Francesco Capece and Mario Ventura are the partners behind the pizzeria that has been shaking up the landscape of Italy's most popular dish for two years now. They have transformed the very idea of a popular restaurant by adopting the codes of haute cuisine.
Years ago, let's say twenty but maybe even just ten, the idea that Milan could be home to one of the three best pizzerias in Italy (for some, the best) would have been considered absurd, a joke. Oh well. Now you can cut it into slices. And the credit goes to two guys from Salerno, Francesco Capece and Mario Ventura, best friends and now friends with everyone in Milan.
The philosophy
In late spring 2023, the two opened Confine in the center of Milan, in the quiet Piazza Massaia, between the cobblestone silence of the Cinque Vie and the tram bustle of Via Torino. I still remember when I went there one evening, a few weeks after the sign was unveiled, and very few people had talked about it. It was a bolt from the blue, an epiphany. It was immediately clear to me: Milan was about to enter the elite world of pizza-making, and not because of one of the many branches of famous Neapolitan pizza brands that had come to do business in the shadow of the Madunìna, nor because of yet another consultation by Franco Pepe, but because of an original and indigenous brand. Boom.
A little over two years have passed since that day in June, and Confine is now firmly established in the navigation systems of Milanese foodies, but also a place of pilgrimage for pizza lovers from all over the world. It is one of the few gastronomic worlds where—at least in Italy—it still makes sense to talk about the avant-garde and where absolute excellence is still within reach of almost all budgets. First of all, let's see who the two culprits of this sedition are, both around thirty-five years old. Francesco Capece is the pizza chef. He comes from Filet di San Cipriano Picentino, in the Salerno hinterland, where he made a name for himself at Locanda dei Feudi, a restaurant that started out as a takeaway but then, given the popularity with the public and critics, focused on on-site consumption, which is the only way to offer a quality product. Mario Ventura is the maître d' and sommelier. A native of Salerno, he cut his teeth in his family's bars, where he developed a passion for mixology and hospitality, then went on to manage an excellent hamburger restaurant.
Two good résumés, for sure, but ultimately nothing so special. Francesco and Mario are like two soccer players who, promoted from Serie B to Serie A, discover they are champions and gain confidence in their abilities, eventually competing for the Golden Ball. The (well-deserved) success of Confine, which recently ranked second in the Italian 50 Top Pizza ranking, a leading guide in the sector, just behind Francesco Martucci of I Masanielli in Caserta and tied with Diego Vitagliano in Naples, can be explained, in my opinion, by the fact that it is currently the restaurant that best combines the traditions of Campania's ‘pizzaiuola’ with the strict codes of fine dining and its rituals. Confine convincingly disrupts and reshapes both. ‘Our goal,’ say the two, ‘was and is to change the concept of the pizzeria. Not a place where you eat pizza, but a place where you have an experience.’ Okay, the word ‘experience’ is definitely overused, but in this case, we wouldn't know what else to call a dinner at Confine.
The menu
Let's start with pizza. Francesco works carefully on the dough, the rising, the flour, and the different cooking methods: the classic pizza, here in a “Salerno” version, which uses 100% type 1 flour (less refined and more ‘wholemeal’ than 0 and 00) and, from a stylistic point of view, respects the Campania standards but avoids excessive crust thickness and exaggerated “softness”; then the double-cooked pizza, fried and then baked in the oven (“Starita method”), the Turin-style pan-cooked pizza, and the crumbly pizza made with low-protein flour.
With such a wide variety of options, the best solution is naturally to order a tasting menu: there are three sizes available: four courses for €40, five for €45, and six for €50. It starts with fried food and ends (if you want) with dessert, with a selection of pizzas with different cooking methods and toppings in between. “Who eats half a kilo of just one thing?” asks Francesco, shaking the foundations of the entire pizza world. Naturally, almost all customers (“95 percent,” Mario assures us) choose the tasting menu, even if it ends up costing more than a whole pizza. But the pleasure of discovery is priceless, and the customers who often book weeks in advance are aware and motivated. Then there is the environmental aspect. Confine completely overturns the idea of the spartan pizzeria and/or the Neapolitan stereotype of Totò/Eduardo/Maradona. It is a very elegant restaurant, perfectly Milanese in its elegance and décor. It was created from the complete renovation of a historic 500-square-meter neighborhood hardware store, whose interiors were designed by De.Tales with Studio DelleraBonforte. At the entrance, there is a beautiful open kitchen, on the left there are two modernist rooms, and below there is a cellar with a large social table for events or for customers seeking privacy.
