A contemporary restaurant that reflects the sea and tells its story on the plate, minimizing waste and promoting a distinct regional identity.
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A large window overlooking the sea, just a few steps from the beach and a few meters from the water. It is here, on the coast of Porto Recanati, that La Rotonda stands: not just a restaurant, but a treasure trove of memories intertwined with the present, cradling each other: a place capable of bringing to the table the flavors, quality, and respect for raw ingredients of yesteryear. It is with this idea that German Scalmazzi and Sara Pandolfi have built their project, born from the transformation of a historic family business: a beach resort that for years has been a landmark in the area and now aims to become a benchmark for gourmet seafood cuisine in the central Marche region.
A distinctive and contemporary cuisine
German Scalmazzi and Sara Pandolfi were still very young when they decided to take over the historic family business started by Sara's grandparents. The days of buses taking Sunday holidaymakers to the seaside are long gone, but they have chosen to keep those memories alive, accompanying old and loyal customers on the journey towards what La Rotonda is today: an elegant restaurant where you can enjoy dishes that reflect the sea in a contemporary way, while fully respecting local tradition.
German, the restaurant's chef, offers distinctive and innovative cuisine: this is the starting point. La Rotonda is a gourmet restaurant that follows a precise approach, using no exotic ingredients, only products that can be found locally. Another distinctive feature is the composition of the menu: the same fish or ingredient is never used twice in the dishes. Guests are offered a variety of species, oils, and vegetables. “It is essential to maintain consistency, a logical thread that ties every choice together. This consistency does not become monotonous, because I work with new ingredients and raw materials every day that are constantly changing,” says Scalmazzi.
The art of natural iodine
A menu completely without added salt, except for three pasta dishes: iodine is obtained from fish scraps, fins, tails, and anything else that can be dried. These elements provide a natural flavor that clearly conveys how much the dish tells us about the raw ingredients: "Normally, more than half of the fish would be discarded. Here, however, nothing is wasted. We dry some parts, and use the entrails, livers, and eggs to make sauces. All these elements are used to flavor the dish, while maintaining a fundamental principle: no fish is mixed with another. Each species remains pure, to respect its identity. This approach allows us to keep food costs down and also to attract a younger audience to a cuisine that is a true journey." This is the thinking behind German's cuisine.
The dishes
But let's get to the heart of the menu, where the dialogue between cuisine and wine becomes the focus of the experience. The tasting begins with a great bottle: Champagne Cuvée Nuance by Secondé-Simon, a Pinot Noir from Ambonnay “perpétuelle,” in the best tradition of great sparkling wines from across the Alps. A refined and complex label, capable of harmonizing perfectly with both the welcome entrées and the canestrello alla carbonara, introducing the gastronomic journey with elegance and balance. Secondé-Simon, guardian of a long Champagne tradition, accompanies a faux olive ascolana made with natural tuna tartare enclosing a peanut in the center, as if it were a pit, and coated on the outside with a powder of Marche olives. The same fish is used to make ventresca, which is cured for about six months and served with barbecue-grilled seaweed focaccia. The meal ends with a fried herb pillow topped with a caper and stuffed with butter and anchovies.
The Canestrello alla Carbonara opens the appetizers and is a dish that features pure scallops with the addition of guanciale extract instead of oil, salt-dried egg yolk, and grated fresh egg yolk on top. To complete the dish, long pepper and Sichuan pepper are added to make the flavor more harmonious. Tagliatella alle vongole is in fact a game, a fake cuttlefish tagliatella, a dish that encompasses all the elements of the classic seafood first course but with a modern twist. Local cuttlefish is cooked at a low temperature and cut thinly like real tagliatella, with a smooth texture that blends perfectly with the classic garlic and parsley sauce. Raw, unprocessed clams are added and seasoned with an icy Apulian oyster, blended and transformed into snow. Clams and oysters are the only savory elements, while sorrel completes the dish with spicy and vegetal notes.
The appetizer selection continues with Nasturzio, a raw dish of red mullet served on a salad of fennel, olives, and oranges, with the addition of sea urchins that lend flavor and depth. The burnt orange granita paired with the fish melts slowly, adding a citrus note to the dish and balancing the other flavors. The macerated, dehydrated and then frozen black olives create a pleasant crunchiness, while the wild catmint completes the dish with a vegetal component. The delicacy of the cuttlefish tagliatelle, the depth and savory flavor of the raw clams and the rock mullet are enhanced by a pure Chardonnay, made from grapes from Grand Cru vineyards such as Mesnil-sur-Oger and Trépail, terroirs celebrated for their minerality and freshness: the label is De Venoge Princes Blanc de Blancs, a pairing that enhances both the sea and the territory.
Vegetables are a fundamental element in La Rotonda's dishes. These ingredients are grown in the restaurant's greenhouses, a few kilometers from the sea. I ask German Scalmazzi how this idea came about: “It started five years ago when I decided to fully enter the world of catering, with the aim of personally selecting all the raw materials. The rotation of vegetables is based on what I imagine for future dishes.” But let's get back to the menu. The appetizers are rounded off with Canocchia, a dish that tastes of the Marche region, deeply rooted in its identity, capable of recounting the food and wine traditions of Leopardi's homeland with every ingredient. Here, the mantis shrimp is called panocchia, and when referring to breading, it is correct to say pisto, so this is how we can describe this dish that smells of home. The panocchia, lightly seared, is accompanied as in the past by pisto marchigiano, a cold aromatic breading, to which is added a sauce prepared with the same panocchia reduced to enhance its flavor; at the base of the dish is a reduction of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, tomato cooking oil, and a pure nasturtium extract.
