Restaurant Torre is located on the sixth floor of the tower at Fondazione Prada’s Milan venue, designed by Rem Koolhaas in 2018. The presence of works of art and design furniture makes the atmosphere of the restaurant and bar unique. Its terrace and large windows reveal an unprecedented view of the city of Milan.
Torre’s menu is authentically Italian, chef Lorenzo Lunghi develops an original gastronomic offer drawn on the best Italian regional traditions, starting from his Tuscan roots. A prestigious selection of wines from Italian and international labels completes the offer.
Architectural project
Torre occupies an area of 215 m² divided into two parts: the bar and the restaurant. It appears, according to Koolhaas’s definition, as “a collage of pre-existing themes and elements”. The two spaces are characterized by a contrast between the large floor-to-ceiling windows and the warm tones of the parquet, of the walnut carpentry work and the hemp panels that cover the walls.
The bar has a central counter, with a suspended bottle rack containing spirits and international liqueurs. On the left is a fireplace surrounded by Soviet armchairs and Eero Saarinen’s Tulip tables. This space hosts two works of—Cappa per caminetto (1949) and Testa di medusa (1948-54)—by Lucio Fontana, while the polychrome ceramic Pilastro (1947) by the same artist introduces guests to the restaurant itself.
The restaurant has seating for 84 guests and is arranged on three levels slightly offset from each other to recreate an ideal viewpoint. The first two are furnished with wooden tables and Executive chairs by Eero Saarinen and feature a selection of artworks by Thomas Demand, Jeff Koons, Goshka Macuga and John Wesley. The third level features original furnishings from New York’s “Four Seasons Restaurant” designed by Philip Johnson in 1958 and elements from Carsten Höller’s installation The Double Club (2008-2009). Inspired by the tradition of Italian restaurants, the walls feature artist’s plates created especially for the restaurant by John Baldessari, Thomas Demand, Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, Elmgreen & Dragset, Joep Van Lieshout, Goshka Macuga, Mariko Mori, Tobias Rehberger, Andreas Slominski, Francesco Vezzoli and John Wesley; forming a series open to new contributions.
The triangular outdoor terrace overlooks the urban space and features the typical porphyry paving and metal grills characteristic of Fondazione Prada’s exteriors. The 125 m² area is divided into a restaurant area seating 20 on bistro-style folding tables and chairs and a bar area where sliding tables along the parapet can be combined or separated according to need.
Torre & Care’s 4 Hands Dinner Under 30
From May 2022 Ristorante Torre is hosting a new series of events, organised in collaboration with Mo-Food, the holding company of the three-Michelin-starred chef and Green Star for Sustainability Norbert Niederkofler and Paolo Ferretti, creators of CARE’s – The ethical Chef Days. The programme is a new version of the “CARE’s Chef Under 30” project, in which ten young international chefs participated from 2018 to 2021 and were invited to propose a menu at the Torre restaurant inspired by the gastronomic identity of their country of origin. The new format involves a close collaboration between a guest chef under 30 and resident chef Lorenzo Lunghi, who together conceive a four-handed menu presented over three dedicated dinners. This new approach renews the link between the Torre restaurant and young talents of sustainable cuisine at national and international level. The aim is to bring together different gastronomic cultures that share a concern for the environment, ethical choices and the local dimension of products.
In 2022 “Torre & Care’s 4 Hands Dinner Under 30” presented two events with the special collaboration between Lorenzo Lunghi and Matteo Taccini, executive chef of Bolzano’s ConTanima restaurant in May and Kardelen Soyalp Kurt and Ramazan Kurt, two young Turkish chefs from Istanbul’s Neolokal restaurant in October.
The chef invited in the past editions are: 2021: Simone Belfiore (Italy), 2019, Aldo Yaranga (Perù), 8-24 Maech; Killian Crowley (Ireland), 10-24 May; Vusumuzi Ndlovu (South Africa), 5-20 July; Francesca Ferreyros (Perù), 20 September-5 October; Lennard Yeong (Singapore), 15-30 November. In 2018: Ben Marks (UK), 18 May-3 June; Yury Kostorev (Russia), 7-22 July; Aleksander Yourz (Ucraine), 22 September-6 October; Martina Caruso (Italy), 21 November-1 December.
