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Sant Ambroeus, Milan – new guise: New York City to Milan, back and forth

Historic café-restaurant Sant Ambroeus, Milan, reopened to public after having been acquired and renovated by Italian-American entrepreneurs Gherardo Garducci and Dimitri Pauli

Sant Ambroeus re opens the historic location in Milan

Sant Ambroeus is one of the three brands owned by SA Hospitality Group, a company with Italian roots based in the United States. In 2021 SA Hospitality Group decided to bring Sant Ambroeus back to its historic location in the center of Milan, the homonymous bar-pastry shop, located just a few steps from the Duomo and theater La Scala, in the city’s fashion district. Following a renovation, Sant Ambroeus, now also a restaurant, reopened to the public on November 14th, 2022.

The «back to the future» operation was headed by Gherardo Garducci, Founder and Executive Chairman of SA Hospitality Group, who describes it as «a step for the integrity of the brand’s storytelling and its representation of Milanese excellence». 

Sant Ambroeus: the patron saint of Milan

Sant Ambroeus was first opened by two pastry chefs of the Cattaneo family back in 1936. They decided to name their new café after Sant’ Ambrogio, the patron saint of Milan, using the Milanese dialect version of his name. Open from morning to night, Sant Ambroeus became a meeting point for the local intelligentsia. Here people could have a typical Italian breakfast with either an espresso or a cappuccino and a sweet cornetto, lunch with some paninis and have a dinner based on local specialties, as well as buy pastries. 

Milan to New York to Milan

In the Seventies, the Cattaneos sold Sant Ambroeus to the Pauli family, who owned the location until 1982, when they decided to export the brand’s legacy to New York City. Thus, they sold the Milan location to the Festorazzi family and opened a restaurant under the same name on Madison Avenue, in the heart of Manhattan.

In 2003, Dimitri Pauli partnered with Gherardo Garducci, founding SA Hospitality Group. Their aim was to further spread Sant Ambroeus’ legacy in the United States, dreaming of one day reuniting with the original Milanese location. Between 2003 and 2016 a series of restaurants and coffee bars were opened in a variety of places, including New York’s neighborhoods of Upper East Side, Soho, West Village and Southampton, as well as Palm Beach in Florida, the Loews Regency Hotel, Sotheby’s Auction House and Brookfield Place. 

A partnership with the Festorazzi family

In the meantime, in Milan Sant Ambroeus café and pastry shop continued its life under the leadership of the Festorazzi family, becoming what was defined by Italian writer Maria Cannella as «Milan’s sweetest parlor».

In 2021, Gherardo Guarducci and Dimitri Pauli’s dream of reuniting Sant Ambroeus with its roots was fulfilled: SA Hospitality Group took over the Milanese location, starting a partnership with the Festorazzi family, who remains the landlords of the building. Simonetta Festorazzi Langé will continue to be involved in the business as Brand Ambassador.

The addition of the Milanese location to the American ones represents the first step of the brand’s expansion to Europe and a part of its international mission: «With the acquisition of the Milanese location, Sant Ambroeus branches out into European communities and neighborhoods and other major cities. Paris and London will be our next openings in Europe».       

Sant Ambroeus, Milan: the cuisine directed by Iacopo Falai

Open seven days a week from early morning to midnight, new Sant Ambroeus in Milan aims at being «not just the typical café or restaurant, but an all-day long experience, which offers Milanese and Italian cuisine and hospitality. We want our location to become a second home, a second office, a second family, and part of the local community. It is a lifestyle that embraces different generations at the same time». 

The direction of the cuisine has been appointed to Iacopo Falai, with Walter Casiraghi as Executive Chef, who were called not to overturn, but to broaden Sant Ambroeus’ previous DNA: «It will continue to be a top destination for its coffee and pastry culture and will become a quality gastronomic destination for breakfast, lunch and dinner».

Sant Ambroeus’ culinary offering will be a mix and match of Italian traditions and American inspirations, mirroring the new double soul of the café-restaurant: «We are bringing with us  years of work and hospitality in the United States to Milan». Their aim is to combine the authenticity of local home cooking with international and fine-dining influences, in order to create an «Italian luxury brasserie, but not elitist». 

Sant Ambroeus: Italian traditions and American inspirations

The breakfast menu offers a variety of the typical Italian cornetto as well as other Italian traditional pastries, such as the Tuscan rice pudding, the Milanese Veneziana or the Trentino apple pie tart, along with Sant Ambroeus’ original creations, such as homemade panettone. Still, there is a range of international options, both sweet and salty, such as the Jewish Krantz, the English eggs with bacon or the Nordic toast.

The lunch and dinner menus include both cold and warm dishes. Piedmont Scottona carpaccio and Vitello tonnato, pasta with Bolognese sauce and Milanese Ossobuco are to be found along with the traditional New England-style Lobster Roll and the American classic hamburger. Some dishes are cooked according to the original recipes, such as Cotoletta alla Milanese and Spaghetti al pomodoro, while others have been created for this location, such as Linguine al Prezzemolo (Italian pasta, red prawns from Mazzara del Vallo, parsley sauce, prawn bisque, pepper). There will be seasonal proposals, such as risotto, whose dressing will change according to the period of the year. 

The raw materials for both the kitchen and the bakery come from «selected suppliers and partners who can guarantee the highest quality to offer the best taste experience to guests»

As for the wine menu, it will consist mostly of Italian producers, including an offer of biodynamic and natural wines, as well as a selection of French and American labels. There will also be a cocktail menu, with «neoclassic and creative» proposals, inspired by the American locations of the brand.

The interiors restyling signed by Fabrizio Casiraghi

After taking over the place, SA Hospitality Group started a renovation of the interiors, which was overseen by Gaetano Guarducci himself: «I came to Milan to follow the construction and make sure the restaurant kept the same DNA that the brand has had here since 1936». 

The project was signed by architect Fabrizio Casiraghi, whose philosophy consists in the search for a harmonic and coherent environment, focusing on every detail, from the lighting to the sound. With Sant Ambroeus his aim was to create a «warmer and chicer space», as requested by SA Hospitality Group, while at the same time maintaining its original atmosphere and harmonizing the interiors with the exterior of the building, which dates back to 1930: «When I imagined the design of the restaurant, I immediately thought of the original headquarters that was already in Milan» – Casiraghi states. – «I didn’t want to do a full renovation, but instead focus on enhancing the space as an institution, as if the restaurant had always been part of the building, using noble materials such as woodwork, mosaics and stone. I wanted to modernize the restaurant, while keeping a certain sobriety in the forms and materials». 

The architect preserved the most iconic features of the location, such forest green as signature color, the wood-paneled walls, the marble counter and the Murano glass chandeliers. He favored traditional Milanese materials to celebrate the history of the city and its territory, also represented in the main dining room by the twelve crests of Lombardy: «I used painted woods, floor mosaics, white and cream tones that are found in many Milanese design interiors, and straight lines that make it a timeless place. The result is a timeless, chic, comfortable and modern environment».

Sant Ambroeus

Sant Ambroeus Milano, Corso Giacomo Matteotti, 7, 20121 Milan, is a historic café-restaurant located in the center of Milan, which has been recently renovated after having been acquired by American SA Hospitality Group. Open seven days a week from early morning to midnight, its menu mixes Italian, American and international proposals.

Debora Vitulano

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