The story
In the heart of Genoa, inside the prestigious UNESCO-listed Palazzo Doria de Fornari, Etra offers an experience that defies easy labels. It is a fine dining restaurant and a contemporary art gallery in one, a modern-day "Wunderkammer" where the boundaries between visual art and gastronomy dissolve. This is not a restaurant you stumble upon; it is hidden from the street, accessible only by reservation, reinforcing its identity as a private cabinet of curiosities.
The space is a collaboration between Alessandro Ferrada and Iacopo Briano of BF Gallery, who brought their expertise in art and natural history to create a dining room that is also an exhibition space. The black-walled interior, punctuated by rotating works from artists like Damien Hirst and Banksy, sets the stage for a meal that is as much about beauty as it is about taste.
At the helm is chef Davide Cannavino, a Genoese talent who has crafted a concise, creative menu of both land and sea dishes. The Michelin Guide notes his "small menu of creative dishes: about a dozen recipes, both land and sea, inspired by the beauty that surrounds him." His cooking is described by critics as an "ephemeral plastic art," where exceptional ingredients are composed into forms and flavors that are as striking as the artworks on the walls. The presentation itself is part of the narrative: dishes are served on ammonites, fossilized wood, and mother-of-pearl shells.
Etra’s Italian contemporary cuisine is brought to life by a carefully considered wine list from sommelier Chiara Campora, which balances classic benchmarks with emerging expressions. The result, as the Touring Club noted in naming it Best Newcomer, is a dining experience that "captures the guest and accompanies them on an experiential journey that goes beyond simply 'going to eat.'" In this Genoa gallery, the meal is the art, and the art is the meal.
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