A house in the La Boca district: the yellow wall below, the red sheet metal above, the balconies protected by classic green gable blinds. One of Argentina’s most famous Italian restaurants has existed there for 32 years. Above the door hangs the sign with a black painted rolling pin: Il Matterello is one of those iconic places in Buenos Aires that everyone knows and loves and is now run by the second generation of an immigrant family.
The living room has tables spread out and natural light comes in through the front windows. In a room on the first floor, the house’s famous pasta is prepared every day from a handful of basic ingredients: high-quality 0000 flour, egg and a lot of patience. “This restaurant was opened in 1993 by my parents, Carmela Manfredini and Juan Bautista Stagnaro. ‘Matterello’ is the rolling pin, but it also means ‘crazy’, and they told Dad that he was crazy for thinking about opening a restaurant,” says Lili, one of their daughters, who is responsible for this Buenos Aires icon along with her siblings Sandra and Fernando. The Italian stamp was unmistakable from the start: Carmela was born in Modena, in the Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy; and John the Baptist was the son of a Marchigian mother and a Genoese father. Even though they had no experience in the field, the appeal to customers was immediate. “A few months after opening, word of mouth spread and people started coming. It was unstoppable, everyone came, lots of entertainment, lots of famous people. Some arrived at lunchtime and stayed eating and drinking until the evening. And my father stayed with them,” says Lili.
-How was Il Matterello born?
-The idea came from my father. He owned a ship mechanic workshop and had no experience in the catering industry, but one day he got tired of what he was doing and decided to offer the dishes that my maternal grandmother and mother had cooked. My father was a boss, he had a lot of trust. And they criticized him for wanting to open this restaurant: They told him that La Boca was far from the rest of the city and that it wouldn’t work. He defied all odds and was convinced that there was no other place in Buenos Aires that could offer the taste of his homeland.
-Why in La Boca?
-It’s our childhood neighborhood, I still live two blocks from the restaurant. I know that for many people coming here is like an adventure and I like that too. They are preparing to come. A few years ago we also opened a branch in Palermo and many people prefer to go there, which is another plan and a good thing. But here, in La Boca, people live something different, there are elves here (laughs). We, the family, are at La Boca, you will see us between the tables, concerned that each dish continues to represent our memory.
-And what is this memory like?
-It is the flavors and smells of childhood that remain in our minds, the ragù that my grandmother made and which had a spectacular scent, or those tortelli with burnt butter that she made at Easter and which are still one of our best-selling dishes today. For me and my brothers, this restaurant is our home. We’re not open on Mondays, but sometimes, when I want to be alone, I sit here, have a coffee and suddenly run into my brother who has come to fix something, anything.
-Il Matterello is 100% familiar. Is it difficult to find a place among siblings?
-Many will tell you, yes, but for me it’s the other way around, it’s nice to work with the family and here the three of us are very present. And if you have to fight, fight without hiding anything from us. But at the same time, we do it safely because we know that we will continue together. I see it as something very positive. Our children also worked here, they come and go, even my grandson sometimes asks me: When is it my turn? I dream that one day my grandson and my sister’s grandson – Tadeo and Lucas – will take over the baton, they would be a fantastic couple. Because the truth is, we all live by it. I like to think that none of them are indispensable and none are replaceable. When one of us travels, he sends the rest things we see at other restaurants. I have a hobby: wherever I go, I order tiramisu, ascolana olives or croquettes and compare them with the ones here.
-Which ones will win?
-Ours, always.
-Il Matterello became a popular place for celebrities…
-Yes, athletes, politicians, artists came straight away, all very special people, well-traveled and from a world with which we had no connection. It’s not like we’re from this universe. Once Riquelme came with his usual friendliness (laughs): my mother took a photo with him and had to ask him for a smile. Clorindo Testa, Rogelio Polesello and Luis Felipe Noé came here, they stayed drinking all day. Our customers included Francis Ford Coppola, Mariano Mores and Eduardo Galeano, who were always there. Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch even came once. And when Mikhail Baryshnikov came, I was so excited that I went and invited him to dance Chamamé between the tables.
Tadeo Bourbon
-Why do you think jet setting is so common?
-At Il Matterello you will eat delicious food, and that is important. You can enjoy your table, talk what you want to talk and drink good wine. I think that’s what defines us as a restaurant.
-How much has the menu changed in these 30+ years?
-There are always some changes, for example now we have gluten-free pasta options, but the essentials do not change: there is eggplant parmigiana, lasagne bolognese with pork and beef ragout, tortellini in broth, tagliatelle, pappardelle, fusilli. There are things we don’t give up on. We resist machines, everything is done by hand. My brother inherited my father’s skills and intelligence and enjoys making his own tools, from a new mold for a pasta format to an olive stoner. These details also make up your personality.
-Many of your customers are repeat customers, right?
-Many! There are people who have been coming for ages, there are people who choose the same table and even those who order the same dish over and over again. That’s why it’s so important to save recipes. My mother would come into the kitchen and get very angry if they got the shape of a pasta wrong. I sometimes do a test on how to make tortelli: they have to come out with the tops standing. And this is not a whim: the shape changes the taste of any pasta. If it’s longer, if it’s wider, everything changes its taste.
-How do you get along with Boca Juniors?
-Here in this restaurant they serve Boca. Sometimes we get angry because they block the road and make traffic difficult, but many people still come to eat before going to their boxes, they play before the game at Il Matterello. The truth is that when there is football, these are happy days. And this creature from Boca is something we inherited, it’s not talked about.
-The tiramisu… is it with mascarpone?
– Our tiramisu is special, completely different from others and has many fans. There are people who come just to eat it. We make it in a glass: it has vanilla, but little. Then a spectacular coffee cream, but without mascarpone. Above, sabayon ice cream. And cream with grated chocolate on top. It’s delicious.
-Italians are known for being very strict with their dishes… Is there anything that can’t happen at your table?
-This is a restaurant where you can have a good time. We have recommended pasta for each sauce, but you can also choose the pasta you like with the sauce you want. And if you want to put cheese on top, put it on top. Of course: If I see you cutting pasta with a knife, I’ll go to your table and get angry.
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