A family environment open to new ideas, with its feet planted in the sand and its eyes on the waves: German Scalmazzi pulls the strings of a “modern style” menu at the historic restaurant in Porto Recanati, where creativity blends with a welcoming atmosphere.
The story
1962, a beach kiosk and a welcome that was destined to break down the clichés of the usual “hit and run” holiday refreshment. Thus began the saga of the Rotonda, established 63 years ago by a couple with the right amount of ambition: Antonio Pandolfi, one of the first to recognize the tourist appeal of Porto Recanati, and his wife Antonia, guardian of a Marche recipe book untouched by time. A fisherman by trade, he wisely chose to spend the low season fishing offshore and the hot months feeding holidaymakers at his beach establishment (the only one outside the town center at the time), laying the foundations for what would become a chalet known far beyond the borders of the Macerata seaside village. Then came the generational change: with the baton passed to his son Enzo and, later, to his granddaughter Sara, the ideas that had been taking shape gradually developed into a concept of hospitality increasingly tailored to the individual customer, a concept capable of enveloping those who cross the threshold of the Rotonda today with an ethereal grace.
“Same story, same place, same bar”? Not exactly, because since 2007, German Scalmazzi, Sara's husband and a chef with solid technical skills, has been pulling the strings. His style straddles regional staples (initially learned from Antonia herself) and the experimental trends of gastronomic research (thanks to his training in Uliassi's kitchen and stints abroad in Australia, France, and England). The result is a menu that reflects the desires of a mixed audience, from lovers of Portorecanate fish soup to gourmands exploring the Conero Riviera. All in a family setting open to new ideas, with its feet planted in the sand and its eyes chasing the waves.
The chef, the restaurant, and the welcome
“I always say that creativity does not blossom within four walls: what inspires us is already born in nature. We can only transform it with the chemistry of food, thoroughly exploring the ingredients.” Right from the start, it is clear that German is a chef who is accustomed to “working with a chisel,” with the foresight to leave adequate room for expression to the local produce. “Local,” yes, because vegetables at La Rotonda are never a “reserve,” but rather a striker ready to share the field with fish. “Except for a small area outside the restaurant, where aromatic plants grow, the harvest comes straight from our estates, about ten kilometers from the restaurant. What we don't have, we buy from trusted growers to stay within the proximity range.”
It is no coincidence that the botanicals leave a light yet incisive mark on the dishes, almost as if competing on equal terms with the fish. The result is a sequence of green touches, which, for example, prolong the taste of the squid skewer with an unexpected herbaceous “tail” or explore the earthy depths of a tomato carpaccio. “We have gradually followed the pace of our customers, who initially ordered seafood salad and cuttlefish with peas automatically, but are now inclined to experiment without fear of straying from their usual choices,” explains the chef.
"I often think back to when I started out with my wife Sara: we had just turned 20 and had around 20 employees to manage. The opening period ran from May to September, and we used the downtime to travel and bring back a wealth of international know-how to the team. That ‘self-training’ helped us a lot in terms of organization, because we had a project in mind: to make our ‘house by the sea’ a cross-cutting brand." Mission accomplished, given that the business has expanded to include the colder months: “Demand has grown to the point that we sometimes even have a certain amount of flexibility in terms of space.” This is demonstrated by the aperitif formula, with a brazier on the sand and the public gathered around while the chef cooks live: “A way to extend the boundaries of the restaurant, involving more and more people each time.”
In practice, however, the internal proposal is divided between the usual à la carte options and three tastings curated by the chef (“Come eravamo,” “Come siamo,” and “I Crudi,” with 4, 7, and 9 courses, respectively). Connecting the dots is the approach of Sara, a maître d' and sommelier with remarkable empathy. “We try to create a smart-elegant setting where everyone can feel free. Depending on the circumstances, within a matter of minutes, we may have to find the right label for those who want to raise the bar and make the wine cellar accessible to those who know less.” The answer is an intuitive drink list, complete with a “Verdicchio map” to reconnect the sip with the geography.
Among her various foreign destinations, Sara counts Locanda Locatelli, and when we meet her, she has just unpacked her bags after a stay in Burgundy. So, on the one hand, the wine list reveals a wide-angle view of local specialties; on the other, it includes prestigious foreign references, especially from beyond the Alps. At the entrance, a transparent wine cellar interacts with the glare of the windows overlooking the shore, and it is precisely the “circularity” of the rooms that accentuates the allure of the seascape: between cobalt tones, vintage photos, and a fluid design, La Rotonda connects the ground to the depths, setting the stage for German's menu.
The cuisine and dishes
Lovers of classic seafood dishes will be satisfied by the spaghetti with clams and bottarga, the tagliatelle with Conero mussels and the inevitable Brodetto alla portorecanatese. However, the restaurant's evolutionary line is represented by a range of ambitious dishes, both in terms of method—German delights in fermentation, marinades, and multiple cooking techniques to enliven the taste—and in terms of incisive presentation.
