Faak as it's said, not as it's written. And with an exclamation point. The payoff of the new concept signed by Viviana Varese, Food and wine with a natural rebellion, clarifies things for those who still had doubts about the upright posture and temperament of the former chef of the restaurant in Eataly Smeraldo, VIVA, who has never been one to mince words. Her newborn project in the city is a multifunctional place where the Campanian chef challenges herself again with leavening - her original passion - freely and free from the schemes that her star status attributes to her (as declared by herself on MilanoToday). Faak is indeed a bakery, café, pastry shop, pizzeria, grill, and retail store, with a significant focus on natural wine and a partially contrarian approach to the current trend of investing in monothematic formats. "We are an inclusive lodge, a hermitage in the center of Milan, the stronghold of breakfast. We always work, but if you're here, we work better," reads the opening post on the Facebook page.
The venue and the proposal
Faak is located in a developing metropolitan area like Scalo Farini, a strategic choice also given the proximity to Isola, on the contrary one of the trendiest neighborhoods under the Madonnina. It has about forty covers that increase in the outdoor area and the design, curated by B-arch Studio by Sabrina Bignami and Alessandro Capellaro, is based on dark tones, simple materials (iron, black wood, and ceramics), and clean lines, with no solution of continuity between the different areas that animate it.
It will be open from morning to evening - in this it is consistent with the trend, not only in Milan - and will offer breakfasts, lunches, dinners, aperitifs, and snacks at affordable prices (starting from 7 euros for a Margherita pizza). So croissants, cakes, pastries, and leavened products, breads with selected flours, sandwiches, toast, focaccias, and oven menus, a refined selection of cheeses, cold cuts, meats, and vegetables. To reach the evening, which is dedicated to wine (in a personal and ever-evolving selection), grilling (meat and vegetables), and pizza. There is also a visible laboratory for the production and sale of own-brand products, including jams, spreads, and juices.
Viviana Varese's world
Faak is the latest addition to a series of projects over the years that have shown the acumen and entrepreneurial spirit of Viviana Varese (more than just a starred chef), now at the helm of a group of venues ranging from fine dining to contemporary trattoria, not only in Milan. Last year there was Polpo, a contemporary fish tavern founded with Ritu Dalmia (chef and owner of Cittamani in the Moscova area), then, after the news of VIVA's departure, the new adventure in the kitchens of Passalacqua on Lake Como, in Moltrasio to be exact, decreed in 2023 the best hotel in the world by the 50 Best ranking. And even before that, in Sicily, the W Villadorata Country Restaurant opened in 2021 inside a boutique hotel in the greenery of vineyards and fruit trees all focused on sustainability, where professionals who cut their teeth alongside Varese operate, plus the VIVA Bistrot in the center of Noto. And it's not certain that Viviana won't decide to sow even further afield soon.
Faak - Milano - via Arnaldo da Brescia 5 - 02 38323510 - faakfaak.it
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