GUCCI OSTERIA FIRENZE — Florence, Once Again

A return with the scent of a debut

There are cities one does not simply visit — one returns to them. As if they were inscribed within us, waiting to be rediscovered. Florence is one such city: a second skin. A place where time dissolves, the light takes on a golden density, and memory insists on repeating the same rituals, something visceral, almost sacred.

 

Wandering along the banks of the Arno, getting lost in alleyways of stone polished by centuries of life and bustle, breathing in the magic and history that still lingers in the air. But more than the city’s immutable beauty, it’s the gestures we repeat — almost unconsciously — that bind us. Among these gestures, one has become inevitable: sitting at the table of Gucci Osteria. A ritual that marks arrivals celebrates returns and always anticipates something memorable.

We’ve written about this place before. Twice, in fact. But there are homes where every visit is a new discovery — and this is one of them. Karime López and Takahiko Kondo have truly made this stage their own. A restaurant that no longer lives in Bottura’s shadow but in its own light — a complicity that goes beyond the marriage that binds them. A constant boil of creative restlessness, madness, and rigour. Modern poetry served at the table.

The Ritual of Arrival

We arrived with a delayed flight, but our hearts were full of anticipation. Passing through the discreet door that opens onto the Piazza della Signoria, we embraced all things Gucci and naturally surrendered to a classic cocktail, prepared with the precision of Giardino 25 (no visit to Florence is complete without a stop there), as the experience begins with a new take on the house’s “breakfast.” A fake coffee (more refined than ever), cannoli with white truffle, focaccia that melts to the touch, grissini that creates dependency, and gougères al Pomodoro.

Like Alice in Wonderland, where nothing is quite as it seems — but everything makes sense. A beginning dressed in calculated irony and absolute precision. To toast, an elegant Pierre Péters Cuvée de Réserve — salinity, freshness, and elegance in a single sip.

Provocations in Harmony

An exuberant dish follows, as bold as its name: Oyster Rockefeller served in a sculpture-like tempura atop horse meat tartare and a spinach sauce. Pure provocation, perfect balance. The rusticity of the tartare is softened by vegetal creaminess. Alongside it, the Sanice Vernaccia di San Gimignano from Cesani refreshes and stretches the dish with nerve and controlled bitterness.

Next comes the “Tostada in Bellavista”, where Karime returns to her Mexican roots, featuring purple corn, salmon, and sikil pak — an ancestral sauce made from pumpkin seeds, coriander, and spices. The dish appears as a ritual, a tribute to the Día de los Muertos. The smoky notes of the salmon, the freshness of the vegetables, the saline unctuousness of the roe, and the crunch of the tostada all work together in unexpected harmony.

But I must confess: memory still clings to that first tostada — the one that made us discover Karime and Mexico at the table of this very house. The wine? An exclusive Brocard Pierre L’Égarée bottled only for the restaurant — it accompanied the dish with enveloping depth.

Then comes the emotional high point of the afternoon: “Yellow is Bellow”. A crispy pasta filled with Chianina tartare, tuna, and caviar. Aromatised tableside with perfume and accompanied by the question: “What does happiness mean to you?”

The scientific explanation arrives lightly: serotonin and dopamine, stimulated by ingredients, aromas, and the act of eating with one’s hands. The answer reaches the body before the mind. The pairing here is a citrus and tea cocktail, underlining the ephemeral and perfumed side of the composition.

With the Belondrade Quinta Apolonia now taking its place on the table, a trio of starters with the soul of a finale arrives: warm bread, nearly untouchable butter, and olive oil of pure elegance.

Then, Carciofi! — a dish dedicated to artichokes in multiple textures, temperatures, and tones. The fat of the lardo and the acidity of the gremolata create richness, complexity, and surprise. Vegetable-based, yet authoritative.

Kamo — The Duck Opera

Three acts, one single narrative. A tribute to Japanese cuisine and the ritualistic aesthetic of Hachigou:

Act I: Thinly sliced duck breast with yuzukosho, miso, shiso, and a dense sauce made from the carcasses. A deep dive into umami. Harmonized with Tuscan elegance by Il Poggio Montanto Gran Selezione 2019.

Act II: A rich meatball of duck, pork, and liver with cured yolk, apricot purée, and white truffle from San Miniato. The most opulent and indulgent dish of the night. To cut through the unctuousness, a bold choice: Dead Elvis Brùton craft beer — bitter, earthy, irreverent.

Act III: The ramen. Semolina noodles in a vibrantly fragrant broth — intense and clear — with a fresh touch of gremolata. A broth that is both a daily comfort dish and fine dining. Paired with the orange wine Paraschos Kal Collio Goriziano Riserva 2021 — not quite my beloved Gravner, but it brought body and spice to the conversation.

Sweetness with Identity

Che Fico! fulfills the promise of any well-designed dessert: lightness, acidity, and freshness. Fig in compote, ice cream, fig leaf oil, and kombucha granita. Paired with an elegant Akashi-Tai Junmai Ginko sparkling sake — floral and lightly fruity. An exotic yet precise match.

The Montblanc, in its Olaf version, closes with smiles all around. The usual ingredients are combined with vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and cassis sauce. All there, all just right.

And in the glass? We finished with Montelvini Luna Storta: a classic passito, whose style the Italians describe as “vino da conversazione” — and who are we to disagree?

And since there was a sweet wine, the traditional Tuscan cantucci could not be absent; here, presented by Karime herself, in various flavour combinations. Florence’s answer to the Parisian dominance of macarons. Wonderful.

The pairing, like the menu, knows no bounds. The Grand Tour is more than a name — it is a philosophy. And the wines follow it freely: Italy, France, Japan, Mexico, Spain. No borders, no dogmas. A bold curatorship, rare in such a conservative wine-producing country.

The service is comprised of gestures that extend beyond rehearsal: memory, attentiveness, and presence. Raymond, already a familiar face, once again guided the wines with sobriety and assurance. This time, we also met Marcelina, whose Portuguese voice and complicit smile accompanied us with each course — not as someone who serves, but as someone who invites and shares in our delight. Here, no one speaks to impress — they talk to share. They don’t describe; they narrate. And in a restaurant of this nature, that is worth more than the star it proudly bears.

Final Considerations

Some restaurants grow with time. Others, with the right cooks. Gucci Osteria has taken both journeys — and with that, has stopped being a mere extension of a gastronomic empire to assert itself as a destination with soul and its own name — irreverent, emotional, deeply authorial. In gastronomy, just as Gucci has managed to do with fashion over the years.

Karime and Taka are more than a couple in the kitchen. They are authors of a universe and a narrative of their own. A universe of gestures and flavours, where technique is the foundation and emotion draws the ending. Where humour is served with precision, and hospitality has a face, a gesture, and a voice.

Gucci Osteria is no longer just a restaurant to visit. It is a home to inhabit, a ritual to repeat, a place to return to in search of — always — a new form of happiness.

Returning to Florence without stopping here would be unthinkable. Because there are places that welcome us as if they were our own. And this is, without a doubt, one of them.