Losko is the way David, Ishmael, Manuel and their friends are said goodbye, in the lower Salento “Hi Losko!”. And Losko is the name of the brand that for a couple of months have led to Milan, at number 15 in via Lecco. A small but full of character, which wants to be a little enigmatic and mysterious, vaguely shady, in fact, and which represents the evolution of a project born in 2012 in Capilongo, in Salento. Here the brothers Manuel and Ismael Marzano and his friend Jose David Ramirez transform a family butcher shop into a restaurant, focusing on raw materials of excellence, on traditional recipes (such as the bombs that become iconic), on the combination with natural wines, on a contemporary service.
Losko Milano retains the spirit of the original idea, naturally evolved over time, adapting it to the reality of a hasty metropolis. But here the haste is not welcome, because the idea is to be transported in a slow time, dedicated to enjoyment. The embers remains central, but the three owners are keen not to get confused with any braceria specialized in flesh, as in Milan there are dozens of them. Because here everything and everything ends here: fifth quarter, vegetables, even fruit and dessert and even cocktails. The embers therefore becomes a tool of expression of an essential gastronomic philosophy that wants to bring each ingredient to the essentials and enhance the poorest products giving it character and using each part according to a philosophy No Waste which is not only slogan but a convinced adhesion to the Zeitgeist.
The menu, made by Manuel (Jose David deals with the cellar and beverage and Ishmael of the administrative part) clearly specifies that each dish undergoes one or more grilled cooking. Lactics are used with extreme size reduced use of dairy products, eggs and gluten makes Losko accessible even to those with food intolerances. The fish used is only to the hook, the meat comes from the family butcher shop. It starts with a rather nourished section of plants: I tried the crispy lettuce with the grilled dressing at the Bloody Mary, the chickpea hummus with mint oil, dust is frightened red and crispy chickpeas, the delicious ancestral potato, cooked under ash and “boost” from a caciocavallo of cave and from oil to rosemary, the red birch with cream with cream with cream with cream of cream with cream Pear and a vinegar of pomegranate, the magnificent rope peak with sheets sautéed in garlic, oil and chili pepper, and it is fine that I a passonaccia for this Brassicacea, but in this version I really fell in love with it. And since I am gastronomically polyamorous, I felt the same feeling for the Roman artichoke excellently made, with a dust obtained from the waste parts.
Of the section dedicated to the fifth quarter I only tried the grilled tripe cooked on a skewer with a scald of scalded lemon, of a lightness that reminded me of the hand of Diego Rossi. Instead, I did not taste the Gnommareddhi, the hearts of the heart, liver and lamb lung, it will be for next time. As well as for goat cheeses (the strave and the grassful) which are proposed separately or together. In the part dedicated to animal proteins I rely on the belly of tuna, also on the spit, even if I was really attempted by the bombs and the old Vacca rib. Two tastings of grilled desserts: the “hanged” pineapple (because it hangs on the grill) with coconut milk, bourbon and basil oil and the cotta panna of goat with cream mango and gloomy cream. Every day there is also some out of menu: ask without fear or tremors.
The restaurant is small is pleasant, it has a bit of the air of the refuge of souls lost with shreds of life and art. A brick arch divides the two small rooms, the first, the one at the entrance, with one counter and the other with a punch of tables. The offer is versatile, you can even come just for a cocktail (I tried an excellent losko martini fishing from the list of signatures all with smoked tones. For those who prefer, there is also a good selection of wines with so much France, especially Burgundy Champagne and Alsace. You will not find mainstream manufacturers but small goodies selected with care and even some rebel wine. Lines, with music and beautiful people, but those who want to have an anticipation can go to the dancefloor bathroom, inside which ball music almost makes the body functions forget.
Prices: each dish between 8 and 15 euros, only protein dishes cost more between 24 and 30 euros. Sweets at 9 and 10 euros.
For a vegetable appetizer, a main dish and a dessert expect to spend on 50 euros. Honest refills of the wines.
Losko, via Lecco 15, tel. 0235947507 – 3884273329. Open in the evening from 18 to midnight, on Sundays also for lunch, closed on Tuesdays