Da Vittorio

Da Vittorio The Family That Brought the Sea to Bergamo There are restaurants that become famous because of extraordinary chefs. And then there are restaurants whose entire history is inseparable from the family that created them. Da Vittorio is one of those places, and today, during our White Truffle Road Trip, we had the pleasure of experiencing what three generations of love, determination and extraordinary hospitality can create. My dear friend Bobo Cerea was unfortunately traveling to Baku, but before leaving, he sent me a beautiful voice message explaining how everything began. He also arranged for his sister Rossella to look after us personally and tell us the stories behind the dishes we were about to eat. And what a lunch his family prepared for us!

The Family That Changed Bergamo's Appetite In 1966, Bobo's parents opened a small seafood trattoria in Bergamo. It was a rather audacious idea. Bergamo is some 300 to 350 kilometers from the sea, and, as Bobo explained, people in those days weren't accustomed to eating saltwater fish. The beginning was difficult. His parents would wait for customers to come through the door, only to discover that many didn't even know how to approach the seafood they were serving. But Vittorio and his wife refused to give up. Their persistence eventually paid off. The restaurant received its first Michelin star around 1975–76, according to Bobo, and a second followed in 1996. In 2005, the family moved to La Cantalupa in Brusaporto, transforming a former club into the beautiful property that welcomes guests today.

The Cerea brothers, Chicco and Bobo. Today, Chicco and Bobo continue their father's culinary legacy, their brother Francesco oversees catering, and Rossella looks after hospitality. Each has a different role, but the family's philosophy remains deeply connected to the restaurant Vittorio created sixty years ago. And the sea is still at the heart of their cooking.

Rossella Cerea and Dudi, with a precious box of white truffles. When I asked Bobo to explain the dishes in his own voice for our What We Ate project, he suggested something even better. His sister Rossella would come to our table and tell us their stories while we were eating them. He was right. There is something particularly moving about hearing the history of a dish from someone who grew up with it, who remembers her parents preparing it and who understands what it means to the family. Rossella didn't simply describe ingredients. She connected the food in front of us to memories, family traditions and the changes that have taken place in the kitchen over the decades. And now, my friends, let's eat!

The menu prepared for our Hungry Tourists.

Our lunch began with an amuse-bouche before moving into the seafood courses that have defined Da Vittorio since its earliest days.

Astice, Sedano Rapa e Caviale | Lobster, Celeriac and Caviar

A dish introduced just last year, according to Rossella. Lobster tartare is served with celeriac cream, lemon foam and Amur Galuga caviar selected by the chefs. Rossella explained that this dish represents something fundamental about Da Vittorio. Although the family now cooks meat as well, seafood remains central to its identity because bringing fish from the sea to Bergamo was the original idea behind the restaurant. Sixty years later, that philosophy is still alive.

Spaghetto di Tonno | Tuna Spaghetti, Bagna Cauda, Pistachio and Lime

One of the restaurant's longstanding dishes, served for approximately fifteen years. The tuna is cut into thin strands resembling spaghetti and dressed with bagna cauda, the Piedmontese sauce traditionally made with anchovies, garlic and oil. Da Vittorio makes a lighter version so that the sauce doesn't overwhelm the fish, finishing the dish with pistachio crumble and a touch of lime. I love the idea of taking a traditional sauce from nearby Piedmont and using it to tell a completely different story about seafood.

Scampo alla Vittorio Style | Two Generations, One Scampo

This is a particularly beautiful example of how the family has preserved its father's ideas while allowing them to evolve. More than forty years ago, Vittorio received scampi from Sicily and prepared them almost like cotoletta alla milanese, coating them in egg and breadcrumbs before cooking them in a pan. Today, the kitchen breads only half the scampo, leaving the other half almost raw. It is served with carrot cream, mixed salad leaves and a beurre blanc sauce with pike roe. One ingredient, two treatments, and two generations of culinary thinking in the same dish.

