Renowned Chef Massimo Bottura to Open Rooftop Restaurant in Miami in 2024

"We didn't choose Miami; Miami chose us," says chef Massimo Bottura about the inception of his and his wife Lara Gilmore's restaurant, Torno Subito, slated to open on the rooftop of Julia & Henry's in Miami in 2024. The exact date is to be determined once construction is completed.

The restaurant will bring bold colors and classic Italian cuisine to the historic building located at 200 E. Flagler St., which is home to the gourmet food hall and seven-story entertainment complex, Julia & Henry's.

New Times caught up with the couple, who were recently in Miami to promote their third book collaboration, Slow Food, Fast Cars: Casa Maria Luigia – Stories and Recipes, published by Phaidon.

The two are most famously known for Osteria Francescana, their three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena, Italy, which has been ranked first on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list twice and is currently part of the Best of the Best list. They are also known for their other culinary collaborations with big brands like Gucci and Ferrari. In 2019, they opened a hotel villa near Modena, Casa Maria Luigia, and their book tells its stories, offers recipes from the region, and shows what inspires and shapes the couple's creative endeavors.

Torno Subito means "I'll be right back" in Italian, which is like a little sign a store might hang from the door when they're out to lunch. The original restaurant opened in 2018 in Dubai and filled a void in the city's dining scene. "We found that there was a sort of abyss between these contemporary, chic, fine-dining Italian restaurants and the rustic pizzeria," explains Gilmore. "In the middle, there was all of this room for color and life and that 1960s Dolce Vita and Italian design element, and also that Italian kitchen that is vibrant and colorful."

Bottura says Miami chose them because investors who visited the Dubai restaurant fell head over heels in love with the concept and felt it was a perfect fit for South Florida. "We can't wait to open in Miami," Gilmore says. "The space is almost ready. It's full of color and life. The original chef from Dubai, Bernardo Paladino, is here already in Miami working on the recipe concept."

Bottura says it reflects the time he spent as a child in Rimini, the hometown of the famed Italian director of La Dolce Vita, Federico Fellini. "When I spent the summer on the seaside with my sister and mom, and it was the happiest time of my life." The goal with Torno Subito, and all of their efforts, is to create fun experiences.
At Torno Subito, you won't find a pasta- and pizza-heavy menu. The focal point of the space is a wood-burning oven where chefs make authentic Italian dishes. Similar to their Italian guesthouse, Casa Maria Luigia, located in the countryside of the Emilia-Romagna region, the meals served in Miami will revolve around traditional wood-burning ovens often used for pizza. But you won't find any pizza recipes in Slow Food, Fast Cars. From roasted vegetables to baked ricotta and warm focaccia, it showcases an array of specialties unique to the region.

Slow Food, Fast Cars also documents the stories about what makes the idyllic 12-room villa such a special place — from the cuisine, contemporary art, interior design, music selection, cars, and motorcycles. The space can be rented as a whole or as individual rooms.

"We just had so much to talk about, so many things we wanted to do that couldn't fit into that three-to-four-hour experience at the dining table," Gilmore says of why they created this home away from home. It gives an "understanding of how much art and music and contemporary ideas influence Massimo's kitchen."

Named after his mother, Bottura says of Casa Maria Luigia, "The kitchen is always open...We take care of you; just feel free to do what you want." He wants guests to immediately understand that they are in Modena. "It's very important to experience the place where you are, the territory." Already, they've had famed guests, including the cast of the Ferrari movie, Patrick Dempsey and Harry Styles, when they were filming in the area. The car company is also native to the region.

The menu at Casa Maria Luigia is shaped by Bottura's joyful childhood, especially on Christmas mornings. "We challenged our chef Jessica Rosval to rebuild in a contemporary way the memory of a kid like me having this incredible breakfast Christmas day," he says. After opening presents, his family would enjoy gnocco fritto, fried dough with mozzarella. Everything Rosval uses is locally sourced — the prosciutto, balsamic vinegar, and Parmigiano Reggiano — except the oranges in the orange juice, which are from Sicily.

"We use this hearty Emilian breakfast as an opportunity so people can really understand where they are, what region of Italy," Gilmore says. "I want them to leave with a sense of what Modena tastes like; these are the flavors, and this is the sense of what this food culture is."
At the Italian guesthouse, the couple offers guests other kinds of culture, including lots of music. Its music room is a former library that features 7,000 vinyl records. Each guest receives a letter that talks about the contemporary art featured in its rooms. Some of the furniture is sourced from the couple's home and from nearby at Osteria Francescana in Italy. "It's very much a portrait of the two of us," she says. "It's about designing experiences."

They have a barn they call "the playground" that serves as an art gallery, motorcycle garage, and gym. It's a place where you can spend the night playing pool or Ping-Pong. In the playground, they have two Duane Hanson sculptures — human-sized ones that look like actual people. (Hanson was primarily based in South Florida.) The couple has created a story about the artworks: Frankie is a security guard from 1969, and he and his girlfriend Rose, on the other side of the room, have never gone on a date due to the distance between them.

"There's a lot of irony in the way Massimo and I look at the world," Gilmore explains, "and we think laughter is a way into the soul and to reach people on an emotional level."

Torno Subito. 200 E. Flagler St., Miami; tornosubitomia.com. Opening in 2024.