Dining Out in Porto Cervo, Sardinia
Quattro Passi al Pescatore in the Hotel Cervo embraces a bygone era with modernity.
PORTO CERVO, SARDINIA
Restaurant: Quattro Passi al Pescatore, alpescatoreportocervo.com
Hotel: Hotel Cervo, marriott.com
Architecture: Jacques Couelle (1960s)
Design: Blacksheep, blacksheep.uk.com
Square feet: 4,380
Number of seats: 200
Chef: Antonio Mellino
“Famous for a bygone era of celebrity and wealth, Hotel Cervo tasked us with maintaining the natural spirit of place while injecting a new future of possibility,” says Blacksheep founder and CEO Tim Mutton. Design associate Michele Owen elaborates: “We approached the design with the utmost respect for Prince Aga Khan and the legacy he left in Porto Cervo. The architecture remained mainly untouched and formed an integral part of our design.” Nevertheless, Blacksheep took some creative license. “We created organic stone forms—the bar, and the DJ and seafood counters—to appear as if they’d been part of the architecture from the start,” Owen explains. These were made of travertine with significant gray veining “to contrast with the light interior” and Sardinian honed Orosei marble. Blacksheep also refurbished the lime plaster walls, Sardinian timber roofing, stone corbels, and rustic terra-cotta floors that still host the glamourati on day trips from their yachts.