Here is the reservation. Confine is a very popular restaurant. It is only open in the evening (only on Saturdays and Sundays it is also open for lunch) and it is advisable to book well in advance. There are two sittings, one at 7:15/7:30 p.m. and one at 9:15/9:30 p.m., but a little flexibility is required. When booking, you will need to specify what type of experience you are booking, whether you want the tasting menu or the special Guscio menu. Here is the Guscio menu. Launched a few months ago and initially conceived as a temporary addition to the basic menu, it has been so successful that it looks set to continue. It consists of five tastings that demonstrate the latest leap in quality achieved by the two young men from Salerno, now backed by such self-confidence that they can offer an 85-euro menu in a pizzeria and see it fly off the shelves. It starts with a Risotto alla pescatora, which is a faux supplì homage to the very Neapolitan (and Roman) idea of always starting a dinner in a pizzeria with fried food.
But this is an illusion: the rice ball contains a white ragu of rock fish and shellfish and, when opened, is meant to be mixed with a raw/cooked bouillabaisse (raw shrimp and red prawns, cooked clams and mussels) with fresh dill and dill oil, creating a risotto of the highest order. What a start. Another idea, another exercise in mimicry: the Calgyoza, inspired by Japanese ravioli but using the language of calzone, in this case filled with pork belly cooked at low temperature and marinated in soy sauce and then roasted, savoy cabbage, raw Mazara red shrimp dipped in its bisque, Maldon salt flakes, and burnt lime powder.
Next up is the Lobster roll. Steamed lobster seasoned with light mayonnaise, ice-cooked celery, and smoked herring caviar, all wrapped in a wonderfully light savory brioche bun. Now in ecstasy, here comes the fourth course: Ricordo di una linguina di scampi (Memories of a scampi linguine), which we could describe as “fuiuta” (fleeting). “We were inspired,” says Francesco, “by a pot in which the linguine is finished but there is still a little of that scampi sauce left, very tasty, perfect for mopping up with bread.” Ultimately, it is a powerful scampi sauce, roasted scampi and wasabi rocket, contained in a fried pizza that serves to give the oily effect of linguine, which is thus present even though it is not there.
Finally, Zia Maria, “our version of tuna and onions,” inspired by Francesco's aunt, who played such an important role in his culinary education (and luckily, this time it's not a grandmother). The base is a roasted leek, completely rehydrated with a tuna stock, then fior di latte cheese, preserved bluefin tuna belly, yuzu mayonnaise, green olive and cucunci pâté, capers in syrup, dill, and chili pepper. A marvel.
Of course, there are also round pizzas, for those who want to spend less or for those who don't like sharing (there are still some). The list includes eight options, from the magnificent Margherita at €12 to the “signature” pizzas (at €20 or €25) such as the Zucchina alla Capece with zucchini cream, smoked provola cheese, raw zucchini flowers, mint mayonnaise, 18-year-aged balsamic vinegar, fried zucchini, ground black pepper, monocultivar Rotondella extra virgin olive oil; and the Botox with cave-aged caciocavallo fondue, fiordilatte, raw buffalo milk blue cheese, Cilento white fig jam, Parmigiano Reggiano chips, basil, and Leccino monocultivar extra virgin olive oil. For desserts, choose from the menu: the inevitable tiramisu, chocolate caramel and passion fruit, cheesecake with berries, or tarte au citron meringué. High class, even if a little less inventive. But has dessert ever been the strong point of a pizzeria, even a 3.0 one?
A separate chapter should be devoted to the wine cellar, curated by Ventira. The wine list is so extensive and varied that, in the pizza restaurant league, we have only seen its equal at Piedigrotta in Varese. Those who wish can order a prestigious bottle or a more affordable one, or even take a tour of the underground wine cellar or the bottle room with its Napoleonic décor. But those who are still in a pizzeria and want to keep the bill down need not worry: there are affordable labels and craft beers that do their job very well. The service is entrusted to a handful of quick and focused young people, although it is when Mario and sometimes Francesco enter the scene that the show really starts.
CONTACTS
Confine
Piazza Cardinal Guglielmo Massaia, Milano.
Phone 3755426086.
Closed on Sundays. Open only in the evening, Saturdays and Sundays also for lunch.
