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Gennaro Esposito Opens in Sorrento: Torre del Saracino's New Home at Bellevue Syrene
The two-Michelin-star chef leaves Vico Equense after nearly three decades for a hotel dining room on Sorrento's clifftop.
Is Torre del Saracino really moving to Sorrento?
Yes — after close to thirty years on the gulf side of Vico Equense, Gennaro Esposito's two-Michelin-star Torre del Saracino is relocating to Sorrento. The chef signed an agreement in March 2026 with Bellevue Syrene, the 1820 clifftop hotel at Piazza della Vittoria 5 owned by the Russo family, and the new dining room opens on Thursday, 17 September 2026 — squarely in the shoulder-season window when Sorrento's crowds thin out but the weather still holds.
It's something of a homecoming: Esposito trained in Sorrento early in his career before building Torre del Saracino into one of Campania's most decorated tables, alongside fellow two-star kitchens like Don Alfonso 1890 in nearby Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi. The Bellevue Syrene deal covers more than the single dining room — from 2027, Esposito takes over the hotel's full food and beverage programme, breakfasts and private events included — but for a visitor the headline is simpler: from mid-September 2026, his kitchen is a short walk from Piazza Tasso instead of a drive down the coast to Seiano.
What happens to the original Vico Equense location?
The Seiano address doesn't close for good. Owners the Aiello family are reopening it as Capo Rivo, named after the 14th-century watchtower the building stands on, with a more traditional, less formal menu than the tasting-driven cuisine Torre del Saracino was known for. It's a clean split: fine dining moves into the Bellevue Syrene's dining room over the gulf, and the old tower goes back to being a straightforward seafood address for anyone touring the Vico Equense stretch of the Sorrentine Peninsula.
Do the two Michelin stars move with the restaurant?
Not automatically. Michelin stars are awarded to a specific kitchen at a specific address, so Torre del Saracino's two stars technically stay attached to the closed Vico Equense location until inspectors visit the new Sorrento room — realistically not before the Guida Michelin Italia 2027 announcement, usually presented in November. Reservations for the September opening are being taken directly through Bellevue Syrene; expect the tasting-menu format and price bracket the restaurant was known for (previously in the €160–200 range without wine) to carry over even before any new star is confirmed. First reported by Scattidigusto and Foodmakers.it, with the hotel side of the agreement confirmed by HorecaNews.
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