Three months were enough. 90 days of work and determination, to build the new house of the Wicuisine, as Wicky Priyan loves to call his style made of crossings and contaminations between Japan, the Mediterranean Sea and the rest of the world. His old restaurant was in Via San Calocero 3: now in those rooms Massimo Bottura’s ex sous chef Yoji Tokuyoshi opened his restaurant, also a few days ago. «He has changed it a lot. I was surprised. Especially all that green on the walls!», jokes Wicky at the end of the second night of work in Corso Italia 6.
Three months, we were saying: «I wouldn’t have made it, were it not for my clients», he then adds with lots of seriousness. What does it mean, his clients? «During these years, thanks to the restaurant, I’ve met many people, some of them have helped me greatly. First of all, those who found this place for me: the rooms were completely empty, owned by Assicurazioni Generali. A very important person at Generali told me about it and today I’m here.»
The merit of the essential and very elegant beauty of this new restaurant, however, mostly goes to him. First of all because Wicky Priyan has no partners, he’s always wanted to work by himself and he’s very eager to point it out. And then because everything in this restaurant was created and designed by him: «I created everything, I had in mind every thing I wanted from this place. I managed to fulfil many of my dreams, this is exactly how I wanted my restaurant to be.»
One of the dreams Wicky Priyan fulfilled in his new restaurant: a very authentic Sushi Bar
Very central, it is basically on Piazza Missori, the new
Wicky's is right next to another restaurant,
Basara, which is also rather recent, and is also dedicated, though perhaps in a more orthodox way, to Japanese cuisine. The great windows on the Corso show the first room and peeking inside you can see right away, in the middle of the wall in front of you, a sort of fountain and a large circular light: «This is a tribute to the village where I was born and where I haven’t returned for a long time now, in Sri Lanka. They represent the moon and the sound of water, the most vivid memories I have of that distant place.»
The second room is a little smaller, but perhaps more scenic. Both because of the open view kitchen and the beautiful and traditional
Sushi Bar, which was one of the chef’s greatest desires: «As soon as the restaurant will run normally, I will be behind that counter and spend the nights taking care of those who will sit there. I will decide what they will eat, like in Japan, where the only question one is asked is if they don’t like something or have some allergies. The rest is left to the chef’s whim. I can’t wait to begin.»
Wicky is also very proud of his new state of the art kitchen
The kitchen was also entirely designed by
Priyan and has some interesting new elements: «It is basically a hybrid kitchen, like with cars. It uses a technology created by
Swiss Air: outside in the courtyard there’s a large engine – when it runs it accumulates energy which then circulates, allowing for a strong reduction in electric consumption.» And finally there’s a private dining room «to meet the request of privacy of some clients».
The menu, at least for the first days, will replicate the one served in San Calocero, but new dishes will soon arrive, besides what he will serve at the exclusive
Sushi Bar. With the desire of developing the contamination of styles even further: «The starting point will always be Japanese cuisine, but I have many new crossings with Italian cuisine in mind, and in particular with some regional specialties. For instance, I want to present a
Sushi/Cacciucco».
Another classic of Wicky's: Magica. A fillet of white fish with sauce made with Champagne and white wine aromatised with lemon and soy and paired with a salmon tartare
For now, instead, one needs to make do, so to speak, with the dishes that over the time have made
Wicky's a beloved restaurant among Milanese gourmands, like
Carpaccio from 5 continents, in which tuna, yellow grouper and salmon are gracefully paired with a sauce made with spices that arrive from all around the world, or
Sushi Kan, thus named as a tribute to Japanese master
Kan with whom
Priyan perfected his technique. The meat is also not to be missed: both the raw one – the
Scottish angus carpaccio served with a soy sauce made with Champagne vinegar is delicious – and the one cooked for a long time (16 hours), as in the case of
Maiale following the typical Japanese tradition, served with candied apples and mustard.
Wicky's
Corso Italia 6
Milan
+39 02 97376505
reservation@wicuisine.it
Open in the evening from Mondays to Saturdays. As of February 24th it will also be open at lunchtime
Average price à la carte 70 euros
Tasting menu 85 euros
