A new phase, characterized by pure hospitality but also unspoken feelings. This is the Milanese home of Eugenio Boer and Carlotta Perilli.
Almost seven years have passed since Eugenio Boer opened his restaurant in Milan in 2018 - [bu:r]. Today, the Italian-Dutch chef, buoyed by his consolidated success, is reinventing himself and expressing himself in a more mature and conscious language.
The restaurant: a new lease of life for [bu:r]
Eugenio Boer's Milanese restaurant—run with his wife and maître d' Carlotta Perilli—in the heart of the Quadronno district, is located in a place that feels new. Like a book you leaf through for the first time, even though you already know the characters. Like a beautiful house with new furniture, which you take great care of.
It is not only because of the new design by kick.office, which has redesigned the spaces with a warmer tactile and chromatic sensibility, but above all because this renovation reflects a precise idea of cuisine and life: a continuous balance between roots and research. The interiors, reinterpreted under the guidance of Mario Abruzzese and on the advice of architect and friend Leandro Fedele, speak the language of the earth and chromatic vibrations: warm tones, soft surfaces, clean volumes. The solid beech wood of the TON tables and the purple and terracotta carpet create a cozy, almost domestic atmosphere, where the light naturally takes on its three-dimensionality, from morning to evening. It is a sensory refuge where everything—from textures to scents—prepares the palate for the experience to come.
Boer and Carlotta Perilli wanted to build not just a restaurant here, but a home of taste and hospitality, where sounds are softened as you walk on the plush carpet. Boer, however, juggles well between the slow pace of dining pleasure and the brisk pace of Milan. And so it is that the latest addition, lunch service, continues the philosophy of encounter and emphasizes the winning idea of breaking ranks: a weekly menu, light and accessible, which brings the cuisine of [bu:r] to the heart of the Milanese day, fitting perfectly into a light lunch formula (three courses for €45) with the same care as dinner.
The path to lightness
Eugenio Boer is one of those chefs who seem to speak through contrasts. Italian-Dutch, raised among different cultures and flavors, he has always carried with him the lessons of memory: that of venison, Nino Bergese's risotto, and pigeon, all dishes that can be found on his “I Classici” menu.
With “Le Aromatiche,” his most recent menu, his natural ability to go beyond becomes a tale of escape, discovery, but above all, a tribute to forgotten nature. Not just a change of perspective, but a complete reversal of the hierarchy of taste, which in this case focuses on vegetables and the sea: the noble raw ingredients at the center of the dish take a back seat to the aromas that surround them, and the invisible suggestion becomes the main protagonist, revealing itself not immediately, but bite after bite.
Boer's cuisine has always been an “act of listening,” and in this menu, created just over a year ago and now in its fourth seasonal evolution, listening has become a method. Inspiration no longer comes from a main ingredient but from a spice, an aromatic herb, or a scent. It is a cuisine that starts with the sense of smell, stimulating memories and only finally reaching the palate: after all, what is a flavor if not a sensation? Perhaps it is also a personal metaphor: after years of intensity and recognition, Boer chooses conscious lightness.
The dishes: when aroma becomes voice
Each dish bears the name of its essence: lovage, Java long pepper, galangal, kaffir lime, green cardamom. Each preparation is a little story built around a fragrance, which creeps in and amplifies, changing voice throughout the story and leaving its echo at the end. We reach for the welcome aperitif - a classic Mantua tortello wrapped in a napkin, hiding a warm filling of pumpkin, amaretto, and their mustard. It is accompanied by a seven-grain focaccia and a vegetable tisane with pumpkin seed oil. It is a tribute to tradition, the thread that still binds Boer to the memory of his grandmother, from whom he learned to roll out pasta by hand 40 years ago.
Lovage sets the scene with hake marinated in salt and seaweed, steamed with aromatic herbs and accompanied by sweet potatoes from Anguillara Veneta. The firmness of the ingredients is softened by the lovage Bernese sauce. A delicate acidity rounds off the dish, together with the herbs—pungent, vibrant, and at times balsamic—that adorn the hake.
This is followed by Java long pepper, where lacto-fermented porcini mushrooms and sautéed chanterelles interact with a fresh arugula salad and black garlic, arugula, and spice sauces. The earthy flavor of the mushrooms meets the aroma of Indonesian pepper, which is softened by a small tiger bread, a typical Dutch sandwich, here with five spices and cinnamon. An affectionate gesture towards the chef's origins and a caress that completes the bite.
Then comes Galanga, the exotic heart of the menu: a tribute to Indonesia, a former Dutch colony and now a land of memories for Boer. Here, rendang, traditionally a meat dish, comes from the sea: blue lobster, cooked on yakitori and brushed with beech butter, is paired with an intense bisque and almond milk instead of coconut milk, lightening the dish without impoverishing it. At first glance, the blue lobster seems to steal the show, but here too, the aromatics prevail. A small lump of lobster roe and a fake almond emerge from the spicy broth, playing with the temperatures. The result is a dance of contrasts, benevolently distracted by what cannot be seen but can be felt.
The journey continues with kaffir lime and spaghettone (deliberately) cooked beyond the limit. The idea is to recall the typical chewiness of udon, but then toss it in yakitori for a crispy, smoky note. The base consists of citrus-marinated mackerel, fresh chestnuts, chestnut broth, and fish stock, which blend together in a balance of sweet, smoky, and citrusy flavors. It is a dish of rare depth, where technique dissolves into all the nuances of taste.
The Sicilian pre-dessert closes like a Mediterranean embrace: pistachio and almond crumble, Modica chocolate, fried Pantelleria capers, lemon granita, orange zest, and a soft, warm Sicilian tuppo. The preview of the dessert becomes three-dimensional, playing on the contrast between hot and cold, sweet and savory, with a sensuality that never tires. Finally, the dessert of memory:spiced shortbread biscuit, natural mascarpone, strawberry grapes and their sauce, green cardamom powder.
Each dish reserves the right to speak afterwards. Not immediately, but in the wake of what remains and echoes. It is the palate, a few minutes later, that evokes a spice, a scent, a herbaceous echo. It is a cuisine that does not reveal itself to the eyes but leaves its mark. Thus, the “Le Aromatiche” journey becomes an invitation to take your time, slow down, observe, and understand that sometimes things just need to be looked at from a new perspective.
CONTACTS
[bu:r]
Via Mercalli 22, Milano
Tue-Fri 12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m. | 7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.; Sat: 7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.;
Phone: +39 02 62065383;
Email: info@restaurantboer.com
