Pianeta Terra

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Creative Cooking, Italian Soul

When Fabio Antonini, Raul Mini, and Laura Martini opened Pianeta Terra in 2000, they made a deliberate choice: to work exclusively with organic, natural, and sustainable produce. More than two decades on, that founding commitment still shapes every plate that leaves the kitchen on Beulingstraat. The Gambero Rosso guide recognised the restaurant with its 3 Forks distinction, a mark of consistent excellence that reflects what regulars have known for years.

The Kitchen and the People Behind It

Chef Fabio Antonini describes his approach with disarming directness: "My cuisine is based on intuition, on the sensitivity and ability to feel the raw product. With the contribution of modern techniques I aim to express a flavour, never to conceive it." He is also an Ambassador of the Slow Food Alliance network of Chefs, an international body dedicated to protecting food biodiversity — a role that is not ceremonial but woven into daily kitchen practice.

Alongside Fabio, manager Raul Mini keeps the room running with warmth, while sommelier Laura Martini curates a wine list that leans toward natural and small-producer bottles. The restaurant's collaboration with Rocco di Carpeneto — a Piedmontese estate working exclusively with native varieties such as cortese, barbera, and nebbiolo, farmed according to 'do nothing' principles — is one example of how deeply the team thinks about what ends up in a glass.

The Menu as a Story

The menu at Pianeta Terra changes daily, shaped by what small local producers and Slow Food Presidia suppliers bring in. Dishes draw on the Ark of Taste — an international catalogue of rare and endangered heritage ingredients — and combine them with the global flavours Fabio has gathered through years of travel. Guests who have ordered the multi-course experience describe spaghetti alla chitarra con vongole as "a masterpiece" and slow-cooked pork's neck as "so soft and tasty"; two-colour tortelli filled with cavolo nero and ricotta, folded in the Emilia-Romagna tradition, has also become a signature demonstration of the kitchen's craft.

The Italian creative cooking here is neither rigidly classical nor restlessly experimental — it sits in the honest space between tradition and invention, harmonious and particular at the same time. Diners consistently note that the atmosphere feels less like a restaurant and more like being welcomed into someone's home, which is precisely what Fabio, Raul, and Laura intend.