As the city of Milan swells year by year, so too does its increasingly cosmopolitan restaurant scene, with Japanese restaurants — from homespun cafes, to buzzy noodle bars and high-end sushi — leading the pack both in number and quality. The indisputable champion among them? Michelin-starred Iyo, which has been so successful, its creator Claudio Liu, has opened a second outpost in Porta Nuova, the city's budding business centre.
Local architect Maurizio Lai has conceived a no-expensed-spared interior. Together with Poliform Contract, furniture and fittings are custom-made from a sleek palette of Canaletto walnut, Grigioverde Porphyry stone and brass. Cut roughly, the grey-green stone adds a grainy texture to the walls, which are punctuated with vertical slits to soften the stone’s intensity and introduce light. Lai then devised a monumental installation comprised of staggered layers of smoked, backlit glass to mark the entranceway, a motif that is carried through to the dining room in the form of a suspended grid of similarly illuminated panes. 'We used natural materials throughout to imbue the space with a welcoming, home-like feeling,' Lai explains of the concept, which occupies the ground floor of a newly-constructed skyscraper.
Organised into two separate rooms, guests can choose between an eight-seater sushi counter or the 38-cover dining room, which serves an eclectic menu of Japanese bistro fare punched-up with European influences and ingredients. Offerings include dishes like seared tuna with wasabi and pak choi; eel, foie gras and kumquat; and Iberian pork with shallots and chingensai. This, along with a 1600-bottle wall-mounted wine cellar, designed to appease the strict Michelin standards, we suspect the stars will again be falling on Milan sometime soon.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Piazza Alvar Aalto, 20124 Milano MI
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressingPart of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationshipAnnouncing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
-
Through an innovative new training program, Poltrona Frau aims to safeguard Italian craftThe heritage furniture manufacturer is training a new generation of leather artisans
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in springDreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
-
Everything you need to know about Italy's Lake Maggiore, according to FormafantasmaFrom baroque gardens to panoramic views, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin show us around this Italian escape
-
A new book captures the kitschy allure of Japanese ‘love hotels’For his latest project, French photographer François Prost documents the whimsical façades that characterise these erotic roadside venues.
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Romeo Roma: a new hotel that’s one of Zaha Hadid’s last projectsLocated within Rome’s Tridente, Romeo Roma is a palimpsest of periods in which the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid left her avant-garde mark
-
Five influential women hoteliers reflect on the changing face of hospitalityAs women continue to gain ground in the hotel sector, despite still being underrepresented in senior positions, five female moguls share their experiences of the past and projections for the future
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
The best Milan bars for a fashionable aperitivoMilan’s after-dark renaissance is evident in a new wave of design-led cocktail bars, setting the right mood for enticing aperitivos and nightcaps; Milan editor Laura May Todd recommends the best
-
All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeysStay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
