Italy Magazine named Pianeta Terra Best Italian in 2022. Two years later, it ranked 31st in the global 50 Top Italy rankings. Those are no small awards. But those who think such recognition goes hand in hand with white linen tablecloths and formal service are wrong. Pianeta Terra is intimate, small and absolutely serious about what comes out of the kitchen.
Behind the business are three people who have known each other for a long time. Chef Fabio Antonini is the driving force in the kitchen and ambassador for the Slow Food Chefs Alliance, an international network that protects food bioversity. Manager Raul Mini is his childhood friend, and sommelier Laura Martini, who is also Fabio's partner, manages the wine list. That gives the place something you rarely find in larger restaurants: the feeling that there are people there who fully believe in it themselves.
The building is a classic canal house, narrow and tall like everything else downtown. Tables are close together, the light is warm, and the space breathes years of use. No designer interior, no concept store aesthetic. What matters here is on the sign.
The crow's breast with gravy is perhaps the most surprising dish, coming from The Kitchen of the Unwanted Animal, an initiative that works with animals that don't normally end up on a plate.
Pianeta Terra has been running in this spot for 25 years, and you can tell. Not in worn-out chairs or an outdated menu, but in the certainty with which cooking is done here. This is not a restaurant that has yet to prove itself.