Dining at Osteria Francescana has been a dream of mine for nearly a decade, and two weeks ago, during mine and my girlfriend’s first trip to Italy, we made that dream a reality.
Naturally I had very high expectations tempered by some mixed opinions over the quality of recent tasting menus and stiff service that I’ve read about on this subreddit and elsewhere. Fortunately, I’m happy to say we both had an outstanding experience. We’d both love to go again for our next trip to Italy, whenever that might be.
We went for lunch and opted for the tasting menu and wine pairing. We also added the famous Five Ages of Parmigiano. We loved the concept of the tasting menu: reinterpreting classic and iconic dishes through the lens of Osteria Francescana’s near 30-year history. If we couldn’t get the famous dishes at Casa Maria, this was certainly the next best thing.
I can provide more detailed feedback if commenters are interested, but at a high level we enjoyed each and every dish provided. While we certainly enjoyed certain dishes more than others, each dish resonated with us, and the story and how they reinterpreted dishes were very interesting.
Highlights for us included Mediterranean Camouflage and Trout in Black. Loved the pairing on the latter, a funky Trebbiano. The Tortellini or Dumplings? was outstanding, my girlfriend said she nearly cried at how delicious it was and how it reminded her of childhood. The La Vie en Rose was probably the most visually appealing dish and also one of my favorites. Veal was cooked perfectly and the sauce that comprised the “rose” was perfect. As stated previously, we also added the Five Ages of Parmigiano, which is available a la carte. While not the most visually pleasing compared to other dishes on the tasting menu, this was nevertheless one of the most delicious. Definitely recommend adding it if you can. The Consistencies of Milk and Herbs, a reinterpretation of Five Ages was probably one of the best desserts either of us ever had, followed closely by the Bread is Gold, a reinterpretation of the famous dish by the same name. Wonderful stories behind them too. It was also fun to try the Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart in miniature, as an amuse bouche. Going through the photos, I still have a pretty clear memory of how each dish tasted and their texture. One of the most memorable tasting menus to say the least.
Wine pairing were very well done, our favorites were the Picolit, the Trebbiano, and the Nebbiolo. One of the pairings was a mixed drink made gin, soda water and vanilla, which paired very nicely with the Caesar Salad as Pasta Dish. Surprised with how much I enjoyed the cocktail. However I was slightly disappointed with two aspects of the wine pairing. 1) There were 8 pairings to go with 12 dishes, so I wish there was a bit more diversity. That said, they did add more wine to the double paired dishes (we left feeling fairly tipsy), and we never felt rushed to drink. 2) There was only one red wine for the pairing, and I wish there was at least one more. The Sommelier was nevertheless really personable.
I’ve read and heard that the staff at Osteria Francescana is very stiff, antithetical to Massimo’s animated personality. I don’t really agree with that opinion. The service operation was mechanical, but the staff members themselves were very friendly and quite personable. The restaurant is quite small, and there were many members of the staff so it could be a bit overbearing at times, but overall I didn’t find it distracting.
As stated, the restaurant is very small. There are three dining rooms, one of which had two tables, another five, and the last, which was where we were, had three. This format demands intimate conversations, but I never felt uncomfortable talking to my girlfriend, or having to speak in a hushed tone. Each table was about 6-8 feet apart from one another.
At the end, they gave us an envelope to house the tasting menu and the concept outline. They also gave us a bottle of their proprietary balsamic vinegar.
The biggest disappointment was that Massimo Bottura himself wasn’t there. He had flown to Korea for some event/project. I did briefly run into him in NYC 2016, but it would have been the cherry on top to have taken a picture with him and to chat.
One final recommendation is that since you’re in Modena, check out La Consorteria 1966. The sell traditional balsamic vinegar in 100ml bottles, so you can bring on carry-on. They provide a tasting for 15 euro, in which you can sample several balsamics aged 12, 25 and 50+ years old, with some descriptions for each. If you end up buying a bottle, that money will go to the bottle instead, which is what we did.
