Adagio

The story

Adagio Restaurant in Calamandrana | Seasonal Italian Cooking & Modern Techniques

The Chef and the Kitchen

The restaurant Adagio in Calamandrana anchors its seasonal Italian cooking in a late eighteenth-century farmhouse. Mario Maniscalco leads the kitchen after returning from London to take the head chef position in early 2022. His menus prioritize local supply chains, with flour delivered from a mill less than five hundred meters away. This precise sourcing supports a style that honors slow food principles while applying modern technical precision, a methodology that recently earned a Due Forchette from Gambero Rosso and a Faccino Radioso designation.

Dishes and Ingredients

Abandoning standard course orders, the Riflessi nella Materia tasting menu showcases the breadth of Piedmontese cuisine by centering each plate around a single featured ingredient. Five distinct bread pairings accompany half the dishes, utilizing a century-old mother yeast alongside contemporary fermentation methods. Guests encounter textured preparations like gyoza filled with Rosso di Mazara tuna and black bisque. Other plates highlight the fifth quarter through carefully cooked animella and milza, while a risotto built on Riso Gigante di Vercelli pairs sweet peas with frog legs braised in a light coriander broth.

Room and Atmosphere

Stone walls frame the dining room, allowing the regional Italian cooking program to unfold with understated elegance. An adjacent Sky Garden extends the seating area into an outdoor space available throughout the year. Six guests gather at the dedicated Chef’s Table to watch twelve express courses arrive raw before being plated directly at the table, a setup that Forbes recognized when listing the venue among Europe's most innovative restaurants. A curated wine cellar supports the meals with regional reds and sparkling selections chosen specifically for each flight.