Heinz Beck's new Pergola to open on may 15: "It will have warm colors, the colors of Rome"

Heinz Beck's Pergola will reopen on May 15th. The German chef announced it himself on the stage of Identità Milano 2024, the ongoing culinary congress at MiCo in Milan. The restaurant atop the Rome Cavalieri, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which overlooks Rome from Monte Mario and has been the only Michelin three-starred restaurant in the capital for almost twenty years, has been closed since November 18th for a renovation that will profoundly change the venue. "It will be a place with warm colors, the colors of Rome. It will be a contemporary venue, inspired by the timeless elegance that has always distinguished La Pergola. Every piece will be customized."

The difference with the cuisine

Beck will celebrate his first thirty years at Pergola in his new "home," where he arrived – a relatively unknown 31-year-old chef born on Lake Constance – in 1994 when it was just a discreet restaurant in one of the few luxury hotels in Rome. Then in November 1997, the first Michelin star, the second in 2000, and the third in 2005, an unprecedented achievement in the capital. "But after thirty years, it was time to change, for the better, of course. We still have a lot to tell you in the next thirty years," explains Beck. He adds, "La Pergola was a very classic restaurant, and we had to make a difference with the cuisine. With the gastronomic proposal, we have continuously renewed the restaurant, often anticipating the times, giving the customer what they wanted. We also conducted a lot of research, never for its own sake, always creating new dishes that not only had to be beautiful and delicious but also nutritionally balanced."

The "old" Pergola

Six months of closure

All this will continue but in a more beautiful and fresher environment, "which will be a new stimulus for us." And if you ask him if it was really necessary to close a restaurant that was always full for six months, Beck responds incisively, "The worst decision is the one not made. When you make a decision, you can certainly be wrong, but if you don't make it, you are certainly wrong. And anyway, we worked for three years on the projects to make the closure as brief as possible. Planning was crucial for this."

Designed by Jouin Manku

Jouin e Manku, who signed the project

The "reinvention" of Pergola, the first step in a renovation project that will progressively involve the entire hotel, is designed by the Jouin Manku studio in Paris and is still shrouded in mystery. It is only known that the concept is inspired by the city of Rome and places particular emphasis on lighting effects. "We wanted to bring the essence of Rome into the restaurant, offering guests a culinary experience further enriched by a breathtaking view of the city, where the tangible and intangible merge in a unique place," said Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku when presenting the project. The characteristics of the two architects and interior designers suggest a spectacular, choreographic, material, fluid restaurant where the customer is encouraged to live stories, experiences, and memories in an environment without traditional boundaries. Words, for now. We will have to wait another two months to find out what the best restaurant in Rome of the past and probably the future will be like.