King Crab Doughnut | King Crab with Sweet-and-Sour Gel

Another new addition to the menu, introduced this year. A golden fried doughnut is filled with king crab and accompanied by a sweet-and-sour gel and katsuobushi sauce. Unlike the scampo, which looks back to Vittorio's original cooking, this dish belongs to the kitchen's newest generation of ideas. It's a reminder that a restaurant with such a long history can continue developing without losing sight of where it began.

The Treasure Box.

Now we reach the reason for our annual White Truffle Road Trip. Rossella told us that her father also prepared this classic dish. The tagliolini are dressed with Parmigiano, roast jus and brown butter, creating a rich but relatively simple foundation for the white truffle.

The tagliolini before the white truffle.

And then comes the moment we've all been waiting for.

Tagliolini al Parmigiano e Tartufo Bianco.

Generous slices of white truffle cover the pasta, bringing their extraordinary aroma to the warm butter and cheese beneath. Some ingredients need very little help. This is one of them, and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful expression of the season.

Paccheri alla Vittorio.

If there is one dish that tells the story of Da Vittorio better than any other, it might be these paccheri. Rossella explained that the idea came to her father during a trip to America, where he tasted the famous fettuccine Alfredo. What fascinated him was not just the pasta, but the experience of finishing it at the table, directly in front of the guests. He decided to create his own version, using a sauce made with three tomatoes from southern Italy: San Marzano, red datterino and yellow ciliegino. The paccheri come from Pastificio Vicidomini in Salerno. They are tossed in the emulsified tomato sauce with young Parmigiano from the Gennari family, aged just twelve to sixteen months, and finished with basil grown in the restaurant's own hydroponic vertical farm.

The Paccheri alla Vittorio experience.

What began as Vittorio's interpretation of something he discovered in America has become one of the most recognizable dishes in the family's cooking. But perhaps my favorite part of the experience came when the pasta was finished and the sauce was still waiting in the pan.

There is only one respectable thing to do in that situation.

Take some bread.

And make absolutely certain that not a drop of that extraordinary tomato sauce goes to waste.

Now THAT is how you eat Paccheri alla Vittorio!

Orecchia d'Elefante | Two Ways to Eat an Enormous Veal Cutlet

And then came this enormous beauty! Rossella explained that the kitchen selects large racks of Piedmontese veal. Each cutlet is cut double-thick and opened like a book, creating the extraordinary size that gives the dish its name: orecchia d'elefante, or elephant's ear. The veal is breaded with egg and breadcrumbs and cooked in the family's traditional style. For our lunch, the kitchen prepared two versions on the same enormous platter. One half was finished with Fontina and white truffle, while the other remained classic, accompanied by cherry tomatoes and potatoes. Rossella explained that during the rest of the year, they also prepare a Valdostana version with ham and Fontina. A spectacular way to finish the savory part of our lunch, and a very generous expression of the Cerea family's cooking.

Pastry chef Daniele Compagnoni and executive chef Gibo Bergamelli.

After all that food, surely nobody could possibly have room for dessert. But this is Da Vittorio, and the family had other ideas.

Pre-Dessert | Uva Fragola, Red Corn, Saffron and Faber Wine

Our pre-dessert brought together uva fragola, a red variety of corn from the local valley, saffron crémeux and ice cream made with Faber, the wine produced from the family's own vineyard. The wine was described as a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. An unusual combination of fruit, grain, spice and wine, bringing us gently from the savory courses into the world of pastry.

Cannoncini | A Mother's Recipe, Fifty Years Later

This might be the most touching dessert story of the entire meal. Rossella remembers her mother making cannoncini when the children were little. She would wrap puff pastry around wooden sticks, brush it with water and sugar, and bake it until golden before filling it with pastry cream. Today, the family continues serving these little pastries, finished with chopped hazelnuts, just as they have for approximately fifty years. What I love about this is that the recipe has survived not because someone decided to reinvent it, but because the family never wanted to stop making it. Sometimes a small pastry can carry an entire childhood inside it.

