The renaissance of lunchtime

In recent years, even in Italy, the gastronomic world has witnessed a growing rediscovery of breakfast, with particular attention to the typical offerings of Scandinavian cuisine. This phenomenon—stemming from the broader rise of Nordic gastronomy—has led to the opening of numerous specialized establishments, especially in major cities like Loste Café in Milan, Allegra in Bologna, or Forno Conti and Marigold in Rome, among others. However, this fascination has not extended with the same intensity to lunchtime—except for a few rare exceptions, such as the Ecooking Campus Restaurant in Milan, described by Gambero Rosso as a “non-canteen canteen”. Yet, as chef Enrico Crippa said a few years ago, “lunch is magical”. Speaking to Rivista Studio, when asked “After three Michelin stars, what are you still missing?” he replied: “My dream would be to have a restaurant open only for lunch.” “If you come to me from Milan”—explains Crippa, head of the Piazza Duomo restaurant in Alba—“you have to drive two hours, you’re tired, then you think you have to go back, maybe drink one less bottle, and it’s dark, the light isn’t natural. At lunch, there’s daylight, the colors are different. Lunch forces you to take a day off to come: you come with a different mindset, and your whole day revolves around that meal. You eat, finish, stroll, and reflect on what you’ve eaten.”

Recently, a place has opened in Milan that seems to have embraced this approach, generating great expectations. This is Sandì, the new bistro by talented chef Laura Santosuosso and restaurateur Danny Mollica. “Our biggest challenge will be opening only for lunch, except on Fridays, when we will also offer dinner service,” Santosuosso explained to CiboToday. “We want to focus on lunch, which we believe is a somewhat overlooked part of the day. We’ve elevated breakfast, while lunch, especially on weekdays, has limited options,” the chef elaborated.

As Santosuosso herself told nss magazine, Milan’s gastronomic scene today is vast and lively, and the wine bar with kitchen format is increasingly popular. “We, on the other hand, had in mind a slightly ‘old school’ restaurant, with tablecloths, no double shifts, and no push for shared dishes: a bistro where you can sit comfortably and carve out a moment of leisure. Lunch seemed like the best setting—while dinner has become very dynamic—for relaxing and enjoying cuisine, even on weekdays,” she explained. On one hand, the “not easy and countercurrent” choice to focus on lunch is a “strategic” decision, Santosuosso says: “In the city, the idea of having a quick sandwich or packed lunch at the office is extremely common at lunch, while restaurants are always full in the evening. But we are not in a hurry, and we think that lunch will have its revolution too.” On the other hand, this decision ties into the broader issue of ethical sustainability in fine dining: “My partner and I are also a family with a small child, many years of activity ahead of us, and staff looking for a better balance between work and leisure. After several exhausting double shifts and lost sleep, we wanted to avoid burning all our energy in a short time by committing to building healthy work rhythms that allow us to be with our child, recharge, and do other things beyond running a restaurant. Is it really necessary for this profession—which no one wants to do anymore—to require 12–15 hours of work a day?”

The à la carte offerings at Sandì are instead designed “for those who want to take their time”: “We think opening during the day will attract an ‘adult’ audience, sometimes even a mature one; it will be very interesting to understand their tastes and encourage them to try new things, in a context slightly different from classic trattorias.” The current à la carte menu at Sandì includes dishes like the “Loin cordon bleu served with mashed potatoes and jus” (already considered iconic by some), “Green pepper cauliflower,” and “Cuttlefish sausage with pork shoulder, served with black sauce marinara,” among others. This culinary approach seems to reflect what Santosuosso herself described years ago to Gambero Rosso when talking about the future of gastronomy, which perhaps finds its best expression at lunch: “A cuisine that is increasingly less self-referential and particularly focused on people’s ‘well-being,’ whether they are customers enjoying it or employees making it.”