Uliassi Restaurant
Uliassi is a three-Michelin-star seafood restaurant in Senigallia, on the Adriatic coast of the Marche region, owned and run by chef Mauro Uliassi and his sister Catia. Founded in 1990 as a beachside trattoria, it has evolved into one of Italy’s most celebrated fine-dining destinations, ranked consistently among the world’s top fifty restaurants for its inventive, sea-rooted cuisine.
At a glance
- Type
- Fine dining seafood restaurant
- Period
- Opened 1990
- Style
- Contemporary Italian; Adriatic seafood, fermentation, wild herbs
- Location
- Banchina di Levante, Senigallia, Marche, Italy
- Coordinates
- 43.7195° N, 13.2206° E
- Recognition
- Three Michelin stars; World’s 50 Best Restaurants top 20
Overview
Uliassi occupies a converted beach club on the harbour of Senigallia, a seaside city known historically for its velvet sand beach and its role in the late-medieval spice and grain trade on the Adriatic. Mauro Uliassi leads the kitchen while Catia manages the dining room and service, a partnership that has defined the restaurant’s warm, unpretentious character at the highest level of fine dining. The cooking draws intensely from the Adriatic — its fish, shellfish, seaweeds and salt-flat plants — while incorporating fermentation, wild foraged ingredients and techniques that bridge tradition and invention.
History
Mauro and Catia Uliassi opened the restaurant in 1990 in what had been their family’s beach concession on the port side of Senigallia. Mauro had trained in France and in several Italian kitchens before returning to the Marche coast to develop a cuisine rooted in the local fishing tradition. The first Michelin star came in 1997, the second in 2009 and the third in 2019, a progression that mirrored Uliassi’s growing international visibility. The restaurant expanded its seating and rebuilt its kitchen in the 2010s while retaining its seafront identity and its refusal to relocate to a more glamorous urban address.
What you see
The dining room faces the Adriatic directly, with large windows framing views of the working harbour and, on clear evenings, the distant ridgeline of the Apennines. The décor is deliberately understated — white walls, natural materials, no decorative excess — so that the food and the seascape command full attention. Mauro Uliassi’s seasonal tasting menus might feature a mosaic of raw Adriatic crudités with sea herbs, a broth of clam and fermented vegetable, or a dessert that echoes the salt-iodine character of the nearby lagoons. The wine list emphasises Italian producers with particular depth in Verdicchio and Vermentino.
Cultural significance
Uliassi represents the capacity of the Adriatic fishing tradition — long overshadowed by Tuscan and Sicilian cuisines in the international imagination — to sustain world-class fine dining without abandoning its maritime roots. The restaurant has helped establish Senigallia as an unexpected culinary destination on the Italian map, drawing visitors who combine a meal at Uliassi with the coastal landscapes and hilltop towns of the Marche. Chef Uliassi has also been influential in Italian culinary education through his lab sessions and public demonstrations.
Practical information
- Address
- Banchina di Levante 6, 60019 Senigallia AN, Italy
- Opening hours
- Check official website for current service days and seasonal closures
- Reservations
- Essential; booking opens several months in advance
- Website
- uliassi.it
Getting there
Senigallia is served by regional rail on the Ancona–Pesaro–Rimini Adriatic coastal line; trains from Ancona take approximately 20 minutes, from Pesaro around 30 minutes. By car, exit the A14 motorway at Senigallia and follow signs to the porto/banchina (harbour). Ample parking is available on the quayside and in adjacent seafront areas. The nearest airport is Ancona–Falconara (Marche Airport), about 20 km to the south.