The Petit-Four Ferris Wheel

And then came the amusement park! Da Vittorio's petit fours are presented on a miniature Ferris wheel, with cotton candy completing the scene. The pastry team described a selection including French-style vanilla flan, bacio di dama with milk-chocolate and pistachio cremino, coffee Opera cake, and hazelnut-and-chocolate torrone. The torrone is made in the family's pastry laboratory using its historic recipe, selected chocolate and Piedmontese hazelnuts. A wonderfully playful way to finish a very serious lunch.

Panettone | A Christmas Tradition

The family's panettone is made with sourdough starter, candied orange, raisins and citron. The pastry team described it as a classic Christmas preparation, made in their laboratory in Albano, where they also produce other leavened pastries throughout the year. I love that the family approaches these traditional preparations with the same care given to the elaborate dishes served in the restaurant.

The Sweet Shop

And just when you think the meal is finally over, there is Da Vittorio's extraordinary display of chocolates and sweets. Rows of glass jars filled with colorful confections, chocolates and little treats make the final moments feel like a visit to an old-fashioned sweet shop. After such a lunch, it seems only reasonable that the family should send us away with one last smile.

Our sommelier for the afternoon was Lorenzo Scapicchio, who explained each wine and why he had chosen it for the meal.

Lorenzo began with this Tuscan coastal white, chosen to accompany the seafood courses. He described a delicate, aromatic wine with freshness and an easy flow across the palate, but also depth, minerality and complexity. His intention was to begin with something that would complement the fish without overwhelming it, while still offering enough character for the different preparations.

Our second white came from Nicola Biasi in the Dolomites. Lorenzo explained the producer's interest in resistant grape varieties and the challenges of climate change. He described this wine as made from Johanniter, grown at approximately 1,000 meters above sea level. He emphasized its acidity, white-flower aromas, slightly exotic fruit, minerality and depth. A very different expression of Italian white wine from the Tuscan bottle that preceded it.

Lorenzo described this as an important historic Barolo, aged in large oak casks and produced from one of the estate's historic vineyards. He found aromas of red fruit tending toward jam, alongside dried flowers. On the palate, he emphasized the wine's taut character, integrated tannins, elegance and long finish. A beautiful transition into the richer part of our lunch.

Our final red came from Franchini in Veneto. Lorenzo described a blend of international and local varieties, including Merlot, Cabernet, Corvina and Rondinella. The grapes undergo a period of drying before fermentation, giving the wine additional body and volume. He spoke of dark fruit, dried flowers, gentle sweet spice and an enveloping character, balanced by what he considered beautiful elegance.

To finish our extraordinary lunch, sommelier Lorenzo Scapicchio selected a Sicilian Moscato Passito. Lorenzo described it as a very elegant, pleasurable dessert wine, with gentle sweetness developed through a long grape-drying process. He particularly appreciated its beautiful aromatic complexity and the lovely savory note on the finish. A fitting final glass to accompany the Cerea family's wonderful desserts and pastries.

As I think back on this extraordinary afternoon, what stays with me most is the story Bobo told me before we arrived. In 1966, his parents took a chance on something that seemed almost impossible: convincing the people of landlocked Bergamo to fall in love with seafood. They succeeded because they believed in their idea and refused to give up. Today, their children continue that work, each contributing something different while remaining connected to the family traditions that started it all. The paccheri still carry their father's inspiration. The scampo has evolved from a recipe he created more than forty years ago. The cannoncini still carry memories of their mother's kitchen. And Rossella, standing beside our table, was able to explain these dishes not simply as food, but as part of her family's life. For me, that is what makes a restaurant truly special. Not just what comes out of the kitchen, but the people, memories and traditions that make the food possible. Thank you, Bobo, Chicco, Rossella, Francesco, and the entire Da Vittorio family. Thank you also to Gibo Bergamelli, Paolo Rota, Daniele Compagnoni, Lorenzo Scapicchio and everyone who made our lunch such a memorable experience. Bobo, I'm sorry we missed each other this time, but your family made us feel that you were very much part of our afternoon. And I know one thing for certain. We'll be back. With love and a very happy stomach, Dudi I AM A HUNGRY TOURIST.