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A street trattoria has just opened its doors in Luxembourg City. In a modern, intimate and slightly offbeat setting, Emilona intends to reinvent the codes of an evening spent in a trattoria. We spoke to Stéphane Rodrigues, who imagined this restaurant with his three partners, Joao Ramos, Jade Leboeuf and Sandra Tottaro, the team that’s behind the Hyde Pizza food truck, which has been roaming the roads of Luxembourg for several years now.
So what exactly is a street trattoria? Imagine the cuisine of an Italian trattoria, with the generous and tasty recipes of the nonna, combined with a very urban decoration, far from the white and red checkered tablecloths and wooden tables.
In the restaurant, a subdued atmosphere with deliberately low lights, dark walls and several red and pink neon signs hanging on the wall set the tone. A whole wall has been tagged by Zadri Art Studio, with colourful graffiti. “We gave him carte blanche and we love it!”
For the toilets, Stéphane Rodrigues explains that he found 600 vintage covers of magazines such as Vogue, Vibe or PlayBoy, which are now displayed in a patchwork on the walls. Enjoy this piece of work while listening to movie scenes playing in the background. “And in each toilet cubicle, let yourself be surprised by the slightly offbeat world of Zadri,” Stéphane mysteriously reveals.
At Emilona, customers don’t just come for the decoration, a real trattoria menu is offered à la carte. “We wanted to satisfy guests who come out of work and are looking for both a place to drink a very good cocktail and a generous and tasty meal,” says Stéphane Rodrigues.
Two weeks after opening, customers are already praising the Trofie “Caccio & Peppe” or the real Carbonara pasta, “which is of course prepared traditionally, with egg and guanciale”. The chef behind the stove is of Italian origin, who started out as a pizzaiolo at Hyde and then joined the Chiggeri team. “He is a real lover of gastronomy, and it seemed natural to offer him the position of chef to embark on this adventure with us,” explains Stéphane.
Beyond the tempting menu, you will undoubtedly also go to Emilona for their original selection of cocktails made by the restaurant manager. At KACHEN, we can’t wait to try the “Ginto Verde” made with gin, bergamot and sage or the “Apero’ sour Emilona style” which combines vodka, Italicus liqueur (Italian liqueur with bergamot) and homemade grapefruit syrup. Prost!
As you may have guessed, Emilona will be the place to go this winter to enjoy a good meal with friends and extend your evening with cocktails sipped until late, while listening to playlists by French DJs carefully chosen by Stéphane. “We hope to be able to open continuously in a few months’ time so that people can come and have a drink whenever they want”, says Stéphane Rodrigues. With a nice terrace in front of the restaurant, we hope so too!
More information: Emilona Luxembourg
Pictures: Emilona