We have selected 15 restaurants, which we have divided into five categories: Gourmet, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.
Restaurant prices are subject to IVA (value added tax) at 10% but this is always included within the prices given. A 15% service charge is usually added to the bill at the end. It is customary to round up the bill and leave a tip (usually 5% of the bill, maximum 10%) as well, if the meal and
service have been good.
The restaurants below have been classified into four different pricing categories:
$$$$ (over €100)
$$$ (€50 to €100)
$$ (€30 to €50)
$ (up to €30)
The prices above are for a three-course meal for one with a bottle of house wine or equivalent.
Gourmet Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia For more than 25 years,
Aimo e Nadia has served the most flavorful Italian ingredients, prepared with an artful simplicity. The pasta dishes put most of the competition to shame and they perfectly illustrate what real Italian cooking is about. The dining room has terracotta floors and clean white walls hung with dramatic abstract contemporary paintings. The long taxi ride out to the north suburbs is wholly worthwhile.
Via Montecuccoli 6
Tel: 02 416 886.
Website:
www.aimoenadia.com Price: $$$$
Cracco-
Peck The modern interiors and the talent of masterchef Carlo Cracco make this a perfect choice for prestigious business lunches and dinners. Close to the Duomo, the restaurant, said to be the best in Milan, is linked to the wonderful Peck food store on an adjacent street. Desserts are exceptional and there is an enormous and magnificent wine list. Closed Sunday.
Via Victor Hugo (off Via Orefici)
Tel: 02 876 774.
Website:
www.peck.it Price: $$$$
Don Carlos One of the two restaurants in the
Grand Hotel et de Milan,
Don Carlos is considered almost as good as
Cracco-
Peck. The smallish dining room remains very traditional with little shaded lamps illuminating original prints and sketches from early opera productions at La Scala, remaining very much as it was when Verdi lived at the hotel in the late 19th century. Game figures in autumn menus.
Via Manzoni 29
Tel: 02 723 14640.
Website:
www.ristorantedoncarlos.it Price: $$$$
Business Alfredo,
Gran San Bernardo Due east of Piazza Firenze, not too far from the Fiera, owner-chef Alfredo Valli’s
costoletta alla milanese (breaded veal cutlet) is legendary. Valli started as an apprentice at
Biffi before establishing his own Michelin starred restaurant in 1964 in Via Gran San Bernardo – now renamed Via Borgese. Closed Saturday and Sunday, all month in August, and 22 Dec-11 Jan.
Via Borgese 14
Tel: 02 331 9000.
Price: $$$
Antico Ristorante Boeucc Boeucc (pronounced ‘birch’), which opened in 1696, is Milan’s oldest restaurant. Located on the ground floor of Palazzo Belgioioso which dominates the piazza due east of La Scala. In addition to the grand neo-classical dining rooms, supported by granite columns, there are four elegant salons for 20-30 people which can be hired for private functions. The service is superb and the kitchen serves classic Milanese dishes.
Piazza Belgioioso 2
Tel: 02 7602 0224.
Website:
www.boeucc.it Price: $$$
Savini Opened in 1867 at the very heart of the new Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II,
Savini has always been a place to ‘see and been seen’, with a guest book including leading figures from the arts and business world over the last 150 years. There are many tables outside in the Galleria, or one can opt to eat in the Belle Epoque dining room instead.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Tel: 02 7200 3433.
Website:
www.savini.thi.it Price: $$$$
Trendy Armani/
Nobu Another winner in the exclusive chain of worldwide restaurants is housed in the giant white stone
Armani World on Via Manzoni. Waif-like models and fashionistas concerned with their waistlines can enjoy the stylish softly lit design, whilst nibbling now famous dishes like black cod in miso sauce as well as sushi and sashimi – or sipping sake with added gold leaf. Reservations essential. Closed Sunday.
Armani World, Via Manzoni 31 (restaurant entrance at Via Pisoni 1)
Tel: 02 6231 2645.
Website:
www.armani-viamanzoni31.it Price: $$$$
Joia This gourmet vegetarian restaurant, close to the Porta Venezia metro station, north of the Giardini Pubblici, is exceptional. Owner-chef Piero Leeman ranks with Milan’s best, creating exciting dishes that are a fusion of Italian and Asian recipes and ingredients. The dining room is well-lit and minimalist and one should ignore the zen pretensions in the menu. Closed Saturday and Sunday and for three weeks in August.
Via Panfilo Castaldi 18
Tel: 02 2952 2124.
Website:
www.joia.it Price: $$
Marino alla Scala This first-floor restaurant above the designer ground-floor shop and cafe, is situated in a Truddardi-owned palazzo, just to the left of the famous La Scala opera house. Diners can sink into the ochre-colored sofas and armchairs and enjoy the view of the Piazza della Scala. Fish and vegetable dishes predominate. There are excellent daily specials. Closed Sunday.
Piazza della Scala 5
Tel: 02 8068 8201.
Website:
www.marinoallascala.com Price: $$$
Budget Pizza OK Pizza OK serves the largest pizzas in Milan. With 86 different selections of topping there is bound to be something for everyone; there are even unusual combinations. This basic dark trattoria is always packed but, unlike some other pizzerias, there is no feeling that one must eat quickly and vacate one’s table. No credit cards. Closed Sunday lunchtime.
Via Lambro 15 - Angolo Piazza VIII Novembre
Tel: 02 2940 1272.