This is immediately evident in the “Finta oliva all'ascolana” (fake olive all'ascolana), a bite-sized morsel coated in dried olive powder and stuffed with raw tuna and peanuts: the chef brings street food to the bottom of the sea, setting the taste buds to a medium iodine frequency. This frequency gradually increases in the next two finger foods, a seaweed cushion with sea butter and a seaweed focaccia sprinkled with Maldon salt flakes. Nevertheless, the breadmaking develops the cereal theme to perfection, traveling from the fragrance of Crackers al nero seppia to the melt-in-the-mouth crumb of Pagnottina di grano Senatore Cappelli; all that remains is to spread it with sage butter with fresh Mediterranean accents, and in a matter of minutes we have gone from the rocks to the scrubland.
It goes without saying that the first round trip to the vegetable garden is just around the corner: in front of us is a shaped cuttlefish, prepared and presented like “tagliatella”; next to it, side style, a carpaccio of Cuore di Bue tomatoes served with a dressing of Leccino olive oil and capers. It might seem like a direct dip into the Adriatic, but it is instead a naval battle between opposing forces, where the tomato brings out an unexpected fleshiness, rising almost to the same level as the mollusk. “From the basic concept of seafood salad, we have arrived at the ‘augmented reality’ of vegetables, thanks also to the addition of celery extract under the cuttlefish and lemon grass on top.” For this writer, it is almost a memory of the South, between the juiciness of ripe fruit and the citrus notes of the coast.
It looks raw, but it isn't: the Alice in color marinated in coarse salt retains a firm texture that brings together the bite and the aftertaste. With equal care, German recomposes its habitat by adding glasswort and paccasassi, “our succulent plants from water and earth.” The gel made from Avezzano onions cooked in osmosis hits the mark, “which we make without air, very tight, always insisting on the sugar balance to make it light on the palate.” The result is a checkerboard of saltiness and enveloping flavors, a decisive splash against the comfort of the season. And in the end, nothing is thrown away: “We make butter from the anchovy trimmings; with the upper spine and tail, blended and powdered, we flavor a sauce, pasta, or risotto,” explains the chef.
The silhouette of Black in Black, a modern-style octopus and potato dish made intriguing by its dark coating, is particularly striking; perhaps the highlight of the itinerary in terms of intensity and layering. “We cook it in its own water and then play around with the finishing touches on the Green Egg,” explains German. “For the dark twist, we chose to bake a loaf of charcoal bread: we cut it into slices and then leave it to dry for 3 hours at 60 degrees.” Far from being a simple photo-ready topping, the powdered ash from the leavened bread actually acts as a medium for the tuber: the potatoes also end up under the embers, in a jute bag that gives them a dry, smoky flavor. The result is a ‘Robuchon-style’ purée in which the spoon sinks in to reveal the added surprise of sautéed mushrooms: a hint of the forest floor that reconciles ecosystems in the home stretch.
There is not the slightest trace of salt in “Ritorno allo scoglio”, where the pacchero absorbs the flavors of around thirty different fish: the team gathers them in a broth that requires four full days of preparation to concentrate their natural flavors: “We have expanded the range of species so that the palate can experience different nuances of flavor.” The flavors are emphasized by the skin of the shellfish and the umami of the oyster; the impression is that of a full immersion in underwater biodiversity, with a sauce that offers varied flavors with every bite.
The green march resumes with the arrival of Totano di bonaccia, “traditionally breaded using a sort of ‘pisto marchigiano’ made with parsley, garlic, and herbs.” And here, German transforms the typical roasted fish skewer, on the one hand triggering a “strong” aromatic circuit with basil mint, and on the other bringing cleanliness with the slight acidity of apple herb. Yet the real upgrade lies in the Latin undertones of the chimichurri sauce, a tribute to the chef's South American roots.
The contrasting flavors come to an end with Ombrina, grilled Swiss chard and brown sauce, a test of the fermentations mentioned a few lines above. The final cleansing is complete thanks to Sorrento lemon massaged with salt and vacuum-packed for four weeks; the fish, meanwhile, is cooked in stages (grilled, baked, and browned with French butter), paving the way for vegetables roasted over a direct flame.
The epilogue keeps its promise of gentle sweetness, holding back on the sugar to let the character of the fruit shine through. At the center, peach is deconstructed and recomposed in an escalation of complementary forms, from vacuum-sealed syrup to preserve its crunchiness to purée, to fragrant water. The creamy Greek yogurt is the slap on the cheek that makes you crave an encore after seven courses, while your gaze falls on the photos on the walls: 2025, a former beach kiosk is now a must-visit spot in the Marche region.
CONTACTS
La Rotonda Ristorante Porto Recanati
Via delle Nazioni, 27, 62017 Porto Recanati MC
Phone: 071 214 6339
