Palazzo Gaddi, with its seven hundred years surpassed by at least twenty, is the elegant new setting for Iside de Cesare's gastronomic project, chef of the La Parolina restaurant in Trevinano, a Michelin star, and two forks from Gambero Rosso. We are inside the NH Collection on Via del Giglio in Florence, in a palace that has seen the Middle Ages and the Renaissance take shape in the floors that start from a secret garden, up to the unique skyline overlooking all of Florence. Including the hills. A few steps from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and just as many from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, on the ground floor of the palace you can pass through the lobby of the luxury hotel and head straight to the tables of Terrae, this is the name of the restaurant. A word that represents not only the sense of belonging that the chef has always had towards products and traditions, but which in this case is the symbol of an encounter: on one side, with the Florentine land and, on the other, with Salvatore Canargiu. Canargiu has Sardinian roots and has been working with Iside for years. "He taught me to live cooking and to know how to lead it, he transmitted to me the love for this profession and for the raw materials to be worked with care. Above all, he taught me the value of human relationships."
The cuisine of Terrae in Florence
It will be Salvatore Canargiu who will guide the kitchen of Terrae together with Iside, building a refined Mediterranean menu that keeps the essentiality of taste at its core. About twenty covers, distributed in two reserved rooms with a colonial style. Bare wooden tables with essential mise en place. An intimate garden, between large windows and evergreens, which offers the possibility to experience the outdoors during the season. So Terrae Restaurant is open to the public only in the evening, from Thursday to Monday.
From the menu, we tried some dishes, such as the Cuttlefish, artichoke, and mint. A perfect dish for its full flavor built on different tastes and consistencies, interesting for the layering of flavors and aromatic persistences in a vegetable key.
The Garlic, oil, and chili Buttons served with seafood soup are literally an explosion. Great technique in making the stuffed pasta and in using garlic as a resonant chamber, intense is the fish soup taken from the Cacciucco that remains pleasantly filling in your mouth.
The "Cartellata" rabbit and peppers is a gratifying first course. The story of the Cartellata dances between sweet and savory and takes shape in a strip of pasta that in this case is filled with stewed rabbit and pepper sauce. Tasty and decisive in flavor.
The Piglet, apricots, and scollop, arrives as a substantial second course and proves itself on the palate. What makes it fun is the marinating of the meat with late tangerine, then grilled over charcoal and served with a puree of dried apricots and grilled with umeboshi and shiso.
Among the desserts, the passion fruit mille-feuille is an inevitable gratifying closure. Sitting at Terrae Restaurant, you will find a menu concentrated on taste, characterized by a common thread of well-executed bases. Lightness in the processing of the main raw material and concentration of substance in the sauces, a characteristic that satisfies the palate of everyone.
To enrich the Terrae experience, it should also be added that before dinner it is possible to have an aperitif on the terrace. The skyline we mentioned earlier is accessible from 6:30 pm and has another offering identity called Aria Rooftop. The spaces are ample and truly offer the complete profile of Florence on the horizon, from the hills to the dome of Brunelleschi dominating with the bell tower of the cathedral the entire panorama. A privileged place where you can enjoy classic cocktails, a refined champagne list, and a selection of wine labels accompanied by some delicacies like the Bolla di Iside de Cesare, a sphere of soft dough filled with carpaccio and seasonal preparations.
Iside runs from one end of her kitchens to the other, between Trevinano and a Florence that she has discovered to be closer than she imagined, thus telling her choice. "When I arrived in Florence for the first time to see this place, I fully breathed an air that I hadn't had for a long time. For me, everything started here and this is like a return. When I then went up to the terrace, I decided, I couldn't not do it. The luck is that I can do it with Salvatore, a guy of great talent who here can finally consolidate his desire to express himself in a new project for both of us." Her eyes shine, she exudes energy from every pore of her skin, and that contagious smile is the same one that all the staff accompanying her has, from Antonella Sinisgallo (Restaurant Manager) to Mirko Eutizi (F&B Manager). What can I say, the project has the character of an ambitious table where nothing is missing to do well.
Terrae Restaurant - NH Collection Palazzo Gaddi - Via del Giglio, 9 Firenze - terraeresturant.it
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