We are in the heart of Florence, inside the Cecchi family's boutique hotel La Gemma. Here, on the first floor of a historic building in the Tuscan capital overlooking the Duomo, Luca's restaurant is the Florentine stop for the Italian-Argentinian chef. A project that rewrites his idea of fine dining.
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Florence is one of Italy's most beautiful and elegant cities, a characteristic it has inherited from the vision of all the important families who have lived there and still live there today. Among magnates, utopians, and dreamers, the history of this city continues to defend its forward-thinking sense of belonging. So in 2023, the Cecchi family, inside Palazzo Paoletti, the former residence of the Art of Hoteliers, a historic location a stone's throw from the Duomo, will open the doors of a boutique hotel with about forty rooms, including sixteen suites. An intimate terrace is set among the rooftops, subject to the disarming charm of Brunelleschi's dome, while on the first floor, a restaurant project called Luca's is being developed, bearing the signature of multi-starred Italian-Argentinian chef Paulo Airaudo.
We are in the corridors of a nineteenth-century building that connects two structures. The atmosphere recreated in the rooms is that of Art Deco, characterized by the use of velvet and brass among geometric designs and soft shapes. A retro-style luxury that is applied in tones ranging from a dominant jungle green to a complementary clay ochre. Enveloping ceilings, soft lighting, and linoleum flooring define the contours of the 25 seats at the nine tables of Luca's restaurant, where the name is a tribute to the family memory of the founder Luca Cecchi, while Paulo Airaudo's signature on the menu is the caption of one of the best expressions of fine dining cuisine at an international level.
The chef, the restaurant, and the philosophy
The Argentine chef, like Mauro Colagreco of Italian origin, has almost four hundred employees worldwide and six Michelin stars between his restaurant Amelia** and then Ibai* in San Sebastian, Aleia* in Barcelona, and Noi** in Hong Kong. This is an asset in which the general manager of La Gemma, Laura Stopani, has invested with the certainty of bringing one of the most intercontinental visions of experimental cuisine to her city. Paulo Airaudo has never hidden behind any romantic clichés about the restaurant business; on the contrary, he has always been an admirer of practical results, both in the taste of his dishes and in the economies of scale of his activities.
A penchant for the finest ingredients on the planet and a gastronomic offering that brings them together, breaking free from the constraints of zero-kilometer sourcing, results in dishes that pursue the stylistic perfection that characterizes him. Florence, however, seems to be another story, and Luca's marks a change in Airaudo's vision. Perfection remains, but it leaves room for the enjoyment of a less formal experience, with the same number of dishes as always, but served with more emphasis on simplicity and comfort than on the pursuit of surprise. From the open kitchen come the precise movements of resident chef Tommaso Querini and his team.
The dishes
The menu offers three tasting menus, with 4, 6, and 9 courses, with two special dishes to add or substitute. Refined dishes are served, starting with a tasty cold porcini mushroom broth. The scampi in champagne sauce and foie gras are a complex system of very well-balanced sweetness, while the raw amberjack with Chioggia radish, tomato water, and Ume kosho is an elegant interplay of textures and acidity.
Technically perfect, the risotto with parsley, kumquats, and red prawns from Mazara preceded the enveloping potato and taleggio cheese buttons with vin jaune and razor clams.
Sauces and stocks are fundamental stylistic exercises for enhancing delicately treated raw ingredients, a keystone that builds complex flavors around simple tastes. The Dentex in bagna cauda is succulent, and the meal ends with a perfectly balanced dessert of figs caramelized in port, amaretti, and cocoa nibs. Satisfying, never cloying in its sweetness, and surprising in its natural acidity.
The wine list offers a carefully selected range, but we like the idea of finding numerous labels that break the mold of the great classics to bring sought-after bottles from all over the country to the table. There is a good selection of Champagne, accompanied by international references, offering good value for money. The service is attentive but not intrusive, a common thread that Paulo Airaudo wanted for Luca's and that Tommaso and his team make humanly possible every evening.
The Cecchi family is a cornerstone of Florentine hospitality, and La Gemma also boasts a lounge bar and bistro that complement the daily offerings, but Luca's dim lights only come on in the evening, when it's worth losing yourself in the 1920s atmosphere of a refined setting, surrounded by black and white photos and dishes from around the world.
Address
Hotel La Gemma- Luca's
Via Dei Cavalieri 2C, 50123, Firenze (IT)
EMAIL: info@lagemmahotel.com
Phone - hotel: +39 055 0105200
