Estro

Naples-born chef Antimo Maria Merone, whom some may recognise from 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Macau, is opening his first independent restaurant Estro on September 9 in partnership with JIA Group, the group behind popular restaurants such as Ando and Louise. Estro, which means inspiration in Italian, is focused on Neapolitan cuisine but eschews tradition and the rustic style usually associated with his birthplace for something more sophisticated, in both technique and presentation. The restaurant interior, designed by André Fu Studio, also takes inspiration from Naples, resulting in a luxurious aesthetic nuanced with old-world charm.

The menu is directed by chef's memories and is inspired by his upbringing and Italian history. The Tomato Homage, for instance, is an appetiser based on the summers he spent on his family’s farm in the countryside and uses this fruit in numerous ways. Poached, dried and rehydrated tomato skins with tomato-shaped salted cod dipped in a sour sauce with clarified tomato water, using four different varieties, is a refreshing dish with complex flavour profiles. While his Pigeon Under Ashes dish draws inspiration from the ruins of Pompeii and takes pigeon, an ancient Roman delicacy, and envelops it in burnt artichoke buds and figleaves before encasing it in clay and cooking it in black ash. The pigeon is then served with artichoke and a Piedirosso wine sauce. The six-course dinner is priced at $1,480 and the eight-course menu is $1,880.