Mosconi (restaurant)

Mosconi is an Italian restaurant located at 13 rue Munster in the Grund district of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, overlooking the Alzette River. Headed by chef Illario Mosconi, formerly from Lombardy, Italy, it is one of the Relais & Châteaux series of hotels and gourmet restaurants from around the world.[1] The menu is an eight-course set menu of pasta dishes prepared with most of the ingredients imported from Italy.[1] Mosconi became the first Italian restaurant to receive a Michelin star in Benelux.[2] For a time, it had two Michelin stars but reverted to just one again in the guide for 2014.[3][4]

Mosconi, the whitewashed building, in Luxembourg's Grund

Background

Born in Ponte di Legno near Brescia, and now in his mid-50s, Mosconi moved to Luxembourg with his parents when he was 13. His first experience in the restaurant business was as a waiter in Esch-sur-Alzette. When he opened his first restaurant, the Domus, also in Esch, he and his wife Simonetta worked in the dining room, not in the kitchen. But when almost 30, he realized his ambition of creating dishes of his own. He decided to take courses and work as a trainee with Gualtiero Marchesi at the Via Bonvesin de la Riva restaurant in Milan. There, he learned the art of cooking and the importance of selecting the very best produce available, leading him to import 90 per cent of his ingredients from Italy. This led to a Michelin star for the Domus in 1997, then to a first star at Mosconi in 2000, followed by a second in 2005.[5] The restaurant is located near an old stone bridge. It offers a south-facing sitting terrace with a view of the Alzette.[6]

Reception

The restaurant is highly acclaimed internationally and has a Michelin star in the "Bib Gourmand" category for 2014.[4][7] Illario Mosconi was one of the first chefs to gain the distinction for an Italian restaurant outside of Italy.[8] Michelin describes the food as "Italian cuisine full of panache, a firework of flavors!".[9] Fodor's stated that it was "arguably the best in the Grand Duchy", with "delightful creations prepared by head chef Ilario Mosconi [which] are not just the best Italian dishes you will taste in Luxembourg, they are among the finest you will encounter anywhere outside Italy."[10] Tim Skelton of Bradt Travel Guides says Illario "has an exquisite lightness of touch, meaning you can savour multiple courses without feeling stuffed," and he also notes that the tuna ice cream specialty is more palatable than it sounds.[8] Simonetta Mosconi, Illario’s wife, attends to the management of the restaurant. Beef from Tuscany, veal from the Piedmont, tomatoes from Sicily, and white truffles from Alba, combined with basil and ricotta, make the pasta dishes a unique experience.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Restaurant Mosconi". Relais & Châteaux. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  2. Masters, Tom (1 October 2009). Europe on a Shoestring. Lonely Planet. pp. 757–. ISBN 978-1-74104-855-1. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  3. "Luxembourg: posh restaurants and free clubbing in the party city". The Guardian. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  4. "Le Luxembourg n'a plus de restaurant 2 étoiles". L'Essentiel. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  5. Lucy Gordan, "Ilario Mosconi", Epicurian Traveler. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  6. Robinson, David (30 April 2004). An Expat's Life, Luxembourg & the White Rose: Part of an Englishman Living Abroad Series. iUniverse. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-0-595-31485-0. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  7. "Guide Michelin: Zwei neue "Bib Gourmand"-Restaurants in Luxemburg", Luxemburger Wort, 19 November 2012. (in German) Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  8. Skelton, Tim (16 September 2008). Luxembourg. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-84162-257-6. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  9. "Mosconi" (in French). Michelin Guide. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  10. "Luxembourg City Restaurants". Fodor's. Retrieved 15 January 2013.

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