Price: $
Sadler Wine & Food Ideally situated for the Fiera district near Piazza Amendola, Claudio Sadler’s excellent food and wine bar offers a tempting array of meats, cheeses and dishes using unusual ingredients from carefully selected producers. This is a typical and comfortable Italian restaurant with light ochre walls, dark wood panels and tables, and a few excellent paintings on the walls. The setting is elegant but informal. Closed Sunday.
Via Monte Bianco 2/A
Tel: 02 481 4677.
Price: $$
Taverna Morrigi Close to Piazza Affari in the financial district west of the Duomo, this rather old-fashioned wood-panelled taverna offers an excellent value lunch. The menu changes daily but always focuses on Milanese favorites. No credit cards. Closed Sunday.
Via Morigi 8
Tel: 02 8645 0880.
Price: $
Personal Recommendations Bagutta This Lombard-Tuscan trattoria is famous for its annual literary prize, which has been going since 1927. The warren-like halls are covered with frescoes and the covers of prize-winning novels. It is always popular but, with over 200 places, there is room for everyone. Another 140 can be accommodated in the leafy garden in summer. Closed Sunday when the entire street becomes an outdoor art market.
Via Bagutta 14
Tel: 02 7600 2767.
Website:
www.bagutta.it Price: $$$
Carlton Baglioni Whether you are staying at the hotel or not, this sophisticated eatery offers old world charm and finesse, not to mention all the Italian classics done to perfection, at the heart of the main fashion district and within a short stroll of the Duomo. Only 40 covers so personal service is guaranteed. Good wine list too.
Via Senato 5
Tel: 02 77077.
Website:
www.baglionihotels.com Price: $$$$
Don Lisander This classic restaurant close to La Scala and the shopping Quadrilatero attracts a mix of business people and well-to-do tourists. The restaurant is set back in a courtyard and, in summer, there are tables outside under the trees. There is the usual Milanese mix of dark and light surfaces and service and the wine list are superb. Closed Sunday.
Via Manzoni 12A
Tel: 02 7602 0130.
Price: $$$
Nightlife:As one would expect in young cosmopolitan Milan, the nightlife is vibrant. The evening begins with the
passegiata, a cultural institution itself in Italy, where everyone, attired in the smartest clothes possible, ’walks out’ - strolling up and down central streets in order ’to see and be seen’. The trend is to move on during the night, visiting two or three locales, thereby demonstrating social savvy and
bella figura (being ’with it’ is perhaps the best expression of this notoriously vacuous Italian phrase). Most bars and restaurants stay open until late (0100), after which the energetic move on to the nightclubs
(discoteca), which stay open till 0400 (most shut Mondays). The legal drinking age is 16 years.
Entertainment listings are available online at
www.corriere.it and
www.hellomilano.it. The newspapers
Corriere della Sera (on Wednesday) and
La Repubblica (on Thursday) also supply listings, as does the tourist offices, Spettacoli Milano and Mese Milano.
Bars: Between 1800 and 2100, cafés and bars come into their own as the after-work crowds seek out the perfect
aperitivo - as well as the best place to see and be seen. Many bars offer free finger food with aperitifs. Classic cocktails often involve Prosecco (dry or sweet sparkling wine) or Campari.
Dieci (10) Corso Como, Corso Como 10, with its slightly oriental slant to decorations is one of the hottest bars in town, as is the classic
Victoria Café in the financial district, Via Clerici 1.
Il Gattopardo Café, Via Piero della Francesca 17 in a deconsecrated church in the upwardly mobile northwest of the center is still the haunt of the idle rich; it is essential to book in advance.
The Garden Bar of the Sheraton Diana Majestic, Viale Piave 2, is the place to be during warm weather, especially during Milan fashion weeks. In the Navigali district,
La Biciclette, Conca del Navigalo 10, with its monthly changing display of artwork, attracts an extremely varied crowd; the buffet is a classic.
Casinos: There are no licensed casinos in Milan.
Clubs: Killer Plastic, Viale Umbria 120, is popular for Italian house and techno music.
Hollywood Rythmoteque, Corso Como 15 (website:
www.discotecahollywood.com) remains popular with the glamorous crowd, especially on Sundays.
Café L’Atlantique, Viale Umbria 42 (website:
www.cafeatlantique.com) offers hip-hop and house music. The
Shocking Club, Bastioni di Porta Nuova 12 (website:
www.shockingclub.net) reopened in 2002 with new minimalist decor; the club lives up to its name, especially on Wednesdays with its outrageous theme nights. Large clubs (up to 2,000) include
Propaganda, Via Castelbarco 11, and
Alcatraz, Via Valtellina 21 (website:
www.alcatrazmilano.com) a refurbished industrial building with two dancefloors.
Live Music: Rolling Stone, Corso XXII Marzo 32 (website:
www.rollingstone.it) is Milan’s temple of rock during the week (dancing on Fridays and Saturdays; dinner nightclub on Tuesday).
Scimmie, Via Ascanio Sforza 49 (website:
www.scimmie.it) still manages to maintain its reputation as the spot for jazz in the heart of the Navagali district. In the same area,
Blues House, Via S Uguzzone 96, is popular with locals and foreigners.
Tangram, Via Pezzotti 52, is excellent for rock and blues, and
Tunnel, Via Sammartini 30, is a good bet for indie music. Many major acts include Milan on their tours, playing either at the
FilaForum stadium, Via di Vittorio 6 (website:
www.filaforum.it) or
PalaVobis Music Village, Via Sant’Elia 33.
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