Up to this point, it is clear how much skill and creativity are used to celebrate what the central Adriatic offers to the cuisine of the Marche region. "I am very fond of this coastal area, the central Adriatic, from Fano to San Benedetto del Tronto. Here, at the bottom of the seabed, there is no Posidonia and the fish are more carnivorous: the fish eat other fish and this completely changes the flavor. Scampi, prawns, mantis shrimp, cuttlefish, and coastal fish such as turbot and wild sea bass have a very distinctive taste and are only available when in season. San Benedetto, Civitanova, and Ancona are three different auctions, which show me what the sea has to offer day after day. For me, the fundamental concept is to understand how to cook what the sea provides, without thinking that a “poor” fish is less appealing. The important thing is how I treat it and how I present it. Once upon a time, restaurants were judged by the fish they served, but today the real parameter is quality," says chef Scalmazzi. The tasting continues with Iodio e Fumo, a button stuffed with butter and sardò, as sardines are called in this area, strictly sourced mainly from the central Adriatic.
In addition, there is butter creamed with anchovies and burnt lemon powder. The green touch is provided by sea beans accompanied by smoked herring butter. To enhance the flavor, the dish is completed and bound with a dash of clam water. The pairing moves from the most renowned French wine region to the most authentic Marche region with Campo delle Oche 36 mesi produced by Fattoria San Lorenzo: a benchmark in the production of Verdicchio in the area. A wine that creates a gastronomic bridge between two territories with strong personalities, whose long evolution gives it complexity and depth, taking on the role of a refined interpreter of the Marche region's ampelography.
The ideal glass to accompany the mantis shrimp, enhanced by a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi reduction, and the Iodio e Fumo dish, rich in nuances on the palate. Sole between North and South closes the second course: a delicately steamed fish, enriched with bagna cauda, which introduces an elegant reference to the culinary traditions of Northern Italy. A dish that returns to the calm waters of the Marche sea thanks to a jus of sole, mustard, mustard sprouts, and parsley extract. Accompanying the delicacy of the sole, the character of the mustard and the freshness of the parsley with balance is one of Burgundy's most famous whites, a great ambassador of the Côte d'Or: Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru AOC 2018 from Maison Louis Latour.
The menu at La Rotonda does not forget its roots, does not betray its origins, and pays homage to the traditions of fishermen: “I want to return to the traditions of fishing and make the most of what our sea has to offer...”. The pre-dessert embodies this ideal with a nod to the snacks eaten by fishermen in the Marche region: a Pan Nociato reimagined by the chef. Halfway between a panforte and French pain perdu, it is served with a custard ice cream to spread on the dessert and enjoy as a real snack. It is with the Marco De Bartoli winery and its Pantelleria 2022 passito, Bukkuram Sole d'Agosto, which introduces sweet and Mediterranean notes, where dehydrated fruit, spices, and orange blossom represent a prelude to the final dessert, Elisir di Nocciola: a dessert composed of a buckwheat base, Elisir Meletti ice cream, sanded hazelnuts, and hazelnut mousse.
A dessert that finds its perfection when paired with Elisir Imperiale by Rosati, a historic Marche-based producer of herbal liqueurs, which enhances the buckwheat and hazelnut in two textures. The key word for a successful pairing is undoubtedly balance. In this case, the labels proposed by Sara Pandolfi dialogue with the dishes, enhancing each other and ideally overcoming distances and differences. Distant territories and traditions find harmony, sealing a complete and elegant gastronomic experience.
Cooking as a way of life
This turning point marks the end of a gastronomic experience that has brought together everything that diners could wish for: quality, respect for ingredients and, when it comes to fish, the taste of the sea and, above all, the sea itself. La Rotonda has hit the mark: over time, it has maintained a strong sense of authenticity and genuineness, fundamental elements in accompanying long-standing customers towards a cuisine that is less homely but always sincere and heartfelt.
“For me, La Rotonda has never been just a job, but an integral part of my life. I like our customers to feel at home. Previously, the restaurant catered to a wider audience: there were long-standing customers with whom we established almost family-like relationships, a true concept of sharing products, knowledge, and experiences. Today, our target audience has changed a little, but the concept remains the same: who we are and who we want to be. We have patiently accompanied our long-standing customers on this journey: today, they are an integral part of our journey," says Sara Pandolfi, German's partner, sommelier, and expert presence in the dining room. The secret lies in thinking of cooking as a lifestyle, concludes Scalmazzi: “Today, cooking is a lifestyle for me: morning, afternoon, evening, and night. Every trip is intended to bring home new experiences. It's a daily way of life; everything starts in the kitchen.”
Contacts
La Rotonda Ristorante Porto Recanati
Via delle Nazioni, 27, 62017 Porto Recanati MC
Phone: 071 214 6339
