A restaurant-shop that tells the story of Campania without too many virtuosities, proposing simple dishes that nod to traditional specialties, with contemporary twists. Eccellenze Campane, in Via Cusani 1 (corner of via Broletto) is 800 square meters completely dedicated to Neapolitan cuisine. Already present in Naples, Rome and London, President Paolo Squires states that they aim to broaden the concept of “point of sale” by creating a real gathering place where you can taste classic, certified and selected products from the Campania region.
Eccellenze Campane is therefore seen as a cluster of small businesses operating in various sectors of food and wine. Its purpose is to promote and enhance agro-food excellence and the best productions of the Region in a single structure. Doing so from the perspective of the “short supply chain”, directly from the producer to the consumer without intermediate steps. The label “made in Campania” is enriched with high quality ingredients, allowing you to discover all this cuisine has to offer.
Developed on two floors, dominated by shades of blue, the design team (Studio Storage n.d.r) was extremely accurate in every detail of the interior decor. At Eccellenze Campane, however, there is not only “shopping” at the counter, the concept includes a dairy, fry and coffee shop on the lower floor. Although, the main attraction on the ground floor is undoubtedly the sea water pizza; long leavening dough that does not alter the authentic taste of the raw ingredients but promises greater digestibility. Upstairs, the “Trattoria Cetara” is where chefs revisit traditional dishes, while remaining firmly anchored to an idea of simple and “pleasant” cuisine.
Personally, I recommend the tomato pacchero – simple but really good – and the homemade noodles with seafood. Moving along, the desserts are spectacular. I have not yet found a Pastiera and a Sfogliatella riccia in Milan so delicious. As far as service goes, the young staff is very attentive and prepared.
Entering out of curiosity, I found that Excellence Campane is a brand that makes eating well its focus. Thanks to its culinary offer that combines land, fish and bakery products, its landscape is varied – just like the Milanese.