A new Italian restaurant has opened at Le Méridien Beach Plaza, bringing traditional family recipes, an Italian retro atmosphere and the culinary expertise of chef Pantaleo de Pinto to Monaco. Named La Bisnonna, the restaurant takes its inspiration from the Italian great-grandmother, celebrating generous cooking, fresh ingredients and the pleasure of sharing a meal.
Opened on 8th October in the space previously occupied by Belgian restaurant Smakelijk!, La Bisnonna draws its inspiration from an elegant Milanese great-grandmother, a woman whose kitchen was always open and whose table always had room for another guest.
The concept extends beyond the food. Deep green walls, burgundy tones, vintage furnishings and carefully chosen retro details give the restaurant the character of an Italian family home. A 1963 Vespa with sidecar adds a particularly charming touch, recalling the Italy of another generation.
The result is a restaurant that combines the warmth of traditional Italian hospitality with a stylish, nostalgic setting overlooking the Mediterranean.
A familiar chef returns to his Italian roots
Leading the kitchen is Pantaleo de Pinto, whose career spans more than three decades and includes some of Monaco’s best-known restaurants.
Originally from Puglia, de Pinto began cooking professionally in 1993 before moving to Paris, where he worked alongside Gualtiero Marchesi, one of the most influential figures in modern Italian cuisine.
He arrived in Monaco in 2004 to help open Joël Robuchon’s restaurant at the Hôtel Métropole. His subsequent career took him to Château de la Chèvre d’Or, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris and Mozza in Monaco, where he headed the kitchen during his time with the Giraudi Group.
Despite that impressive professional background, the inspiration behind his cooking comes from much closer to home.
“On Sundays, I would wake up to the smell of the ragù my grandmother was preparing. I would run into the kitchen, climb onto a chair and she would immediately hand me an apron. I plunged my hands into the flour – that is where my dream began,” he recalls.
At La Bisnonna, those memories translate into a menu built around the Italian dishes people know and love, prepared with carefully selected ingredients and an emphasis on flavour rather than unnecessary complication.
From carbonara to veal Milanese
The menu opens with traditional antipasti, including calamari alla Romana, cheese arancini and vitello tonnato.
Pasta features prominently, with rigatoni alla carbonara served with crispy guanciale, tonnarelli cacio e pepe and maccheroncini coated in the restaurant’s signature truffle cream.
The pinsas are made with a highly hydrated dough left to rise for at least 72 hours, while the lasagna di melanzane combines gratinated aubergine, slow-cooked Bolognese sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan.
Other Italian favourites include cotoletta di vitello alla milanese and tagliata di manzo, while seafood lovers can choose dishes such as cod cooked all’acqua pazza or roasted turbot with caponata and fig sauce.
Desserts are equally rooted in tradition. The moka tiramisu is prepared to order in front of guests, while the budino alla crema combines vanilla and orange with Piedmont hazelnut meringue.
Sunday lunch, the Italian way
La Bisnonna also introduces a new chapter for Le Méridien Beach Plaza’s popular Sunday brunch, transforming the hotel’s established family tradition into an Italian feast.
The weekly Brunch Club features an extensive buffet of antipasti, Italian classics and desserts, alongside access to the hotel’s newly redesigned 250-square-metre Kids Club, where children aged four to 12 can enjoy supervised activities while parents linger over lunch.
The restaurant joins Le Méridien’s wider dining collection, which includes Japanese restaurant SEN, Mediterranean dining destination Muse Monte-Carlo and Le Café Lacoste.
With its combination of traditional Italian cooking, an experienced chef and a setting designed for long, relaxed meals, La Bisnonna brings a distinctly Italian approach to dining at one of Monaco’s best-known seafront hotels.
La Bisnonna is open daily for lunch from 12pm to 3pm and Thursday to Monday for dinner from 7pm to 11pm. Starters begin at €12, main courses at €22 and desserts at €12.
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Photos source: Le Meridien Beach Plaza