Le Calandre, 6/11/2026, Padova, Italy (5-Course, €250 or 8-Course, €280 includ. Taxes excl. gratuity

Le Calandre, 6/11/2026, Padova, Italy (5-Course, €250 or 8-Course, €280 includ. Taxes excl. gratuity)

Le Calandre, the 3-Michelin-star restaurant by chef Massimiliano Alajmo, is located in the outskirt of Padua, Italy. Padua is also famous for having the 3rd largest square in the world and being in the background of Shakespear’s famous play “The Taming of the Shrewd”.

Chef Alajmo has become the youngest 3-Michelin-star chef and has held 3 Michelin stars since 2002. The chef was only 28 years old back then. It was listed as number 34 on the World’s 50 best restaurants.

At present, it was not convenient to go by public bus because of the construction work. Their bus schedule is not reliable and with infrequent schedule. It would be more pleasant to travel by taxi to enjoy your grand dinner.

At Le Calandre, there are two types of menus (a la Carte and Degustation menus). Altogether, there are 6 types of Tasting menus. There are 3 degustation menus (Classico, Max, Raf) with about 10 pre-determined dishes in each. Each of the Degustation menus cost €280 and is with different theme. Another type of Tasting menu is a buildup of selection customer desires from the a la Carte menu, a customer may choose 3 dishes for €180, 4 dishes for €220, or 5 dishes for €250. We decided to select 5 dishes for €250 for each person and we would be sharing 10 courses mutually out of what we preferred from the a la Carte.

Upon arrival we noticed immediately that there was a ball of yarn in the center of the table. This represents the chef’s motto:” Cooking is like a needle that repeatedly passing through small holes, stretching a thread so thin and strong that it makes us all unconsciously tied together.

We started with Amuse Bouche. There were 4 different shapes of quasi-bread sticks on the table when we got seated. They can be arranged to look like 1001, starting from the far right - curry flavored rice stick, wheat Braun burnt Tarallo (ring-shaped biscuit originating from southern Italy), bread stick made with sun flower seeds and sesame and sundry tomato bread stick. They were fresh and pleasant. In addition, there were 4 more dishes for the Amuse Bouche, very often Amuse Bouche can be displayed like a parade.

1). Bubble

Bubble made with spirulina seaweed, is a family of single-celled microbes that grow in both fresh and salt water and is often referred to as blue-green algae. It is a very popular health food, may produce better sports performance, improve general health markers such as cholesterol level, triglyceride, and antioxidants. Spirulina is high in protein. It has some special characters suitable for molecular gastronomy, allowing the chef to playfully change the texture, shape, and temperature of ingredients to create inconceivable and artistic dishes. Chef can change the physical state of food without altering its fundamental flavor.

In this dish, scallop was wrapped by the lovely pancetta and bubble to keep its tenderness and flavor. This part balanced the nutritional credit of the bubble.

2). Tartlet with Beet Root Juice

Quite a few chefs made beet root juice based amuse bouche these days. The champion of the beet root tart probably was the rose-shaped beet root tart by Maaemo (a 3-Michelin-star restaurant), Oslo, Norway. It was so refined and delicate that it looked like a real rose.  At Le Calandre, the filling was made by beet juice custard with diced carrot and herb underneath, and topped with crumbled fried pancetta, shredded beet root and fresh herb. It was delicious and yummy.

3). Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti was arranged like a ring with crumbled pancetta on the center top sitting on sauteed green vegetables and shredded parmigiano cheese. It was another pleasant treat.

4). Parmigiano Croquette

There were 2 types of croquettes, one curry flavored and the other sun-dried tomato flavored. Croquette was a small, breadcrumb-coated, and deep-fried roll. Chef’s amuse bouche seemed to favor 2 flavors – curry and tomatoes.

5). Tuna Tartare

Fresh tuna crudo with shredded parmigiano cheese topping. It was scrumptious and the best out of the amuse bouche category. I was a bit disappointed with the quantities and varieties of the amuse bouche. A 3-Michelin-star usually serves a more generous and creative amuse bouche.

Bread

Fresh warm bread, with a crusty top, was served with virgin olive oil, olive oil, chopped spinach, rose water, grounded artichoke heart. Then we started with our degustation menu.

I). Cuttlefish Liver Cappuccino

There are a few related items on the menu from the evolution of squid ink in pasta or risotto. Our attendant recommended this item as the latest product resembling Roberto Barni’s sculpture in Uffizi gallery, Milan, Italy. It also incorporates the Alinea’s approach of free style painting on the table after the end of savory dishes. There are multiple colors, yellow was incorporated with mashed potatoes, purple with beet roots, black with squid ink, green with olive oil, dark green with spinach.

To be creative, some chefs these days used livers from other large fish such as red mullet or whale. Fish livers are cooked and flavored with squid ink before diced and mixed in the cappuccino process.   

All these colorful ingredients were then in sync similar to the swirling process of making cappuccino. It actually tastes like a seafood dish and is delightful.

II). Venetian Soft Shell Crab and Red Prawn Stuffed with Anchovies

Venice is not too far away from Padua; the soft-shell crab is small in size with sweet shell fish umami flavor. Both soft shell and nettle leaves were coated with batter and deep fried. Red prawn was also coated with batter and deep fried, standing in front of the plate. Red prawn was from lagoon, fresh and tender, with a distinctive red color, well-balanced with the slightly accentuated nettle leaves, and stuffed with the intense savory umami flavored anchovies.

