LANGOSTERIA: THE ITALIAN BEAT FOR FINE DINING
Imet Enrico Buonocore a few years ago. I was already the editor of Verve magazine when Krug, the champagne Maison, one of the brands in the Moet Hennessy group, had organized a dinner for the press in a new restaurant in Via Savona with a very exciting name that tasted like the sea.
Enrico Buonocore CEO and founder, an intense portrait.
Enrico Buonocore was born in Milan in 1976, to parents who came from the Amalfi coast. It was a working-class family, but Enrico had bigger dreams. “I am very pleased to kick off this project, as it was here in this city that I began to dream of the first Langosteria. It’s a fascinating challenge, which we face with dedication.”
There I met the patron. We were both Krug ambassadors of the champagne brand.
He was the young owner of a club, but already showed the qualities of the internationally successful entrepreneur he would become in the years to follow.
It all began back in March 2007, when Enrico Buonocore opened his first restaurant in Via Savona, an area which had not yet become the fashion and design attraction it is today. The concept was clear from the start: an all-seafood menu featuring traditional dishes alongside more innovative creations, as well as an ample selection of raw fish, oysters and shellfish. In no time, Langosteria became a luring spot for knowledgeable Milanese foodies, standing out for the top quality as well as the freshness of its ingredients. But the kitchen is not the restaurant’s only forte: professional dining room personnel provide clients with a unique experience, combining an intimate setting with a lively, uptempo atmosphere.
2012 marked the opening of Langosteria Bistrot, in via Privata Bobbio, a stone’s throw from the original Langosteria, with which it shared its gastronomic essence, but in a more convivial atmosphere, and offering both lunch and dinner. In March 2016, a third venue was added, Langosteria Café, this time in the heart of the city, featuring a more international ambience. It was dynamic and elegant, as befits a more diverse clientele.
At the end of May 2017, the curtain went up on a new scenario with Langosteria Paraggi, a terrace looking out on the lovely bay between Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino.
Langosteria brought its signature Milanese style and flair to the seaside, in the atmosphere of the Bagni Fiore, which have perfectly epitomized Italian luxury beach establishments since 1927, with the same quality that had made its reputation. Four years later, the Group purchased Bagni Fiore, and was thus able to offer its clientele a complete experience. The management of the beach was entrusted to the Splendido Hotel.
To the extent of international development, in the second half of 2018, Archive – a wholly owned subsidiary of Ruffini Partecipazioni Holding – acquired 40% of the company’s shares. The new organization and the founder, Enrico Buonocore, firmly in charge as majority partner, were crucial for the growth of the brand, which envisions a gradual succession of openings abroad under its direct control.
In 2020, two new projects saw the light: “Langosteria a Casa” and “Langosteria Chef a Casa”, bringing the brand experience directly into the homes of clients.
The year 2021, instead, attested the achievement of a new and important milestone for the Group: Langosteria is opening a new restaurant in Paris, in collaboration with Cheval Blanc Paris. Looking out on the Seine from its seventh floor perch, the restaurant offers a breathtaking view of the city. This is the first step in a process that will position the brand in strategic locations around the world.
LANGOSTERIA
Langosteria Cucina was established in late December 2021 at Via Savona 10. That is where it all began. Based on Enrico Buonocore’s concept, it is designed to welcome guests by offering them a unique gastronomic journey from the restaurant’s signature menu, created by Chef Denis Pedron, every night. The experience is all centered around the notion of sharing, and alternates Langosteria’s time-honored dishes with ever-new concoctions. The interiors bear the hallmark style of Dimorestudio – an intimate and discrete setting, “homely” yet refined. An ambiance inspired by the designs of the 1970s, with Japanese influences. A place to welcome guests and make them feel at home.
In January 2023 Langosteria announced the opening of its new restaurant in St Moritz, Switzerland. The Group’s first high-altitude location, adding a leisure destination in the mountains to the current offer, thus representing the second opening abroad and placing itself within the brand’s expansion path.
Langosteria offers Made-in-Italy fine dining, focused on excellence and combining tradition with a contemporary, international approach, featuring the best products from the four corners of the globe.
The menu is composed of a selection of signature dishes, shared by all the Group’s restaurants, which define Langosteria’s identity. In addition, a number of dishes vary from one location to another, but express the same gastronomic philosophy. A fundamental role is played by the daily specials, which make the menu more intriguing and appealing to frequent customers of the Group’s restaurants. A seafood-based gastronomic offering presenThe wine list is also carefully curated, including an ample selection of prominent labels as well as a number of surprisingly select bottles. The bar offers both original cocktails and the well-known classics, served from cocktail hour to after dinner, along with an assortment of bite-sized treats. Langosteria puts people first, from the clients to the staff.
with scampi sauce
Tomato soup and clams
Scampi tartare with foie gras and Sauternes reduction
I have always thought that great dreamers put their raison d’être in their dreams and that some of them also possessed the necessary tools to make it possible.
Enrico is a man who built his dream a day at a time with passion, creativity, commitment, perseverance. The result is one of great depth not only because he managed to attain his goals but due to his success which pushes him to go beyond his dream. The beauty of such a goal is the challenge to improve, not only to replicate what has been created, and to bring happiness and fulfillment to all those participating in its creation: the team, the staff, and also the customers, who in essence are the ones who made all of it possible.
Culinary Ambassador
Wine Corporate Manager
