Felix Lo Basso is relocating to Switzerland with his entire team: a new country, but the same champion spirit. The new gourmet restaurant offers a surprise tasting menu that plays with all the senses, served directly by the “Gorilla Team,” demonstrating its ability to disrupt standards while satisfying every palate.
The chef and his new project: a star from Milan to Lugano
Felix Lo Basso is one of the most accomplished Italian chefs around: he has culture and vision, taste and brains, not to mention a healthy dose of exuberance. A few months ago, he embarked on a new journey, first and foremost a personal one: a more mature Felix who puts his family first, moving his restaurant and team (including his trusty gorillas) to Sorengo, Lugano, in Switzerland. The great exile will certainly not stop there, as traveling and creating are in his nature: we'll see! In the meantime, however, he will be doing something exciting in his new restaurant, which is inviting, surrounded by greenery, open for lunch and dinner, and run by a true champion. Every month, there will be new dishes to try at the long counter through a tasting menu that is never repetitive and always surprising.
Four months after your reopening in Lugano and the media outburst you experienced, how are things going?
"I have always stated from the outset that I was making a life choice and not a choice to ‘escape,’ showing that I was unable to do my job well in Milan, because I believe I always did my best during my fourteen years in the city. So first of all, I came here to Switzerland with the idea of a change of life, since my son had just been born and I wanted to give him a better future with my stable presence. Because in fact, our work, which requires us to be away from our families, can guarantee very little. So I looked for a situation where I could continue to do my cooking, in an area where I could combine family and work. Less stress and fewer hours at a fast pace, more time with those I really love. This is the best thing I can say I have achieved today, being able to have time to do everything. Milan didn't allow it, because the distances are greater, I lived far from work, all of which led me to make this life choice, not out of dissatisfaction."
Now, after just a few months, it's perhaps too early to say, but what do you think of this new adventure? Was it the right choice?
"It's definitely a different life. There's none of the hustle and bustle of Milan, which I actually miss sometimes, but there's a peace that I needed, so it's a good compromise between work, family, and what you can give to your profession. Then we're in a much greener, healthier, more people-friendly environment, where working hours are respected both for us and for our guests, where we start eating earlier (impossible in Milan), so we've adapted a bit to what people here are looking for. It's a place where there's still a lot to do, and that's why we came here, to show that you can work as a team and build a network in an area that I think is still ‘raw’ in some ways, but we're confident and looking forward to better times ahead.
You also criticized the Milanese to some extent, but don't high-spending Milanese actually come to Lugano?
"I didn't criticize the Milanese, because in fourteen years I've only met five real Milanese: they're all from my village or from the south, who came to Milan to seek a new life. That outburst was not a criticism of my colleagues, journalists or guidebooks, it was a criticism triggered by events that have happened over the last two years and which have made the city a bit messy compared to what is normally reported. I said it was a ‘hateful’ city, a term I used during a difficult time in my life. Among other things, I bought a house in Milan two years ago and I still have it. I'm keeping it because when I want to find a city with a bit of hustle and bustle or even some good shopping, I go to Milan. In short, I want to say that I have nothing against the city.
What I can't stand, however, is the story that Milan is a city full of opportunities. In reality, if you don't make money or fill the restaurant every night, if you don't have a safety net, you really struggle because the costs are too high to survive in a restaurant like ours. Even if it's high-quality food that not everyone likes, 90% of people like to feel good in a restaurant, regardless of who you are or how many stars you have, but customers have become very cost-conscious and, after doing the math, we realized that it's really difficult to make ends meet. That's the truth.
The format
And so Felice Lo Basso and his partner Emiliana Ferraroni, after founding their company in Milan in 2016 with two restaurants, Felix Lo Basso Restaurant in Piazza Duomo in Milan in 2016 and Memorie di Felix Lo Basso Restaurant in Trani in 2018 (both Michelin-starred), in 2020 they launched the new concept Felix Lo Basso Home&Restaurant in another area of Milan, and finally, after years of intense collaboration in Italy, the two decided to open in Emiliana's homeland and place of residence. The location is very charming, in Sorengo, Lugano. A house situated in the hills, surrounded by greenery and overlooking the Muzzano nature reserve. This was the site of Chef Martin Dalsass' restaurant SantAbbondio. One room is dedicated to the chef's experience with Lo Basso, and two rooms accommodate those who want to choose à la carte. The outdoor area is surrounded by nature with its pergola and terrace, but the garden will soon become the centerpiece for pleasant moments of sharing in a truly charming and pleasant place.
But let's move on to the long counter where Felix's large hand awakens. Twelve seats surround the chef's work area, which becomes the stage for the entire evening. Guests begin the experience together (Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m.) and become protagonists alongside Chef Lo Basso and his small, passionate team. A surprise tasting journey around the kitchen, served directly by the “Gorilla Team” (the sacred animal that represents Felix), which plays with all the senses and, above all, demonstrates its ability to create, disrupt standards, and satisfy every palate. The menu changes all the time, not just every season, but every week and sometimes even every day.
The dishes
Lo Basso's true talent lies precisely in this, in the natural ease with which he creates haute cuisine dishes with a snap of his fingers. This is immediately apparent from the appetizers: parsley flour tartlets with green asparagus mousse and raw white asparagus, sardine croutons, lemon butter, and tomato confit; a cow-shaped bite that is nothing more than homemade Australian Wagyu ham and green apple jelly between vegetable charcoal wafers. And finally, the pric or prac pepper chocolate, a traditional Apulian delicacy: pepper mousse on the outside, with the heart of the vegetable inside and crusco pepper chicken on top.
Of course, Puglia is not missing, with its scents and indelible memories in Lo Basso's work. “We studied cuttlefish in depth, creating four different textures with four different flavors in a single dish,” demonstrating the art and technique that always coexist at Lo Basso's table. Cuttlefish panna cotta, with a cuttlefish ragu made from the heads and ink in the center, then crispy bread also with the ink, and finally a black ice cream with yuzu and fermented garlic. On top is sea grapes (an Indonesian seaweed), representing the idea behind the restaurant. It hardly ever changes, one of the very few dishes you will find because cuttlefish is more or less always available, unlike other fish. Among the new recipes is a Russian salad with king crab and foie gras, which is indescribable; any words would be superfluous.
And then pasta with octopus, reminiscent of the chef's grandmother, created with artistic flair using a soup cooked for six hours with onion and tomato, as is done in Puglia, tagliolini made with octopus ink, seasoned with octopus ragu and finally the tentacle wrapped in potatoes and fried. Lust and mastery.
Many people living in Milan will miss Felix Lo Basso, but he is not that far away, at least for now...
Contacts
Felix Lo Basso Restaurant
Via Fomelino 10, 6924 Sorengo, Svizzera
Phone: +41 91 993 23 88
