Review: Ambrogio by Acquerello brings the taste of Michelin-starred Milanese restaurant to San Diego

According to inspectors from the Michelin Guide in Italy, Ristorante Acquerello near Milan serves “modern” Italian cuisine, “although more than one word is needed to do justice to this restaurant.”

In awarding its star, Michelin recommends Acquerello customers order the restaurant’s tasting menu for its “fine balance of delicate flavors and original combinations that offer a hint of Eastern influence and pleasing contrasts in cooking methods and temperatures.”

San Diegans can now take the inspectors up on their suggestion without buying a plane ticket. In partnership with San Diego’s Milano Five restaurant group, Acquerello’s chef-owners have opened a satellite restaurant in La Jolla: Ambrogio by Acquerello. The two-part name includes a nod to Milano Five’s popular Ambrogio15 pizzerias, which are named for Milan’s patron saint Ambrose.

Ambrogio by Acquerello co-founders Giacomo Pizzigoni, left, Andrea Burrone, Silvio Salmoiraghi and Paolo Tucci at the new restaurant in La Jolla.

(Courtesy of Bhadri Kubendran)

Like the original Acquerello, the La Jolla restaurant’s seven-course tasting menus and chef’s table dinners combine artful Italian gastronomy with influences of Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisines. But at Ambrogio by Acquerello in La Jolla, the ingredients of California produce, local seafood, land proteins and the region’s less-formal, laid-back sensibility have been stirred into the mix.

Ambrogio by Acquerello replaces Milano Five’s Semola, which opened in May 2021. Giacomo Pizzigoni, who cofounded Milano Five with fellow Milan native Andrea Burrone in 2016, said Semola aimed to introduce San Diegans to contemporary Italian gastronomy. But in partnering with Acquerello’s chef-partners Silvio Salmoiraghi and Choi Cheolhyeok, the menu now has bona fide Italian Michelin credentials.

Unlike many celebrity chef-helmed eateries, the Italy-based partners in Ambrogio by Acquerello aren’t just writing the opening menu and moving on. Salmoiraghi and Cheolhyeok will be in permanent rotation with Acquerello chef Davide Colombo in the La Jolla kitchen. And Acquerello’s staff gastronome, Paolo Tucci, will also travel here frequently.

The dining room at Ambrogio by Acquerello in La Jolla.

(Courtesy of Bhadri Kubendran)

During a preview dinner before the restaurant opened Nov. 5, Tucci happily explained the concept of the dishes on the inaugural seven-course, $149 menu, called Dancing with the Stars (a vegan Walk in the Garden menu is also available for $99). He said it’s critical for some members of the original Acquerello team to always be onsite in La Jolla because recipes can travel but only they will know if the proper flavors, textures and temperatures have been achieved.

Yet while the food and service at the new restaurant are Michelin-level, the atmosphere is unpretentious and relaxed. Most of the tables are outdoors and there’s no dress code.

The dishes celebrate the flavors and history of Italy, accented with the multisensory creativity of Japanese cuisine and elements and techniques of Korean fine dining. A fun amuse-bouche mixes marinara sauce with rich fennel Hollandaise, tender eggplant and the icy bite of green fennel granita. The salad course, titled Mare e Monti (sea and mountains), combines pepper-dusted cauliflower mushrooms, sea bass ceviche and arugula with hidden surprises of avocado cream, mustard seeds and a creamy “sea water” sauce.

Mare e Monti, a starter course on the prix-fixe menu at newly opened Ambrogio by Acquerello in La Jolla.

(Courtesy of Bhadri Kubendran)

The Stravaganza Mediterranea course is a particular standout in both taste and creativity. Cubes of fresh-caught tuna and tempura-fried calamari are served on a bed of apple cider “pearls” that explode with flavor in your mouth. Years ago, only the wealthy in landlocked Milan could afford the luxury of fresh fish, so middle-class Milanese had to settle for fish preserved in vinegars. That bright acidic bite to the fish dish is now a taste most Milanese relish.

The Alla Riscoperta dell’Anatra (discovering the duck) course pairs Peking duck with a side of fried duck leg on a wood skewer — a nod to Milan’s popular street food arrosticini, which is marinated meat on a stick. There’s also a fresh-baked mini-loaf of sourdough served mid-meal. That may sound Californian, but Italians have been baking with sourdough starter for centuries.

Pizzigoni said progressive Italian cuisine is no longer centered on pasta, but there is a one pasta course on the menu: Parmigiano e Menta (Parmesan and mint), that’s simply al dente fettuccine with olive oil, 24-month aged Parmesan and a mint leaf. Tucci said the dish represents the simple purity of Italian cooking.

The dessert course at Ambrogio by Acquerello in La Jolla.

(Courtesy of Bhadri Kubendran)

To finish things off with panache, the multilayered, Japanese-style dessert combines chilled white chocolate custard with Osetra caviar, sliced Champagne grapes and a tangy melon granita.

The restaurant’s wine program, curated by Pizzigoni, features about 75 all-natural wines from boutique vineyards in Italy. The only exception are French Champagnes.

If Ambrogio by Acquerello is a success in San Diego, Pizzigoni said he and his partners hope to expand the concept to other U.S. cities. Hopefully, local diners will taste and embrace this delicious,unique addition to San Diego’s culinary scene.

Ambrogio by Acquerello

Hours: 5-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. 5-9:30 p.m. Saturdays

Where: 7556 Fay Ave., La Jolla

Phone: (858) 412-3432

Online: ambrogiobyacquerello.com