III). Grilled Pasta Buttons, Parmigiano and Mastic with Pepper Spremuta and Red Prawn Crudo

Grilled pasta buttons were made of egg pasta flavored with parmigiano and spremuta (freshly squeezed juice). At the bottom of the plate, there were diced red prawn crudo; in the center of the button, there were bits of red prawn.  Red prawn’s flesh is slightly different from other types of prawn, probably because it grows in the lagoon environment of half-salted water. Chef has used the same type of prawn with dissimilar cooking methods with divergent yummy products.       

IV). Red Mullet with Lobster in Aurora Sauce

I like red mullet, it is a highly prized, deep-sea fish for its rich, distinct, tender and slightly shellfish like flavor. It is often referred to as goatfish, its liver is considered a delicacy.

Chef Alajmo used red mullet filet, lobster and chopped green to make a roll first. Then, cut it up and placed it in the plate and top it with dry roasted onion rings and fried onion rings. Red mullet is like another poor man’s lobster, monk fish. Both have a lobster-like texture. the sauce is slightly pinky colored because chef Alajma used fish stock, shell fish stock, smoked fish stock, tomato and onion leaves as the sauce base for this dish. Chef Alajmo used leek stems as the wrapper to wrap lobster and fish filet in a roll. There were also some diced lobster/red mullet crudo at the bottom of the plate. This certainly was my favorite plate in Le Calandre.

 V). Hand-Chopped Beef Tartare on Bark with Black Truffle

Beef is from house-owned cows locally. The quality of the meat was excellent, it was tender, tasty, and had a rich flavor. It is not marble as A5, but it tasted so good in Tartare, and felt almost like melt in your mouth. On top of hand-chopped beef filet, there were ample sliced truffles (a highly prized underground fungi) from the nearby heart of truffle production center Piedmont region. This dish served the summer black truffle which runs from May thru August.

VI). Scorched Bone Marrow with Calamari, Sea Urchin and Gold Asetra Caviar Bruschetta

It was a long and impressive piece of bone, probably 14” -16” long. It was humming sizzling noise when brought over to our table with nice aroma and mouth-watering ingredients on top.

To prepare bones for roasting, always have the butcher split the bone and roast it at 450F. Serve on toasted bread or caramelized with sugar for savory crème brulee. Chef Alajma mainly used parsley, thyme and rosemary and a bit of breadcrumbs. Bone marrow was so juicy and moist, there was fat but it was not like ordinary fat. It also had the distinct flavor of uniqueness of being neither meat nor fat. Can also have more diversified taste by adding a combination of herbs such as thyme, parsley, cilantro, leek, garlic, oregano, rosemary, sage, lemon zest and sea urchin, and caviar. We cleaned it pretty thoroughly. Dogs probably won’t touch the bone after we finished this course.

VII). Grilled Donkey with Sautéed Artichokes and Spiced Yogurt Sauce

I have never had donkey meat, so I decided to try it this time. I was informed by the attendant donkey was less gamy than the duck. Chef sliced the roasted donkey meat; it looked like sliced filet mignon. It was not heavily spiced; donkey meat was simply a quasi-baby filet mignon flavored by the Balsamic Vinegar and corn pepper. It was accompanied by sautéed artichoke hearts. A not too complicated and elegant dish.

VIII). Wood-Fired Lamb with Bay Leaves

Northern Italy is famous for its rich, hearty cuisine, which leans heavily on butter, dairy, corn, rice and slow-roasted meats. Lamb was from local area, rubbed with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper, then slow-roasted and served with pancetta juice of lamb, charcoal food in powder, smoked eels, string beans and red pepper. Tender lamb was prepared with its own regional method and chef’s other creative techniques of presenting the traditional regional dish with “burned fingers”.

IX). Relationships - Chocolate Game 2026

This item is considered an order for two people. There were 14 dishes with varieties of forms and flavor. It was recommended to use the yarn as a tool for playing the game.

1). SLAP – Effervescent powder Gin and Tonic Sorbet, Chickpea meringue, Mastic Resin, Perilla Leaf

2). Intro Vert – Apricot Raspberry, Mint Mountain Pine, Lavender Red Beans, Current Coffee, Sandalwood Hazelnut, 

3)Tropical Explosion – Mango Passionfruit, Coconut, Milk Chocolate, Tonka Bean

4). Blueberry Cocktail

5). Barley and Nocina Plum Mochi – Cognac-Soaked Plum, Barley Mochi, Barley and Nocino Ganache

6). Gummy Hazelnut Cream – Emulsion of Cocoa Bean, Husk Extract with Eccezione Chocolate Hazelnut Cream

7). Coffee Walnut Praline – Toasted Walnut, Coffee and Cardamon Praline Cream, Hazelnut Sponge

8). Pear and Fig Leave Cream

9). Cocoa Bean Husk Sphere Crystal – Crispy Gallette, Cocoa Bean Husk Cream with Raisin, Cocoa Nibs and Candied Orange

10). Matcha and White Chocolate Gelato – Tea Powder, Matcha, White Chocolate and Almond Gelato

11). Saffron Cremoso with Orange Blossom and Peach – White Chocolate Cream with Saffron and Orange Blossom, Kiwi, White Peach Cream

12). Frozen Blackberry Ravioli with Mountain Pine – Mountain Pine Spray, Blackberry Film, Blackberry and Cassis Sorbetto

13). Spicy “Cocalandre” Pudding – Seed Galletta, Cocoa Pudding with Chili Pepper

14). Gummy Gianduja Gelato – Cream and chewy Gianduja Ice Cream

There were varieties of mignardises, some of them on the menu and some of them not on the menu, but they were neither grouped nor served enough quantity to let diners have a distinctive taste on each different flavor. However, we enjoyed the evening, its unique style of Italian cuisine and its ambiance of Italian architecture and Zen.