A fusion of Italian cuisine and natural stone – Arco – Giro di Gusto

If you combine truly special flavors, unique taste and natural stone, the result can only be amazing. Of course, natural stone and basically natural materials have the ability to transform the ambiance of your space, even highlight the gourmet experience from a bistro or restaurant. We have discussed in here about natural stone used for Horeca decoration projects and especially the benefits of such a simple, yet complex material. Following the story of natural stone, we discovered eating place with history that deserved to be shared, beyond their special menus.

Close to Arcul de Triumf there is a restaurant where you can experience Italian flavors and recipes – a journey that offers a complete experience, not just great pasta.

PIATRAONLINE: As we all know, Bucharest is in love with Italian cuisine, but what about Arco – Giro di gusto approach? What exactly do you mean by “a different experience”?

Adrian Cojocaru: We, Arco – Giro di Gusto team, created a mix of Italian and local ingredients, with a lot of passion for our activity. Our chef is from northern Italy and in our opinion, the spirit of the place – he is responsible for the magical part, by preparing the food smoothly, passionately and always smiling, in a way that relaxes and fascinates both us and our guests. At the moment, we are a “pranzo” (Italian for lunch) eating place, focused on breakfast and lunch menus (omelettes, fried eggs on toast with fresh salad, croissants, panino or Piadina and the essential espresso). For us, lunch means a great pasta or Italian meat, risotto, some tasty seafood, perhaps even a burger - l'italiano as we call it – with prosciutto crudo, homemade pesto sauce and baked potatoes. We love to suprise our guests with healthy food, so you will not find fried products in our menus. Right now, we decided to focus on breakfast and lunch because we target quality and more than anything, a pleasant customer experience in our eating place.

PIATRAONLINE: Besides the dining experience, you have a space that helps defining a complete experience. What are the elements of such a space?

Adrian Cojocaru: Space was designed and implemented with our architect and friend Andrei Rotariu and our project is focused on natural elements – such as natural stone, natural hardwood and even iron. This is not by chance, because we planned a symbiosis between such elements and our ingredients. We believe we have managed to express ourselves, while defining our space with these elements, to be able to create a casual and relaxing atmosphere. And this is the kind of ambience we believe our clients really need.

PIATRAONLINE: Natural stone belongs to this space – as natural element. Why do you decided to use natural stone, or, actually, what is your angle on this material which, after all, is an element of this experience?

Adrian Cojocaru: Precisley because we planned to have only carefully chosen, natural elements, we decided to use Silver Brushed Slate for flooring.

PIATRAONLINE: What do you think about using natural stone in a bistro, restaurant or café? Do you consider to have the ability of bringing added value to your space or maybe even a touch of authenticity?

Adrian Cojocaru: We feel that an architect is responsible for combining all the elements of your ambience, yet it is obvious that simplicity of natural stone is a perfect fit for any type of design – we all love natural elements and we want to include them in our lives. This is about a texture, color and even feeling conveyed by a natural ambient.

PIATRAONLINE: What about the philosophies “Everything happens for a reason” and “Nothing is random in life” applied for Arco – Giro di gusto story? What is the message conveyed by your restaurant in terms of name, fresh and tasty menu and first of all, appearance?

Adrian Cojocaru: ARCO is Italian for "arch" – we selected the name considering its proximity with Arcul de Triumf. However for us, Arco – Giro di Gusto actually means a journey of taste. Such a journey defines exactly the fresh ingredients, combined simply and tasty.

This is the type of stories imagine to reveal natural stone as a perfect fit for any decoration project because of its ability to define and transform an ambience. We can always detail the benefits and features of natural stone in any space, however such a versatile material is able to tell a different story in every decoration project.