The name Sisu might leave you a little puzzled. It isn’t a nickname, nor an acronym, nor one of those clipped names that are so fashionable these days among new openings. It is simply what it is: the Finnish word for perseverance. Given to a pastry shop that can also be read as a contemporary café with an international flair, and considering the area of Milan where it sits – between Sant’Agostino and the Darsena (which for us Catholic University students, myself included, is synonymous with shared flats and nights out at the place with the cheapest beer and the most overstuffed aperitivo) – it made me smile.
The reason lies precisely in those memories of studying, of afternoons spent preparing for exams, of wanting to get out of the house (correction: first to get out of a five-square-metre room, then from a flat of twenty, twenty-five). Yes, perseverance was needed. And a place that could hold me for a little longer, or let me indulge in breakfast out without the steep fixed prices of California Bakery, would have come in very handy. All right, all right, someone will say, such places already existed. True: the historic Pasticceria Cucchi, for instance, or Hygge, a Scandinavian-style café, also just a stone’s throw from Sisu. In fact, they strike me as three stages of the same journey: the classic, established pastry shop; the Nordic wave; and a more international opening. They sit well together, like parts of the same picture.
Sisu is a block outside of space-time. Not because the clock stops, but because, inside it, you could be almost anywhere. It’s a choice of style and focus, and that’s perfectly fine. Also because the three partners leading the project, Alessandro Sanso, Giuseppe Gallello, and Silvia Dell’Acqua, have poured into Sisu precisely all their perseverance, or in other words, their experiences from around the world. Dell’Acqua, in particular, is the head pastry chef on-site, actively getting her hands into the dough. In short, it’s impossible to be anchored to one place. That place is Sisu, and nothing else.
Beyond the vibe, the story is reflected on the menu too. The leavened pastries are sumptuous and playful, giving a wink to your taste buds. There are the trendy items, like the toasted sliced bread with layers, or the large chocolate-braided babkas. There are pain au chocolat made in the unmistakably Sisu style, croissants, veneziane, vegan options, and cinnamon rolls generously soaked in their syrup. Then there’s the pastry selection: single portions and slices of cake for every palate, mango, chocolate, lemon curd tarts. A sinful desire, and Sisu will fulfil it.
At the end of May, the café celebrated its first anniversary, and around the same time this year the team introduced a new leavened creation: a coconut bun with pandan, a tropical plant with a vanilla-like fragrance and fresh green leaves. At Sisu, they explain that “to prepare the dessert, the fresh pandan leaves are used in two ways: part is blended with whipped butter to create an internal filling, while another part is cold-infused to make a syrup used to glaze the bun after baking. The dessert has a layered structure: the base is a soft, buttery bun dough, followed by a first layer of coconut cream, adding freshness. Finally, a second layer is made from a whipped pandan mixture. Once rolled, the dessert is baked and then glazed with pandan syrup to make it even softer and more flavoursome.” In short, it is a reinterpretation, whose origin story connects it once again to the Scandinavian-style cardamom buns.
Sisu, however, is not “just” a pastry shop. The kitchen is well equipped, allowing you to eat at almost any hour of the day (they close at 4.00 p.m.), and the menu is curated by Davide Lorenzi, born in ’82, with a passion for Italian and international comfort food, shaped by experience in Australia and England, and travels across Asia. “I want to find those true flavours that make you feel at home, wherever in the world you are,” Lorenzi explains. “At Sisu, we want to take these concepts and modernise them, always keeping a close eye on our Italian roots, without ever compromising the essence of the great classics.”
So, first of all, every day you can choose whether to go for the brunch route or the classic à la carte menu. Some dishes from the brunch menu on the day of my visit included: sliced bread with scrambled eggs and 20-month-aged Parma ham; toast with cooked ham, Branzi cheese, and artichokes; toast with sautéed courgettes, Camembert, and mayonnaise; croissant smash with 20-month-aged Parma ham and seasonal fruit; Greek yogurt with banana, berry reduction, and granola; quiche of the day; pancakes with vanilla mousse and berry reduction. Prices ranged from 6 euros to 18 euros.
Switching to the kitchen menu, here are a few examples: homemade bronze-extruded pasta, dressed according to season and availability; Smash Cheese Burger with a double beef patty, Cheddar, pickles, mustard, and ketchup, served with fries; and salads, such as marinated swordfish with stracciatella, Taggiasca olives, fresh mint, and peach sauce. Prices for this section range from €14 to €20, with portions – both here and in the brunch section – generous and indulgent, suitable for sharing or for hearty appetites. Finally, beyond the regular menu, Sisu offers a specials board, for example: Italian-style aubergine Bahn-mi; Pallotte (balls) with cheese and zucchini flower, served with curry mayo; and Chioggia beetroot carpaccio. Prices are in line with the rest of the kitchen menu.
It already all seems pretty tasty, and in fact it is. I would discourage trying to categorise Sisu, and yes, perhaps it is more of a pastry shop with a kitchen than a kitchen with a solid pastry section – but in practice, the moments are equivalent and complementary. There’s no need to invent something new in an already crowded field – the breakfast-bakery-café scene, both in Italy and internationally. It’s more useful to act almost instinctively, or with a near-naïve simplicity. I like this, I do it well, I put it on the menu. To hell with claims of higher coherence. An epicurean container of delicacies is all I can ask for from an enjoyable (and repeatable) metropolitan dining experience.
But as I was saying: Sisu, metaphorically, didn’t stop there. In June, it celebrated the first edition of its own “sagra,” a convivial occasion to enjoy a city lunch while feeling like you’re in the countryside. With a special menu: the menu listed sweet potato shakshuka with poached eggs, Tropea onion chutney, and spicy oil; asparagus carbonara with white and green asparagus from Verona, Pecorino Romano, cured guanciale, and black-pepper egg cream; steamed aubergine with miso and honey, tzatziki, pomegranate, and toasted sesame. And even just for putting shakshuka on the map for Italian diners, as those in the know say, the Sisu team deserves an honourable mention. So, go there for breakfast, of course, but really, whenever you like. And who knows, you might even run into me next time.
