After one year almost stuck with the blog, it is finally the time again for one of my favorite moment: trying a new restaurant!

I got this occasion as soon as back from my Italian vacations and the place I wanted to try first was Sana, Organic Food & Restaurant, which opened at the beginning of August just few steps from Place D’Armes, where the historic Banana’s was located.

The concept of the place is quite innovative for Luxembourg city: at the ground floor, Sana has a “pizzeria al taglio” which is open from mid-morning until 7 pm. They have a wide selection of pizza which you can eat sur place or take away. Next to that, you can as well order some salad, small starters as arancini and dessert. Said like that it might look a quite “easy” place, but what makes Sana different is definitely the research of the products: the pizza itself is prepared with a special flour coming from Italy (Farina del Mulino Magri, operating since 1929), and every single ingredient is selected among the top to get to a result that is a “pizza gourmet” – forget about pizza with chicken, here you have authentic Italian pizza prepared with 100% bio tomato sauce from Apulia, mozzarella cheese from a family factory in Molise region, Parmesan aged at least 36 months and cold cuts coming 100% from Italy.

At the first floor, then, you will have the restaurant. The concept behind, again, is simple: the objective of Sana is to present dishes from the Italian tradition in a form of “bistrot” and to give priority to the quality of the ingredients utilized.

Behind the whole concept, there is Andrea Cavaliere, who used to be the chef at Kava, in Bertrange – at the time he was there it was one of my beloved places in Luxembourg – and previously with Roberto Fani, who owns 1 Michelin star. We have been advised that the restaurant has been just opened – less than 2 weeks – and therefore the menu is still “work in progress”. But we were tooo curious to try so we booked a table for last Saturday night.

We have been welcomed at the main door and left to choose if to dine inside (upstairs) or outside. The weather was still pleasant and the terrace is very well presented – with a funny “beachy” feeling just few steps from Place d’Armes. We decided anyway to have just a drink outside and to move then upstairs for the dinner. With a glass of champagne and one of rose, we were offered a sample of the pizza available: italian sausage and potatoes, grilled eggplants and chickpeas cream with mortadella (definitely my favorite). The effort in the research of amazing ingredients for me it is clear already from the pizza and what surprised me most was the lightness of the dought – not greasy at all.

We moved upstairs thought the white staircase at the entrance – watch out if you have heels 🙂 – and we were accommodated to a table on the window in the main room. Again, it is surprising how the place changed completely from when it was Banana’s (closed and dark): now Sana restaurant is full of light and decorated in the particulars. You feel like you are in a countryside cottage where the owner will offer you totally homemade products.

We decided to go classic, therefore we ordered a portion of carbonara to share and to follow the cotoletta, veal, prepared with the bone. To conclude the dinner, we shared a classic tiramisu.

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 What I loved about Sana Restaurant:

• What a refreshing new place! A place where the quality of the raw material is outstanding and there is an extreme effort in presenting traditional dishes. I am not a fan of carbonara, but the one of Sana was to die for. The cotoletta was also amazing: so tender you can cut it only with the fork and not greasy at all. Tiramisu is prepared with the classic recipe but without raw eggs and was exceptional. I was surprised by how such a “simple” dinner could have been so tasty. Even the salad which was accompanying the main, instead of the boring fries, was delicious. I cannot wait for Sana to extend its menu and to try new dishes. 
  
  
• The place has its own very strong features and it is not parroting any existing place or trend, they have done a great job renewing it. As said, the interiors are very bright and cared into the details. You totally forget to be in the city center in Luxembourg and it is versatile to welcome a date night, a family gathering or an easy-going dinner with friend. The spent, then, considering the quality of the ingredients and how big the portions are, is very fair: we spent 65 Eur with wine for 3 courses, but you can limit it definitely with only one course, as portions are big. Again, you should consider where the ingredients are coming from: the cotoletta was 26 Eur, which is an extremely good price for a meat dish compared to other locations in the city center. The carbonara, on the other side, was 20 Eur. But then you have to consider that they use only bio egg yolks, cheek lard aged at least 36 months, authentic Pecorino Romano DOP and Sicilian Extra-Virgin Oil. Yes, you can definitely find a carbonara for less, but would it be the same? I don’t think so.
  
  
• A lot of other items made our dinner unforgettable: the kind and relaxed service, with waiters able to give you real suggestions and information about the dishes and the products used, the chef going around the tables to check how things were going, the welcome with the pizza for the aperitif. On my side, I can tell you that my friend who accompanied me is the most picky person in terms of food ever – not a good match for me, that I am eating everything, I know LOL – and he told me that this has been the most delicious dinner we had together and he couldn’t find anything to complain about. Well done!

What I liked a bit less about Sana restaurant:

• This has been a great night and, even if full, I didn’t have that feeling to have eaten “too much” as ingredients were so good and cooked properly that you don’t feel exhausted by the food. I don’t have negative remarks, just for you to note that the place has been open for 2 weeks now and the menu is still on progress, including the wine list, which at the moment is quite small, but for which Sana has already plans for extension. 

 

In conclusion: Sana is a brand new place in Luxembourg city centre. They have a delicious pizzeria al taglio on the ground floor and a bistrot style restaurant upstair. They propose an authentic Italian cuisine with outstanding ingredients. As Italian myself, Sana is definitely jumping on top on my Italian recommendations for Luxembourg city – and it is perfect for a date or for a night out with friend. Don’t miss their carbonara and watch out for new items on the menu to come.