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Dining at Osteria Francescana has been a dream of mine for nearly a decade, and two weeks ago, during mine and my girlfriend’s first trip to Italy, we made that dream a reality.
Naturally I had very high expectations tempered by some mixed opinions over the quality of recent tasting menus and stiff service that I’ve read about on this subreddit and elsewhere. Fortunately, I’m happy to say we both had an outstanding experience. We’d both love to go again for our next trip to Italy, whenever that might be.
We went for lunch and opted for the tasting menu and wine pairing. We also added the famous Five Ages of Parmigiano. We loved the concept of the tasting menu: reinterpreting classic and iconic dishes through the lens of Osteria Francescana’s near 30-year history. If we couldn’t get the famous dishes at Casa Maria, this was certainly the next best thing.
I can provide more detailed feedback if commenters are interested, but at a high level we enjoyed each and every dish provided. While we certainly enjoyed certain dishes more than others, each dish resonated with us, and the story and how they reinterpreted dishes were very interesting.
Highlights for us included Mediterranean Camouflage and Trout in Black. Loved the pairing on the latter, a funky Trebbiano. The Tortellini or Dumplings? was outstanding, my girlfriend said she nearly cried at how delicious it was and how it reminded her of childhood. The La Vie en Rose was probably the most visually appealing dish and also one of my favorites. Veal was cooked perfectly and the sauce that comprised the “rose” was perfect. As stated previously, we also added the Five Ages of Parmigiano, which is available a la carte. While not the most visually pleasing compared to other dishes on the tasting menu, this was nevertheless one of the most delicious. Definitely recommend adding it if you can. The Consistencies of Milk and Herbs, a reinterpretation of Five Ages was probably one of the best desserts either of us ever had, followed closely by the Bread is Gold, a reinterpretation of the famous dish by the same name. Wonderful stories behind them too. It was also fun to try the Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart in miniature, as an amuse bouche. Going through the photos, I still have a pretty clear memory of how each dish tasted and their texture. One of the most memorable tasting menus to say the least.
Wine pairing were very well done, our favorites were the Picolit, the Trebbiano, and the Nebbiolo. One of the pairings was a mixed drink made gin, soda water and vanilla, which paired very nicely with the Caesar Salad as Pasta Dish. Surprised with how much I enjoyed the cocktail. However I was slightly disappointed with two aspects of the wine pairing. 1) There were 8 pairings to go with 12 dishes, so I wish there was a bit more diversity. That said, they did add more wine to the double paired dishes (we left feeling fairly tipsy), and we never felt rushed to drink. 2) There was only one red wine for the pairing, and I wish there was at least one more. The Sommelier was nevertheless really personable.
I’ve read and heard that the staff at Osteria Francescana is very stiff, antithetical to Massimo’s animated personality. I don’t really agree with that opinion. The service operation was mechanical, but the staff members themselves were very friendly and quite personable. The restaurant is quite small, and there were many members of the staff so it could be a bit overbearing at times, but overall I didn’t find it distracting.
As stated, the restaurant is very small. There are three dining rooms, one of which had two tables, another five, and the last, which was where we were, had three. This format demands intimate conversations, but I never felt uncomfortable talking to my girlfriend, or having to speak in a hushed tone. Each table was about 6-8 feet apart from one another.
At the end, they gave us an envelope to house the tasting menu and the concept outline. They also gave us a bottle of their proprietary balsamic vinegar.
The biggest disappointment was that Massimo Bottura himself wasn’t there. He had flown to Korea for some event/project. I did briefly run into him in NYC 2016, but it would have been the cherry on top to have taken a picture with him and to chat.
One final recommendation is that since you’re in Modena, check out La Consorteria 1966. The sell traditional balsamic vinegar in 100ml bottles, so you can bring on carry-on. They provide a tasting for 15 euro, in which you can sample several balsamics aged 12, 25 and 50+ years old, with some descriptions for each. If you end up buying a bottle, that money will go to the bottle instead, which is what we did.