Giorgio Armani, 90, Is Opening a New Restaurant on Madison Avenue to Celebrate Beautiful Food

For Giorgio Armani, style goes beyond fashion. It is but one expression, and food is another. Just two decades after debuting his fashion label in Milan in 1975, Armani opened his first restaurant in Paris, the entrée to an epicurean empire that now serves carefully considered Italian cuisine in such glittering cities as Dubai, Milan, and Tokyo. This fall Armani/ Ristorante will open its doors on Madison Avenue between East 65th and 66th streets, where it will continue to prove, as the fashion designer once said, “the only limit is good taste.”

Steps away from Central Park, the restaurant’s contemporary space channels the decadence of a bygone era. A Champagne bar greets guests at the entrance, giving way to marble-effect flooring and mirrors on the walls.

Just as Armani sees no virtue in creating impractical clothing, each restaurant seeks to adapt its cuisine to the locale. Executive chef Antonio D’Angelo previously worked as Armani’s personal chef before becoming the corporate executive chef of the Armani restaurants in 2020. He hopes to capture the essence of the stately Upper East Side neighborhood through seasonal offerings that will distinguish the restaurant from Armani’s former Fifth Avenue location, a swanky Midtown spot that opened in 2009 above the Armani store. Its relocation and restyling at Madison Avenue will epitomize sophistication while staying true to the simplicity that is the hallmark of the Armani name.

Among the eight signature dishes that feature on select global Armani menus, you’ll find Pappa al Pomodoro, a ripe tomato and bread soup inspired by the traditional Tuscan comfort food with humble beginnings, elevated by the addition of buffalo mozzarella for a meal that’s unpretentious and familiar. There will also be a savory Parmigiano Reggiano risotto, served with a saffron fondue (and adorned with the Giorgio Armani logo in fine saffron powder), that offers a refined twist on a Milanese classic. New York’s own exclusive dish is a ravioli with Neapolitan short ribs ragù.

“Respect for the ingredients is a big part,” says D’Angelo, who was born in Campania, through a translator. “It’s authentic, it’s pure—that’s the thing that’s very Armani…you won’t ever not recognize an ingredient that’s on your plate.”

D’Angelo says he likes to wander the city, studying its environs and inhabitants for inspiration, essentially creating a local narrative for a restaurant. He compares the new location not to the Fifth Avenue restaurant that preceded it, he says, but to Tokyo, which has a similar fine dining philosophy. “The architecture of the dish,” says D’Angelo, is where you find the Armani essence—“clean, pure, good at the moment.”

“While our culinary preparations may be elaborate and artfully presented…my dishes always celebrate the inherent beauty of their ingredients,” says Armani, who, at 90, is as dedicated as ever to his vision of elegance.