Il Desco

Il Desco Review

Cucina dell'anima—food of the soul—is how Chef Elia Rizzo describes his cuisine. True to Italian culinary traditions, he preserves natural flavors through quick cooking and selective ingredients, but tradition gives way to invention, even daring, in the combination of ingredients in dishes such as duck breast with grappa, grapes, and eggplant puree, or beef cheeks with goose liver and caramelized pears. Some find his creative combinations, such as adding truffles to a fish filet, difficult to understand. For a spendy gastronomic adventure, there's a multi-course tasting menu (€135, exclusive of wine). The interior is elegant, if overdone, with tapestries, paintings, and an impressive 16th-century lacunar ceiling. Service, while efficient, is not exactly friendly.