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The 6th edition of the ‘Italian Hospitality’ Award was held in Palazzo Mezzanotte, Milan, on 15 February. The winners of the different categories (2-5-star hotels, farm holiday centers, gourmet restaurants, traditional, international, classic and pizzerias) were on the stage and the absolute winner was selected from these – the Tre Querce hotel of Ancona.

For the first time, the seven most voted Italian restaurants around the world (the San Pietro of New York for the NAFTA Area, the Friccò of San Paolo for the Mercosur Area, the Osteria da Fiorella of Tel Aviv for the Mediterranean Area, the Caffè e Cucina of Melbourne for the Australia Area, the That’s Amore Italian Restaurant of Shanghai for the Asia-South Africa Area, the Di Bartolo Ristorante & Enoteca Italiana of Escazù for the Andean Pact-Central America Area and the Castello Lucano of Kessel-Lo (Brussels) for the Europe Area. The absolute winner ‘The Best and Most Authentic Italian Restaurant Outside Italy’ was declared from these – the San Pietro Restaurant of New York. 

TASTES OF CAMPANIA IN MANHATTAN.

The San Pietro Restaurant came from the passion of the brothers Gerardo and Antonio Bruno for the flavors of their homeland – Campania. Today, Gerardo manages the restaurant; he is a businessman with a scientific background, obtaining a diploma in hotel management in Salerno in 1975. He and his brother Antonio, who obtained a diploma from the Hotel Institute, Potenza, and then specialized in well-known hotels and restaurants throughout Italy, decided to move to the United States the following year. Antonio recalled how he was struck by what was presented as Southern Italian cuisine at the time – from veal to the parmigiana – “an Italian-American invention” he stressed – to the practice of serving meat with pasta as a side dish. Despite this, Antonio had excellent experience in some good Italian restaurants in New York City and, in 1984, the two brothers decided to open their restaurant, the Sistina. It was an immediate success. Every time Marcello Mastroianni went to Manhattan, he went straight to the Sistina, where he loved to improvise his homemade dishes for the pleasure of Antonio and Gerardo. In 1992, they decided to open a larger restaurant on the elegant 54th Street in Manhattan and this was how the San Pietro started.

 LOYAL TO ONE’S LAND. The San Pietro has been a pioneer in diffusing the wine and food of Campania among its clients since the 1990s. Every week, Antonio orders 85% of the ingredients he uses directly from Campania, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia (fresh vegetables, cheese and pasta). In addition, he personally selects the best meet from New Zealand, New York State and Canada, just like the best fish from the Amalfi coast, Israel and other areas. Antonio also prepares bread in the brick oven and original pasta formats, using only fresh herbs and seasoning. This commitment and attention has won San Pietro many awards, like ‘Best Italian Restaurant in the United States’ from Giffoni, home of the famous Film Festival, the prize for ‘The Most Authentic Italian Cuisine’ and the ‘Best Wine Selection’ from the Italian government, and the ‘Best Italian Restaurant Abroad’ from the Istituto Ambasciate & Ambasciatori della Cucina Italiana (Italian Cuisine Embassy Ambassadors Institute). In the USA, the restaurant received the ‘Excellence Award’ from Wine Spectator from 2001 to 2009, the ‘Five diamond stars award’ of the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, the ‘Distinction award of the Zagat guide’ and the ‘Chefs 2000’ prize.

Official references: Italia nel piatto e Ospitalita` Italiana

For more information, please visit the official website of ISNART or send an email to info@isnart.it