How does a restaurant become a legend over 60 years?

EBRU ERKE

Da Vittorio

In July in Bergamo, I joined Da Vittorio’s 60th anniversary celebration as a guest of the Cerea family. It felt less like a restaurant birthday party and more like a grand family reunion of the global gastronomic community. Nearly a thousand guests were spread across the lush grounds of Cantalupa, with 40 different food stations, chef friends arriving from around the world to cook, alongside producers and gastronomes. Ducks were being prepared in one corner, squid was coming off the grill in another, while bomboloni were frying elsewhere. Yet what made the evening truly remarkable was not so much what we ate, but who was there — and why.

Because when you looked at that crowd, you could actually see what Da Vittorio had built over six decades. They had not simply created a highly successful restaurant; they had built a gastronomic ecosystem in which producers, chefs, employees, friends and new generations were all connected. Perhaps this is precisely where the difference begins between restaurants that endure and those that simply come and go. Good restaurants make food; the ones that leave a mark create a culture around themselves in which new things can continue to grow.

The story begins in 1960, when Bruna Gioconda Gritti and Vittorio Cerea met at Caffè Orobica in Bergamo. Three years later, they married and began dreaming of opening a restaurant of their own. The opportunity came when they took over the former Ristorante Roma, then on the verge of bankruptcy. On 6 April 1966, Da Vittorio opened its doors. Yet Vittorio’s real courage lay not in opening a restaurant, but in the kind of restaurant he chose to open in Bergamo.

In a landlocked city where meat dominated the table, he placed fish at the heart of his cuisine. It may sound unremarkable today, but in 1960s Bergamo this was a serious gamble. As prosperity increased and fish, once considered a luxury, became more accessible, Vittorio recognised the shift early. He established a daily supply system to bring high-quality seafood into the city. That decision shaped the restaurant’s identity. The first Michelin star arrived in 1978, the second in 1996. In 2005, the family moved from the city center to the Cantalupa hills in Brusaporto; in 2010 came the third Michelin star.

But to me, what makes Da Vittorio truly iconic has less to do with its stars than with something else: The fact that people travel to a three-Michelin-starred restaurant for a plate of tomato pasta.

Paccheri alla Vittorio is now the restaurant’s signature dish. The large tubular pasta is coated in a velvety sauce in which the sweetness, acidity and intensity of different tomato varieties are carefully balanced; Parmesan and butter provide the finishing touch. There is no ostentatious luxury ingredient. No caviar, no truffle. The technique does not shout for attention. In the end, what sits in front of you is still pasta with tomato sauce. But it is made with such precision that it has become as powerful a part of the restaurant’s identity as its logo. Paccheri has reportedly been on the menu since the 1980s, and Da Vittorio is said to prepare around 50,000 portions a year at events outside the restaurant.

Yet the Cerea family did not stop at that one iconic plate. Today, the second generation carries the business forward across different areas: Chicco and Bobo in the kitchen, Rossella overseeing hospitality, Francesco working across catering, events and consultancy. Through the Da Vittorio Academy, they pass their knowledge on to younger generations; the training goes beyond recipes to encompass markets, production regions, ingredients and technique. In other words, the knowledge once accumulated inside Vittorio and Bruna’s small restaurant has evolved into a structure capable of educating others.

That was what moved me most on the night of the 60th anniversary. Vittorio Cerea is no longer alive, yet the story he and Bruna began in 1966 continues to grow. And it is being carried forward not only by their children, but by the people they have trained, the producers they have worked with and the relationships they have built across the world.

Restaurants that endure are not simply those that cook well; they are the ones that add something to gastronomy. A great plate can make someone happy for an evening. A strong culture, however, can give rise to new chefs, new producers, new collaborations and new stories.

Where to stay

If you ask me where to stay in Milan, my recommendation is the Excelsior Hotel Gallia, directly opposite Milano Centrale. At first glance, its location may seem to be simply a matter of convenience, but it is in fact an important part of the hotel’s story. Opened in 1932, the Gallia belongs to the era when travelling by train was itself a form of luxury and grand railway hotels were among Europe’s most prestigious addresses. Today, behind its historic façade, it has been transformed into a hotel that brings together Milan’s past and its contemporary design culture.

Italian architect Marco Piva led the major renovation. A new glass-and-steel wing was added alongside the historic building, placing old and new side by side, while inside you encounter some of the most important names in Italian design, including Poltrona Frau and Cassina. The hotel also houses more than 500 works of art. At Gallia, design is not merely decoration; it is an integral part of the experience.

On the top floor, Terrazza Gallia is led by Executive Chef Vincenzo Lebano, who, together with Chef de Cuisine Andrea Calia di Dio, interprets the traditions of different Italian regions through a contemporary lens. What makes it especially interesting is that the restaurant’s gastronomic direction is shaped through a collaboration with the Cerea family of three-Michelin-starred Da Vittorio. So here, once again, you encounter an extension of the story that began in Bergamo, this time reaching into Milan.

And Terrazza Gallia should not be thought of only as a dinner destination. Overlooking the monumental façade of Milano Centrale and the city skyline, the terrace is particularly enjoyable for an aperitivo at sunset. Breakfast, too, deserves special mention. Alongside the classic five-star hotel buffet, Gallia Restaurant offers a distinct “Epicurean Breakfast” concept. You can begin with a proper espresso or cappuccino and move on to artisanal pastries, cheeses and charcuterie and omelettes prepared to order. To me, this is where a luxury hotel’s gastronomic credentials are truly tested; good food should not exist only on white-tablecloth tables in the evening, but should extend through the entire day, from the coffee you drink in the morning to the eggs on your breakfast plate.

That is exactly why I like Gallia. This is not simply a five-star hotel where you sleep in a beautiful room. It brings together three of Milan’s greatest strengths under one roof: History, design and gastronomy. In the morning, you step outside and find yourself in the middle of the city’s rush; in the evening, you look down on that same city from the terrace, aperitivo in hand. For a few days in Milan, it is difficult to imagine a better starting point.