«BROS' cambia pelle», the Michelin-star restaurant from Salento reopens

BROS' has never been just a restaurant. Since its opening in 2016, in the heart of Lecce, the project by Floriano Pellegrino and Isabella Potì – partners in life and in the kitchen – has established itself as a reality capable of breaking the mold of classic dining. In just two years, it earned the first Michelin star in Salento, but for the two chefs, this achievement was never a goal: it was rather the natural consequence of a relentless pursuit of excellence, without compromise. «When we opened BROS'», says Floriano, «we didn’t think of luxury in the traditional sense. We wanted a radical, instinctive experience, truly outside the box.» Yet, their cuisine ended up redefining the very idea of fine dining. For Isabella, luxury is not just about caviar and champagne: «If you push excellence, you inevitably reach luxury, but without turning it into a cage. Now we want to bring this idea to a context where time, space, and taste become elements of a more immersive experience.»

Over the years, BROS' has not limited itself to the restaurant format. To expand its creative ecosystem and build a community of enthusiasts, the project extended to a pastry shop and a trattoria, even creating a rugby team and hosting special culinary events designed to engage and inspire young chefs. It is a way to emphasize that cuisine is not just something to be consumed, but a laboratory of ideas and sharing. What ties Pellegrino and Potì to their Salento roots is, above all, their personal experience. For them, the sea, the land, and the fire of the South are an essential creative matrix: a cuisine born from ancient traditions but open to global influences. «We grew up traveling», says Floriano, «absorbing stimuli from all over the world, but staying in Salento was the boldest choice: building something truly innovative here, where few would have bet on it, is the greatest challenge.»

Today, after eight years of activity, BROS' is preparing for a new chapter. The historic location is closing, but the spirit remains: «BROS' is changing its skin», they both say. The project will evolve into an even broader and more experimental dimension, a “creative ecosystem” where the kitchen is the starting point of a sensory and cultural journey. The goal is to redefine the boundaries between fine dining and hospitality, immersing guests in an experience where every element – from design to service – contributes to narrating the duo’s philosophy. In a context like Southern Italy, still not fully accustomed to the concept of “luxury dining”, Floriano and Isabella aim to build a new gastronomic code rooted in local heritage, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. «The South», they say, «is not just a geographical backdrop: it is an inexhaustible source of raw materials, stories, and flavors that can become a universal language.» Staying in Salento, for the two chefs, meant proving that one doesn’t need to move to metropolises like Milan, London, or Paris to innovate; in fact, it is precisely from a peripheral context that something extraordinary can emerge.

As for the relationship with mass tourism, increasingly present in cities like Lecce, they have no doubts: «We don’t want to please everyone, but to speak to those seeking a different experience», emphasizes Floriano. «Our cuisine has never aimed to conform to the flow of visitors. We have created a place where the public reaches us on purpose, not by chance.» For Isabella, the key lies in maintaining authenticity: «If you stay true to your vision, the right guest will seek you out, even if you are far from traditional circuits.» This approach has allowed Bros to train a new generation of chefs and hospitality professionals, many of whom now work in the world’s best restaurants. «It is not enough to “stay” in the South», says Isabella, «you need to build a context that can generate real opportunities. In the end, the real challenge is not to leave, but to bring innovation where it didn’t exist, creating a real impact on the territory.» With Bros' historic venue closing and a new adventure on the horizon, Floriano Pellegrino and Isabella Potì’s vision remains to revolutionize the way cuisine and hospitality are conceived. Not just a place to eat, but a creative space where «tradition is no longer nostalgia, but a language to be continuously rewritten.» The next step is already set: the Bros experience is changing form, but retains its radical, impulsive, and free essence, just like the Salento that inspired them.