Who’s behind it: Il Ristorante Alain Ducasse is a new endeavor from celebrated French-born, Monégasque chef Alain Ducasse, who owns Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse in Paris, among other leading restaurants. This is Ducasse’s first restaurant in Italy, and it is located on the ninth floor of the Romeo Collection’s Romeo Napoli hotel in Naples, which housed now-closed Restaurant Award winner il Comandante.
When it opened: June 6
The culinary approach: Leading the kitchen is executive chef Alessandro Lucassino, who has worked with Ducasse for 11 years at Paris establishments Le Jules Verne (on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower), Le Relais Plaza at Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Salon des Manufactures and Cucina. A representative of Il Ristorante Alain Ducasse described the cuisine as “elegant, subtle and daring,” using ingredients from Napoli (and the broader Mediterranean region) such as Paestum artichokes, Sorrento lemons and red mullet. Lucassino uses French techniques to prepare these, emphasizing the dishes’ healthful characteristics and vegetable elements.
[article-img-container][src=2024-06/restaurant-news-il-ristorante-alain-ducasse-seafood-062724_900.jpg] [credit= (ROMEO Napoli)] [alt= A restaurant team member placing caviar atop a dish of red prawns at Il Ristorante Alain Ducasse][end: article-img-container]Il Ristorante Alain Ducasse offers five-course and six-course “experience” menus ($184 and $205, respectively), with dishes such as Mediterranean blue crab with white beans from Controne (in Campania), Italian John Dory with a rockfish reduction and agretti, Laura Peri pigeon with cherries, and wild strawberries with mascarpone ice cream.
What’s on the wine list: Sommelier Bernard Neveu—who previously led the wine program at Le Bristol Paris and its Grand Award winner Epicure—oversees a list of 1,500 labels, representing a 16,000-bottle cellar. The program is global, with bottles from Burgundy’s Meursault, Corton-Charlemagne, Montrachet, Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée, for instance, including top names like Armand Rousseau, Méo-Camuzet and DRC.
Along with France, Northern and Central Italy are prime focuses, and there are verticals from leading wineries like Barbaresco’s Gaja, Barolo’s Aldo Conterno and Tuscany’s Masseto. The list was created to be “in harmony with the cuisine,” per the restaurant’s representative. “This explains the balance we’ve struck between Italian and French wines.” That includes a range of specific wine-and-food pairings as well as several grand cru wines offered by the glass.
[article-img-container][src=2024-06/restaurant-news-il-ristorante-alain-ducasse-interior-062724_1600.jpg] [credit= (ROMEO Napoli)] [alt= Black chairs around a round table with a white tablecloth in the dining room on the ninth floor of the Romeo Napoli hotel, which has black ceilings][end: article-img-container]The space: The restaurant’s vantage point and large windows allow guests picturesque views of Mount Vesuvius and the Port of Naples. Inside, Il Ristorante Alain Ducasse boasts an open kitchen and art pieces from contemporary Neapolitan artist Francesco Clemente.
Looking ahead: Ducasse is opening two more restaurants with the Romeo Collection at the new Romeo Roma (opening September 2024) and Romeo Massa Lubresne (opening on the Amalfi Coast in 2025). “The collaboration that began in Naples is very promising,” said the restaurant’s representative, “and we will approach the other projects with the same confidence and enthusiasm.”—Collin Dreizen
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Source : https://www.winespectator.com/articles/restaurant-news-alain-ducasse-opens-a-new-restaurant-in-italy
