The Piscini family has a proud gastronomic tradition. Mary Piscini cooked Brescian and freshwater fish dishes for everyone to enjoy. Eventually her two children, Mauro and Daniela, took over the business. Daniela falls in love with the French chef Philippe Lévaillé from Brittany which became the start for a new era in the Piscini family.

You will find the lovely Miramonti l’Altro restaurant in a small neighbourhood by the foot of the Alp Mountains of Northern Italy. The Brescian local cuisine of Lombardy has for generations offered delicacies which you only can find there and Mary Piscini mastered the cooking style of the region. Her son-in-law Philippe Lévaillé had no original plan of moving to Italy and become one of the country’s best chefs, but as with so much in life it was a row of circumstances which eventually made Philippe settle down just next to Brescia.

Chef Patron Philippe Lévaillé was born in French Nantes in 1963 and he studied at the School of Hotel Sciences of Saumur before he kicked off his culinary career. He worked in New York, Martinique and Monte-Carlo before he eventually came to Italy. His first Italian job was at the Maschere di Iseo for a few years before he continued to di Briolo Restaurant. In 1992 he came in contact with the Piscini family and started to work at their Miramonti di Caino restaurant, which changed its location and name to Miramonti l’Altro in 1994. Mary Piscini taught Philippe Lévaillé everything she knew about her delicious regional cooking which combined with his French culinary background became the foundation of the fantastic restaurant it is today.

Philippe Lévaillé has lived in Italy for more than two decades and can not be more Italian, but he will always have French influences in his cooking which has resulted in a cuisine you simply have to try. Start up your meal with a vine snail stew and a cake of mushroom and sweet spices and you know that you are in for something extra. Continue with some mushroom risotto with a variety of sweet mountain cheeses and you will start to understand just how good this restaurant is. There are many dishes to choose from unless you decide to go for a tasting menu, but the main dish with pigeon cooked on the grill unilaterally and calamari in sauce of crustaceans and foie gras is highly recommended.

You can not leave the Miramonti l’Altro restaurant without having some of their amazing range of cheeses and some of their home-made outstanding ice cream. These are musts in addition to one of the finest gourmet experiences you can have in Italy.

Written by Andy