Discover bistRo Aimo e Nadia, Rossana Orlandi's Newest Restaurant

Jul

City Guide

Discover bistRo Aimo e Nadia, Rossana Orlandi’s Newest Restaurant

Discover bistRo Aimo e Nadia, Rossa Orlandi’s Newest Restaurant – Style icon Rossana Orlandi has opened a new restaurant in Milan, bistRo Aimo e Nadia, whose decoration reflect’s the owner’s taste for style and elegance.

Rossana Orlandi has been an icon in Milan for over a decade, with her Gallery Rossana Orlandi, a must-see experience for thousands of tourists throughout the year. Her latest project is bistRo Aimo e Nadia on Milan’s Via Matteo Bandello 14, just around the corner from her gallery. It’s a collaboration with the two-Michelin-starred Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, bringing together what Italy is best known for — food and design.

“This restaurant needed to be a point of reference for me,” says Orlandi, “a place I can bring friends or clients. With [Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia’s co-owners] Fabio [Pisani], Alessandro [Negrini] and Stefania [Moroni], we have created a synergy of reciprocal energies.” Orlandi envisioned a space in the spirit of Galleria Rossana Orlandi, where hospitality, comfort and attention are key.

“We’ve managed to create something special,” she says. “The chefs did the outfitting of the technical areas, the kitchen and bar, but for the restaurant’s interior, that was all me and my team — with constant feedback from the chefs, of course, because they are the ones who come to work every day.”

The interior completely reflects Orlandi. The furniture is wildly eclectic, with a mix of periods, materials and styles that brings into focus why Orlandi is so good. There is a harmony in how she mixes the pieces, a synergy.

There are some very important items, such as a screen by British designer McCollin Bryan and Spanish designer Nacho Carbonell’s Hot Kettle Transformation jug, mixed in with vintage pieces and humble ones, such as Seletti’s Charley toilet brush.

bistRo‘s design is always evolving, working as a living place that must be inhabited to be fully appreciated. “Everything must be usable, otherwise it just doesn’t make sense,” says Orlandi. Her pragmatic approach is evident everywhere, from the heavy industrial lighting to a choice of wallpaper that had to withstand washing without being damaged.

Orlandi and the chefs, Pisani and Negrini, are also taking bistRo to the gallery. Design lovers can book a private dinner, cooked by the chefs and served in one of the space’s rooms. “The idea is that when you arrange the dinner, you also take possession of the gallery,” says Orlandi. “I come in, give a welcome, have an aperitivo and then leave the gallery to them. The guests take over, almost as if it was their own home.”

For Orlandi, what’s most important is the hospitality Italy is renowned for and her attention to detail in every aspect of it. Her new business is not just a restaurant; it is a big part of who Orlandi truly is — elegant, sophisticated, welcoming and even a little ironic.