Earning a Michelin star is a coup for any restaurant. To open at the outset of a pandemic and go on to earn that star is an especially impressive feat. The honor goes to Gucci Osteria Beverly Hills, the recipient of a coveted Michelin star in the 2021 edition of The MICHELIN Guide California.
Gucci Osteria joins a handful of Southern California eateries honored by the French tire company with their first star.
The success of the dining establishment atop the Gucci boutique on Rodeo Drive is a shining note in what was otherwise a bleak period for restaurants in Beverly Hills and globally. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura opened in March 2020, promoting modern Italian cuisine reinterpreted with local Californian ingredients. Lombardy-born head chef Mattia Agazzi was brought in at the helm, under the guidance of Italian superstar chef Massimo Bottura.
Bottura’s acclaimed Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy holds three Michelin stars. His original Gucci Osteria, in Florence, has earned one. But, he may be most known to many Americans from his engaging turns in Netflix’s “Chef’s Table” and “Master of None.”
Agazzi was previously sous chef at the Osteria’s Florence outpost. In Beverly Hills, he has made a name for himself with cooking that Michelin describes as “at once whimsical and grounded.”
Agazzi is proud of what the Michelin star means for Beverly Hills.
“Hopefully, it highlights what a great place it is, with a vibrant and diverse culinary scene. Our menu is rooted in this location, from the local suppliers we’ve discovered and started to build relationships with to the local farmers’ markets. The menu is Italian, but it uses primarily local ingredients with a few specific products from Italy. It’s important to me that the restaurant has its own identity and that we are connected to Beverly Hills,” he told the Courier.
Agazzi also described what diners can look forward to at Gucci Osteria this fall.
“As our menu is seasonal, we will introduce a few new dishes this fall using more autumnal produce, including squash and nuts. At the moment, I’m discovering and tasting lots of different types to see which will work best. We also plan to introduce apples to the menu. In the North of Italy, where I come from, apples are very common, but the Californian varieties like the rosehip apple are much more flowery in taste. So, we’re experimenting and looking at ways to use this in a new dessert. Apart from the menu changes, our plans this fall are to continue growing as a team. We only opened Gucci Osteria in February 2020, so there’s lots more we want to develop and create.”
