Combal.Zero

Combal.Zero is chef Davide Scabin's avant-garde restaurant set inside the Castello di Rivoli, the contemporary art museum housed in a Savoy residence on a hill just west of Turin. The setting is deliberate: the dining room mirrors the museum's spirit, and the cooking is among the most conceptual in Italy, having long appeared in international fine-dining rankings. Scabin is best known for the Cyber Egg, a famous dish of caviar and egg yolk served in a clear plastic pouch to be opened at the table, a piece of edible art that helped define Italian culinary experimentation. Menus are tasting-led and change with the chef's preoccupations, moving between playful provocation and rigorous technique while still nodding to Piedmontese ingredients. The wine and beverage pairings are ambitious and unconventional, matching the kitchen's exploratory mood. The room is modern, theatrical and intimate, with service that explains the often-narrative dishes; dress is smart and the experience is unhurried, frequently running several hours. Because the restaurant operates only a few evenings each week and seats a limited number of guests, dining here is a destination event combining a visit to the castle and museum with dinner. Prices sit in the top bracket, and the tasting format is the heart of the offer rather than a la carte. Reservations are essential and should be made well in advance, particularly for weekend evenings, as the short opening week fills quickly.