Restaurant Bros’ opened in 2016 in the baroque city of Lecce, in Apulia, on the Italian heel. Two years later, their first star arrived in the Michelin Guide. From the beginning, Pellegrino’s brothers were involved as co-owners, hence the name, but today the brothers have preferred to go other ways. Apulia is a region more associated with Italian mothers, who cook traditional dishes in large steaming pots, and not ambitious fine dining. This is some-thing that Bros’ intends to change.

Pellegrino and Potì returned home after years of work abroad, accruing a great deal of experience in the process. Potì, among other jobs, worked at Hibiscus in London and Geranium in Copenhagen, while Pellegrino was at Noma as well as three-star Azurmendi with chef Eneko Atxa. But it is Martín Barasategui, at the three-star Spanish restaurant Lasarte, and one of Spain’s most influential chefs of all time, who is their mentor. In addition to Bros’, Pellegrino and Potì recently opened a traditional trattoria called Roots and a pastry bakery called Sista’. They have also taken over the old local football stadium and started a rugby team.