After a decade (and two Michelin stars) as executive chef at Park Hyatt’s Vun, Aprea launched his first solo project at Fondazione Luigi Rovati, the new cultural address in town.
Such a location inspired Aprea to launch not only a gourmet restaurant on the top floor but also an informal café-bistrot overlooking an internal courtyard on the ground floor.“I used to be a chef. Now I’m a chef, a waiter, a manager, an entrepreneur — everything,” jokes the affable Neapolitan chef while serving a glass of water. Around him, his staff was quietly making preparations for the dinner service.
Main ingredient: the right location, which “came out of the blue” but was a decisive factor in convincing Aprea that it was time to go solo. Leo Torri/Courtesy of Andrea Aprea Both the restaurant and bistrot were designed by the Flaviano Capriotti Architetti studio, which focused on textures rather than embellishments.
Both locations feature artworks hailing from the foundation’s collection and nodding to Aprea’s Neapolitan roots and Mediterranean culture, including pieces by Thomas Ruff, Giulio Paolini, William Kentridge and Mimmo Jodice, whose poignant “Amazzone Ferita” welcomes guests headed to the restaurant.
While the bistrot has a more approachable menu with options including spaghetti with tomato, lemon and basil or “Vitello tonnato,” veal with tuna sauce, the restaurant offers three tasting menus. Dubbed “Contemporaneità,” “Partenope” and “Signature,” these include five, six and eight courses, respectively. Prices range from 155 euros to 195 euros, or 245 euros to 325 euros if including wine pairings selected by the sommelier, who has more than 650 labels in the cellar to choose from.
Born in 1977 from parents who ran a restaurant-pizzeria, Aprea started to travel around the world at a young age. “I’ve always been passionate about it, I wanted to see new things and couldn’t settle to remain there — also because Naples in the ‘90s wasn’t a city offering much,” says the chef.and Malaysia, before returning to his hometown at age 30 to become executive chef at the luxury Romeo Hotel. He moved to Milan and covered the same role at Park Hyatt’s Vun in 2011.
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