Madonnina del Pescatore

Excellent cooking

It all began (almost) forty-one years ago, when a very young Moreno Cedroni traded in his sailor’s uniform—earned from his studies as a nautical technician—for another jacket: that of a waiter. The leap into the kitchen was brief, but the ever-youthful Cedroni has remained a sailor at heart, navigating like an explorer through the most fertile reaches of the culinary world. He began with the traditional Marchigian potacchio, honed his expertise in seafood cookery at the port of Chioggia, fell under the spell of Ferran Adrià and voyages as far as the Cape of Good Hope, invented Italian sushi, opened “la baracca sul mare”—widely hailed as the most beautiful restaurant in the world (Il Clandestino)—perfected the ice-chilled gin and tonic, and developed a passion for the aging and curing of both fish and pigeon. La Madonnina del Pescatore remains a thrilling outpost of flavor play and experimentation, where Cedroni, alongside his trusted sous-chef Luca Abbadir, crafts a new themed menu each year to complement the restaurant’s core repertoire of classics. This year’s concept proved especially ambitious, and the challenge was won hands down. Titled “Spine,” the menu revolves around the backbone of the fish—a metaphor for its very essence, its root. It unfolds as a series of playful, straightforward, and visually striking dishes. Take the opening course: a crisp cracker topped with fried anchovy spines and heads, tomato, celery, and margarita—so photogenic it could pass for a Pompeian fresco. Or consider the updated take on the now-iconic oyster dish “Memory of a Trip to Vietnam,” this year softened with the tart sweetness of sea buckthorn. There’s also a memorable “Cedroni-style” rendition of ziti alla Genovese, elevated with onion kimchi; charred herbs paired with sea urchin sauce and umeboshi reveal an unprecedented sensitivity to vegetables; and the combination of pigeon served with grated turbot spine, alongside a tuna ossobuco bathed in pigeon demi-glace, showcases an extraordinary ability to fuse seemingly contradictory flavors. At La Madonnina del Pescatore, Moreno Cedroni and Mariella Organi consistently guide their guests on an adventurous gastronomic cruise.