MILAN — The Bulgari Hotel in Milan on Tuesday is introducing a new culinary and design concept, Da Niko.

It revisits the previous Il Ristorante — Niko Romito, launched a decade ago with the namesake Michelin-starred chef.

“The overall atmosphere has changed, it’s less formal and it invites conviviality,” said Silvio Ursini, executive vice president of the Bulgari Group. “It starts from the name, reminiscent of a friendly, genuine trattoria and joyful hospitality.”

Ursini contended that “today, guests seek experiences that are more spontaneous and less bound by ritual.” However, he underscored that “there has been no compromising on quality or anything that has made Niko’s cuisine so distinctive, his rigorous selection of ingredients, and his relentless pursuit of the purest expression of flavor. We stay away from passing trends.”

Smiling, he said Romito “is like a mad scientist, always open to experiment and attentive to the minutest detail. He fully embraced this new project.”

Without changing his philosophy, Romito said that to express his vision, he was seeking “a warmer and more direct tone. The research and rigor — both in selecting the finest ingredients and in transforming them — remain exactly the same, but are now expressed through a more convivial dimension.”

Romito is also encouraging sharing with the menu, which includes tableside preparations from the trolley of the catch of the day, milk-fed Milanese veal cutlet, and traditional Piedmontese fried chicken with roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Appetizers range from a selection of oysters, amberjack carpaccio with lemon and chili, tuna carpaccio with basil-scented tomato, and langoustine cocktail with lettuce, to herb-marinated beef with mixed greens and fried pizza with tomato, mozzarella and Parmesan.

First courses include tomato spaghetti and paccheri with langoustines, lemon, and tarragon, and cold legume soup with Swiss chard and lemon.

Among others, Dover sole meunière, beef tenderloin with green pepper sauce and eggplant parmigiana round out the menu.

Da Niko was redesigned by ACPV Architects Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, the studio behind the interiors of the hotel, with “the idea of creating an elegant Milanese home,” said Ursini.

Serving around 100 guests, tables in different sizes pepper the restaurant, with armchairs designed by Philippe Starck for Driade, which had been out of production and were revisited for Da Niko in soft leather. Cozy green velvet sofas also serve as seats.

Warm teak throughout contributes to a more intimate environment, also seen on bookshelves opposite the cocktail bar with a striking oval black resin counter, the beautiful garden beyond the expansive windows.

The walls are adorned with six large mirrors framed in willow, created by artist Emy Petrini.

At the heart of the dining room stands La Venatoria, a rare Richard Ginori vase from the late 1920s, produced during Gio Ponti’s artistic direction and decorated with the Triumph of the Amazons motif. Ursini proudly said Bulgari is a major collector of Ginori pieces by the celebrated architect and designer.

The tableware was also developed in collaboration with Ginori 1735 with an exclusive variation of the Diva collection created specifically for the restaurant, reflecting the terracotta hue that is one of the main colors.  The dining room team’s uniforms  and linen aprons were also revisited in alignment with this palette.  

While keeping mum on details, Ursini said the concept “Da Niko” will likely be exported to other Bulgari Hotels.

The Rome-based jeweler was among the pioneers of luxury fashion and jewelry brands moving into the hospitality sector, foreseeing its potential and building it into a real business that now comprises units in locations ranging from Bali, Dubai, London and Paris to Rome, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo — with more to come. Five additional hotels and resorts are expected to open in Miami, Bodrum, Maldives, Cave Cay and Abu Dhabi between 2026 and 2031.

The first Bulgari Hotel & Resorts in Milan marked its 20th anniversary in 2024 and was inaugurated three years after the overall project was launched.