Giovanni Bruno, absolute devotion to great Italian cuisine.

Chance is rarely anything other than the raw material of beautiful encounters. The day Giovanni Bruno set eyes on the charming Petit Sablon square, he saw more than a location: he saw a kindred universe, a fertile stage. The joyful steps he took toward this house, we take today toward him.

Entering Senzanome is like stepping into an eternal season — the beautiful season, all the beautiful seasons of Italy. You absorb the colours of the country, sense its perfumes. Its sun is there. You walk on that soil, you surrender to the gentle abyss of a universe, the sky of a land, the soul of an earth. You fall. You are there — with him, at Giovanni’s home.

His Italy has never been a show. It has always taken us by the hand. Rather than opposing, it welcomes — like a neighbour, inviting us to share, hands wide, wide open.
Through his cooking, this man conveys energy and irreverence, finesse and talent, precision and love. And time.

Because Italian cuisine, universally praised as sublime, is often mistreated. People expect a “good Italian” to serve carbonara — ideally with cream, egg yolk and Parmesan — and tiramisu. As a result, Italian cuisine has become a kind of frozen caricature. Worse: because it relies on quality products, instinct and sensitivity, it is even more often trampled, for it requires infinite patience to master.

He, however, lives, knows and embodies the ingredients that define Italy. By infusing them with a rare creativity, he unveils a cuisine of absolute precision.
An example of who he is, of what he does? Today: Scallops, latte di mare, caviar, orange vinaigrette, fennel; Mezzelune with ricotta, Parmigiano and mushrooms, doppio burro, langoustine and ristretto; or the Crispy-skinned Red Mullet with its jus, celeriac purée, artichokes and vinaigrette.
Plates of an artist: a perfect blend of simplicity and technique, exceptional products and sensitivity — the work of someone who offers nothing less than love.

After a few bites, one is tempted to call upon superlatives. And rightly so: for the pleasure they offer in the moment, but even more for the constancy across the years, for the beautiful sequences the Maestro continues to deliver — saluting, with a gentle gesture, Leonardo da Vinci’s words: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

Letting these dishes melt on the tongue, it is no surprise that Senzanome appears each year among the finest Italian restaurants in the world.

Grande Giovanni.

LD • 02/12/25