Rezzano Cucina e Vino

The story

Rezzano Cucina e Vino – Michelin-Starred Ligurian Cuisine in Sestri Levante

Rezzano Cucina e Vino

In the historic center of Sestri Levante, a town on the Ligurian Riviera, Rezzano Cucina e Vino has earned a Michelin star for its refined interpretation of Ligurian and Mediterranean cuisine. The restaurant is the expression of a family vision that stretches back decades, long before fine dining became a recognised category in Italy.

A Family Legacy

The story begins in the 1960s. The grandfather, a Unilever representative, travelled Italy’s state roads in search of authentic producers. The grandmother, a keeper of regional culinary traditions, and the architect uncle, who designed the original custom furnishings, together shaped the identity that Rezzano Cucina e Vino still honours today. The family’s passion for food and wine passed through the generations: mother Silvia is an experienced sommelier, and grandmother Gabriella’s regional cooking remains a touchstone. Chef Matteo Rezzano, together with Jorg Giubbani, now leads the kitchen.

Liguria Lenta: A Philosophy of Slowness

The restaurant’s guiding concept is “Liguria Lenta” – a slow, deliberate approach that respects the rhythms of nature. This is not a slogan but a manifesto: Liguritudine (the poetic essence of the territory), historical memory (revisiting Ligurian classics), seasonality (menus change with nature’s metamorphoses), sustainability (zero-waste practices, recycling, reuse), contemporaneity (lightness, digestibility, modern techniques without losing terroir), research into raw ingredients and botany, and proximity – a sustainable system linking sea, garden, and mountain.

Four Hands in the Kitchen

Matteo Rezzano and Jorg Giubbani are described as complementary personalities, united by a deep sense of territorial identity and attention to genuine cooking. Their collaboration aims to redefine the path toward high gastronomy by merging technique, ethics, sea, and garden. The emblem of the restaurant is a sailor’s knot – a symbol of solidity, protection, and the bonds connecting past, present, and future.

Tasting Menus That Celebrate the Seasons

Diners choose from several tasting paths. The “Liguria Lenta” menu offers dishes such as a kaleidoscope of garden vegetables with pink prawn and herb pesto, cuttlefish with borage and Vermentino, bread tagliolini with wild garlic and Sestri Levante anchovies, and root vegetables prepared like a risotto with clams and salsa verde. The “Carpe Diem” menu presents more contemporary combinations: violet asparagus from Albenga, purple shrimp with veal and beetroot, spaghetti prepared “like a fish in the Ligurian style”, and rabbit-stuffed bottoni with sea urchin. A vegetarian option, “Inte l’Orto”, highlights the garden’s bounty, and the “Cumme te piaxe a tì” allows guests to choose four savoury courses and one dessert. Each menu is priced at €85 or €95.

The wine list is equally considered, featuring a broad selection of local and national labels designed to accompany every course.

An Experience of Place and Time

Rezzano Cucina e Vino is not a restaurant that shouts. It operates with quiet confidence, letting the quality of ingredients and the clarity of technique speak. The dining room and kitchen work in symbiosis, guided by genuineness, transparency, and simplicity. Every element – from the custom furnishings that echo the family’s past to the daily-changing menu – reflects a coherent vision. The Michelin star recognises this consistency and the restaurant’s commitment to elevating Ligurian gastronomy beyond its reputation as a scenic destination. Here, the focus is squarely on what is on the plate and in the glass.