Osteria Francescana In Modena

3* Michelin, twice winner of World’s 50 Best Restaurants (2016 and 2018). Half of the items are worthy of being associated with one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been. Bean-shaped pasta from the different Italian regions paired with beer; burnt tomato pasta; duck; panettone duck and the milk pre dessert were all divine. Foie Gras in the ice-cream was a nice surprise.

Wow! 1000/10 🌟 My absolute highlights were the vegetable soup, the noodles, and the dessert! Fantastic service!

From Via Stella to VIA BONVESIN DE LA RIVA 9 For me, this "return" can only have this dedication. The Maestro was my "dream" in #MilanoDaBere with that almost musical address, first *** in the "red" 1986 of Italian social-cultural-gastronomic history. And today my quintessential essence can finally be satisfied with Marchesi's reinterpretation of #RisoOroZafferano… The menu title remains unchanged, continuing the previous one "With a little help from my friends"; But this time the friends who "help" Bottura are not the four minstrels from the song, but 13 + himself (I imagine him inspired by Memory), indescribable palatal authors. The tastings interpret Tradition in an almost dystopian way, not dishes but concepts of the time, evoking places that for me (then) existed only on paper: 2 above all, the now legendary TRIGABOLO in Argenta (then an avant-garde restaurant when the adjective was relegated to literal movements); TRATTORIA CANTARELLI in Samboseto, a history that becomes legend (in the ** conquered in 1970 and never lost until its closure on December 31, 1982) And then those names... Nino Bergese, Mirella Cantarelli, Igles Corelli, Corrado Assenza, Fulvio Piergelini... It seems like a symphony performed by Bottura, transposed by the euphoric, joyful-playful, irrepressible Dudamel in the historic 2007 performance of the fourth movement (allegro con fuoco) of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" ... And my imagination is exalted. See you next time. PS. Some will say, yes, it's a beautiful story. And your impressions of the dishes? A review of the restaurant? Bottura among the tables? I take it upon myself to say that at Francescana, these would be just opinions, while the meaning of it all is the EMPATHY with which, for about 3 hours, we immersed ourselves in the world of the Other. ***** PREVIOUS REVIEW June 2020 It was an "incursion" full of magic. The lockdown had inevitably slowed down our processes of discovering (and rediscovering) gastronomic traditions. So the transition from "but who knows if..." to finding a table was almost impromptu. Certainly aided by the slow restart... Bottura cannot be classified. He's simply a UNICORN. There's no point in trying to review him! You arrive in front of the door on Via Stella, ring the bell, and let yourself go. Only to come to your senses upon exiting, when you don't know whether to laugh or believe (the works of art you saw - scattered here and there, yes - but much more on the table). Because here, cuisine, tradition, flavors, invention, creativity, research, vision, and healthy madness blend together in a dimension of pure light. Looking at the successive interpretations, you imagine Bottura always balancing risk and calculation. This time we dreamed of crossing the most famous pedestrian crossing in the world: the one on Abbey Road... See you next time. “With a little help from my friends” ***** PREVIOUS REVIEW I categorize restaurants, but for Osteria Francescana I had to create a separate category: UNICORN We're not in a restaurant but in an art gallery where masterpieces are presented in edible form. Given what I said at the beginning, reviewing Bottura is impossible for me. We can all share our impressions, but here we're at the quintessential level of food. It even transcends the very concept of food, which loses its function as nourishment and projects itself into an absolute and unreal dimension. I'll close with a "beautiful, psychedelic, spin-painted veal, not flame-grilled" interpretation: prodigious.

Absolute bucket list meal. Staff was extremely friendly. Food was delicious and presentation amazing. Well worth the high price. Both tasting menus were exquisite. Wine pairing a must (although could’ve done without the beer). We sat in the back room so it felt little secluded. Thankful to have enjoyed the experience.

⭐️ Short version: We’ve been to many fine dining and “Hall of Fame” restaurants — but Osteria Francescana was by far the most disappointing. Cold atmosphere, guests whispering, bored staff (except the sommelier). Pasta cold, duck barely warm. Same duck reduction in 3 of 11 dishes, celery sauce twice. Napkins forgotten, coffee late. For a place with three stars, it’s the small things that should make the difference — and they didn’t. ⸻ ⭐️ Long version: We’ve been to many fine dining and “Hall of Fame” restaurants around the world, but sadly Osteria Francescana was one of the most disappointing experiences. Perhaps, like with certain modern artists, we just didn’t understand the vision — but the entire evening felt distant and soulless. The atmosphere was cold (and not just the room temperature); guests whispered, and the staff seemed disengaged. Only the sommelier appeared to genuinely enjoy his job. Napkins were forgotten, coffee arrived late — small details, yet at this level, those are exactly what should make the difference. Culinarily, things didn’t improve much. The pasta was cold, the duck only slightly warm, and the same duck reduction appeared in three out of eleven dishes. A celery sauce showed up twice. That repetition made the menu feel uninspired and mechanical rather than creative or emotional. Maybe there’s an artistic layer we simply missed — but for us, the experience lacked warmth, precision, and passion. For a Hall of Fame, three-Michelin-star restaurant, it fell well short of expectations.

Overall, a good experience that I would recommend, albeit I couldn’t help but leaving slightly unfulfilled. Not many dishes were truly stand-outs apart from the duck (which to be fair was easily the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a good bit). Some of the other dishes like the “bean” pasta and crunchy pasta were interesting and fun, but maybe not quite as enjoyable as I would have hoped on the flavor side. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good. But from a 3-star level and the inherent expectations that come along with this restaurant’s reputation, I thought it was slightly below what I hoped for. I also found the service to be just a little bit on the stiff side, apart obviously from Massimo himself who is an absolute delight.

Dining in Osteria Francescana was an experience full of joy and surprise.

The wonders of the food. Crazy expensive but a 3 star experience of their own Once in a lifetime.

La mia sufficienza per l’esperienza è semplicemente legata a degli imprevisti nel servizio. Azzardata la scelta degli abbinamenti per la degustazione Miseria e nobiltà. Inaccettabile la reazione di uno dei sommelier al problema sollevato riguardo lo stato di conservazione di uno dei vini. Annotazione fatta da un sommelier altrettanto qualificato seduto al mio tavolo. Il ragazzo ha sostituito il vino ma con supponenza ha manifestato il suo disappunto senza assaggiare il vino in questione e dicendo palesemente che non era d’accordo. Mi limito a dare un piccolo consiglio a chi segue la sala: il servizio di un ristorante di così alto livello dovrebbe essere supervisionato da qualcuno con più esperienza. Ammirevole la presenza di tanti giovani ma la gestione di questi inconvenienti non può essere affidata ad un personale così giovane semplicemente perché “acerbo” nel gestire questi inconvenienti. Piccolo consiglio all’architetto che ha curato gli interni: togliamo le tende oscuranti che dopo quasi 5 ore di pranzo con la luce artificiale mandano in tilt il cervello????? Lo chef resta intoccabile.

Increíble experiencia: las ideas del chef Bottura y su equipo están fuera de este mundo. Debería haber una 4a estrella Michelin para restaurantes como este. El pato jazz era tan original y delicioso. El umami del katsuobushi de pato y el panettone son imposibles de describir.