welcomed, never interrupted, “ she explains.
The space is also designed to encourage this balance. Carefully spaced tables, lights that caress without encroaching, natural materials that restore warmth. There is nothing casual, nothing superfluous. Even the air has its role: delicate, almost imperceptible scents that let the dishes do the talking.
Seasons on the plate
Sui Generis is never the same, because nature is never the same. Each season brings with it a different narrative, which Alfio and his team translate into vibrant dishes. Spring is the awakening: buds, edible flowers, fresh herbs whispering of rebirth. Summer explodes with its vibrant colors, its sun-filled flavors. Autumn becomes intimate, with pumpkins, mushrooms and chestnuts telling of the forest. And then winter, silent and intense, with roots and fermentations that taste of time and patience. "We don't just want to follow the seasons, ” Alfio explains. “We want each dish to be an invitation to live in the present moment, to feel all its beauty."
Sustainability: a game that became a mission
For Alfio and Agata, the journey to sustainability started with small steps: reducing waste, choosing local suppliers, valuing every part of the ingredients. But soon those steps became a march, and today sustainability is central at Sui Generis. “Every gesture, no matter how small, can make a difference,” Agata says. And so peels become ingredients, organic waste fertilizes the garden, solar panels power the restaurant. Even the menus tell a story: printed on recycled paper from coffee grounds and corn, a little reminder of how much we can do with what we usually discard.
And they don't stop there. Alfio and Agata have a bigger dream: to engage the community. “We want to work with schools in the area, organize workshops to teach young people the value of sustainability,” they recount. “Only together can we create real change.”
A menu that talks about love
The heart of the tasting menu is a love story: that of Cupid and Psyche, a powerful metaphor for the soul's journey to knowledge. But it is also a story of love for the planet, for nature, for the producers who work with respect and passion. “Love is the engine of everything,” Alfio says. “Every dish is a tribute to those who allow us to do what we do: our territory, our suppliers, and above all our guests.” And you can feel it in every dish. There is the care of those who know that food is not just nourishment, but a universal language. There is the passion of those who work with their hands, with their heads, but above all with their hearts.
The dishes
The experience at Sui Generis begins with an appetizer that immediately catches the eye: Comtes de Champagne 2013, Taittinger, paired with dishes such as mussel ricotta and lemon, turmeric nishiki rice nigiri with mirin lacquered sea bream and wasabi root, and capon egg with paprika mayo. It continues with long-rising bread made with whole-grain flours from local ethical farms and kefir, accompanied by focaccia with extra virgin olive oil and rosemary, music paper with aged and smoked pecorino and Madagascar black pepper, tuille with poppy seeds and white chia, hand-braided breadsticks with hortus aromatics and salt crystals, “Il Mandriolo” extra virgin olive oil, butter from Sciura Luigia, and marinated anchovies.
In the first act, intense and surprising flavors follow one another. The Cuvee Eclat Reserve Premier Cru Brut, Sophie Cossy accompanies a sequence that includes oyster, oriental mayonnaise and umeboshi, chickpea cylinder, Santa Margherita Ligure purple shrimp and wakame seaweed , and an intriguing sandwich with shrimp ham, sancho pepper coleslaw and caviar. The signature dish, rice mantecato with smoked eel and onion bittersweet, goes well with Caracol dos Profetas, Fazendas da Areia, while squid ramen in katsuobushi broth finds its balance in Senkin Kamenoo, Senkin Shuzō.
The second act offers a journey between cultures and traditions: vegetable dim sum with Chinese cabbage kimchi, Adriatic blue crab tacos with finger limes and gin apples, and wagyu empanadilla with Jerez de la Frontera vinegar and sesame mayo, all accompanied by Vetra Brewery's Bock. Then, a cappelletto stuffed with goose leg with Kanzi apples, bay leaf and applewood-smoked goose breast speck , paired with Controvento 2021, Orto Tellinum, precedes a succulent diaphragm with cannellini and hortus greens, paired with Ross 2016, Achille Viglione.
Finally, the third act is a triumph of sweetness: Le Colibri Charmant Pineau, Fanny Fougerat introduces a tasting of Dekana pear with tonka bean, cocoa, and peanuts, stale bread ice cream with hazelnut cream, custard cannoncini, honey and chamomile macaron, and fondant and passion fruit. A journey that proves to be a tribute to memory, creativity and care.
An experience that sticks
Sui Generis is not a restaurant you forget. It is a place that surprises you, envelops you, challenges you. It is a break from the world, an invitation to slow down and listen. The Nicolisi brothers have created something unique, an experience that goes beyond food to touch the deepest chords of those who experience it. And in the end, when you walk out the door, you are never the same. Perhaps this is it, the true meaning of Sui Generis: to remind you that the world is full of beauty, you just need to know how to see it with open eyes and an open heart.
Contact
Sui Generis
Via Roma, 35, 21047 Saronno VA
Phone: 375 668 1925
