The quiet week that deserves your full attention

Not every week announces itself loudly. Sometimes the best ones arrive gently, with mild air, a sky that cannot quite decide and a menu that rewards those who sit down and pay attention.

This is that kind of week. Monday 8 to Saturday 13 June, the temperature sitting comfortably in the high teens and low twenties, the occasional shower keeping everything green and fresh. After two weeks of heat and drama, June is catching its breath. The menu at MyCaffé catches it with five dishes of real precision and quiet ambition.

The Orecchiette su Crema di Patate con Polipo Profumato al Sedano open with something that feels entirely original. Octopus on potato cream is already a beautiful pairing, the firm oceanic character of the polipo meeting the gentle, grounding sweetness of a slow-cooked potato cream. But the detail that elevates this dish is the celery. Scenting the octopus with celery during its preparation brings a herbal, slightly bitter freshness that cuts through the richness of the cream and makes the whole bowl smell and taste alive. In Italian cooking, aromatics are rarely decoration. They are architecture.

The Risotto con Filetto di Orata e Crema di Asparagi e Mandorle is one of the most elegant dishes on the menu this week. Sea bream, known as orata in Italian and one of the most prized fish of the Mediterranean, is a fish of delicacy and precision: its white, firm flesh carries a sweetness that belongs to warm shallow waters and clear light. Paired with a cream of asparagus and almond, the dish creates a conversation between land and sea that is rare and lovely. The almond is the unexpected element here: its gentle bitterness and slightly oily richness adds a layer beneath the asparagus that makes the cream feel complete in a way it could not be without it.

The Ravioli Farciti di Ricotta e Limone con Pomodorino Confit are summer on a plate rendered in pasta. Ricotta and lemon is one of the great classic Italian fillings, the fresh milky softness of the ricotta and the citrus brightness of the lemon creating a filling that is light, fragrant and immediately likeable. Against confit cherry tomatoes, whose slow-cooked sweetness and gentle acidity frame the ravioli without overwhelming them, the dish becomes a study in balance. Nothing fights. Everything listens.

The Tagliolini con Straccetti di Manzo e Salsa agli Champignons bring depth and warmth to the week. Straccetti, literally “little rags”, are thin strips of beef cooked quickly so they remain tender, their name evoking the informal, domestic cooking of Roman households where leftovers and offcuts were treated with as much respect as the finest cuts. The mushroom sauce alongside is earthy and rich, and the tagliolini carry the whole combination with the kind of ease that only a well-made fresh pasta can manage. A dish for a Wednesday when the rain is on the window and the room is warm.

And the Tagliata di Filetto di Pollo con Pomodori Secchi, Insalata di Spinaci e Salsa Yogurt Fatto in Casa closes the week as it did last week, and deservedly so. The halal chicken fillet, sliced across the grain in the classic tagliata manner, served with the concentrated sweetness of sun-dried tomatoes, the clean bitterness of fresh spinach and a homemade yoghurt sauce that ties everything together with cool acidity and freshness. A plate that is as good on a warm Thursday as it is on a cooler Tuesday.

Come any morning this week for your cappuccino before the day begins. The bar is ready, the pastries are warm and the terrace is there when the sky allows. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings until 19:00, Alessandro will be at the bar with MyAperitivo: a salumi board, tarallini and a glass chosen with the care that a June evening deserves.

Questa settimana, lasciati sorprendere. ☕