Newly launched in downtown Seminyak, Italian restaurant Settimo Cielo (“Seventh Heaven”) is a street-side extension of the Italian-managed The Layar, designer villas and spa, and mirrors the same chic contemporary style. A signature design feature is the all-glass ceiling, giving the illusion of dining under the sun or starlight. With the sky and heavens a recurring theme, under this “open sky”, Settimo Cielo subtly changes its ambiance from casual breakfasts and quick, easy lunches to more formal dinners.
These contemporary interiors match the very modern approach to Italian dining courtesy of Executive Chef Nicolas Lazzaroni, an Australian with fine Italian (Sicilian) heritage and chef credentials—previously helming bridges and Uma Cucina restaurants in Ubud. Here, Chef Nicolas focuses on a rustic refined concept, taking rustic Italian dishes to refined modern Italian dining flavours. Authentic, traditional Italian food evolves to become even more delicious, thanks to improved cooking techniques and innovative flair.
Breaking down traditions, this results in fresh new tastes for traditional Italian dishes from around regional Italy, yielding an amazing array and complexity of flavours and textures. Familiar classics like vitello tonnato, panna cotta and osso bucco, plus lunchtime pizzas from the wood-fired oven, all get a magic makeover.
Chef Nicolas is a stickler for using the highest quality local produce, much of which is specifically customized and sourced to match Italian tastes. He works with conscientious suppliers and cultivators who are passionate, like him, about bringing the very best of land and sea to the table – including organic, free-range produce and line-caught fish. Most items are house-made, including hand-crafted pastas, breads, gourmet sausages and a wicked chococello; these come paired with essential premium imported products, such as olive oils and cold cuts.
The dining experience is kept interesting by incorporating the earthy sensations of a trattoria meal with an eclectic range of serving dishes, including artisan terracotta bowls, copper and brass mini saucepans, to refined wood blocks and paella-style pans, along with a charming, rustic-style presentation. If you love your Italian food, Settimo Cielo is liable to send you straight to seventh heaven.
Most important, however, the Settimo Cielo concept upholds the traditional Italian way and is all about creating a quality dining experience (no fine-dining pretensions here) with sharing as the key. Select a la carte menus are especially geared to a sharing concept, including a special Settimo Cielo’s Table, a family-style set menu.
