Restaurants
Savini
Opened in 1867, the Savini is a fancy and well-established restaurant inside the magnificent Galleria, serving meals such as Milanese-style risotto, spaghetti and ravioli, meat cutlet, lamb and beef, different forms of fish, warmly-made Tirmisu, and other forms of desserts including chocolate cake and tart with strawberries.
Peck
Via victor hugo 4, +39 02 861040, (http://www.peck.it/). foodies in the duomo area should not miss this place. it is the dean and deluca (http://www.deandeluca.com) of milan, a gorgeous food shop that stocks the finest of just about everything. the prices are high, but since everything is counter service, you can graze a wide variety of delicacies for your money. speaking of counter service, there is a special way to buy things at peck. first, you order from the counter. they give you a little receipt. once you have collected all your receipts, you pay at one of two registers. then, you return to each of the counters you visited, where the staff have wrapped your treats exquisitely.
Boeucc'
Piazza belgioioso 2, scala, milan, tel 02/76020224. milan's oldest restaurant is still traditional homemade cooking that is as fresh and tasty as the day it opened. great for a special occasion, dessert is served on a special tea cart where they are shown to you before you decide, now try get out of having dessert! even though the dessert are splendid, they are a bit pricy, so keep that in mind before you pick your dessert.
Da Abele
Via temperanza 5, loreto, milan. renowned for its risottos, which change seasonally, da abele has a relaxed atmosphere and place that is always packed with locals.
La Terraza
Via palestro 2, quadrilatero, milan, tel 02/76002277. for a meditteranean take on japanese cuisine, head to la terraza which serves fusion food amongst a contemporary decor. during the summer months, everyone heads to the terrace, where you can see the treetops of the nearby giardini pubblici. there's a "happy hour" every day except sunday; on sunday, brunch is served.
Armani/Nobu
Part of Japanese restaurant chain serving sushi with South American influences in Armani-themed surroundings. Apart from sushi, dishes such as ceviche, spicy tuna, different soups, lobster, seaweed, salmon, or different forms of vegetables and meat and several others are on the menu, and you can find desserts such as carrot cakes, tea ice creams, chocolates, exotic fruits, or different, both European and oriental plates. You also get sake and champagne.
Chandelier
Chandelier is an eclectic, artsy restaurant, decorated with ornate Neoclassical and Baroque chandeliers including cascading crystal ones, Rococo-style mirrors, swanky elaborate sofas, 1950s art, and generally colourful décor, which serves international, European, but mainly Mediterranean foods. Dishes such as spaghetti and gnocchi, risotto, scampi, salmon, steak, beef, and for dessert, different fruits, Tiramisu, mousse, and chocolate cake can be found on the menu. If you want to, you can also be brought to the Chandelier in a specifically designed limousine.
Il Ristorante Trussardi Alla Scala
A 2 Michelin-star rated restaurant near the famous La Scala theatre, themed and owned by the well-known Italian fashion house, Il Trussardi Alla Scala has a spacious modern interior, and serves several interesting dishes. It is very close to the Café Trussardi.
Giannino
A refined restaurant from 1899 serving meals such as mozzarella, Parma ham, mussels, salad, Milanese-style risotto, spaghetti, soup, beef, chicken, scampi.
At the Osteria del Gnocco Fritto, the â¬4.50 cover charge includes baskets of fried hand-size pastries similar to sopapillas accompanied by meats, cheeses, or jams â¬8 to â¬11. Osteria del Gnocco Fritto has two locations: at Via Pestalozzi, 16, 02 8912.2631 and off the Grand Canal at Via Pasquale Paoli, 2, 02 5810.0216.
The Osteria dei Formaggi on the Grand Canal Alzaia Naviglio Grande, 54, 02 8940 9415 serves all manner of excellent cheese dishes in an intimate dining room heavily decorated with cows.
Just Cavalli Hollywood
Found inside the Torre Branca in the big, leafy Sempione park, the Just Cavalli Hollywood was the brainchild of Roberto Cavalli, the fashion designer. It was recently rennovated in 2009-10. For beginners, one can find cheese, tuna tartar, Parma ham, and caviar, and for the main course, you can eat dishes of spaghetti, risotto, small gnocchi with crab, different forms of seafood, veal, steak, and different forms of salads. It also contains some dance floors and three bars.
Il Brellin
Vicolo dei lavandai, navigli, milan, tel 02/89402700. for a classic take on milanese cooking, try ill brellin, where you can choose from homey classics such as rigatoni sautã©ed with pancetta, to modern interpretations on typical ingredients -- a pumpkin tart as an appetizer. outdoor seating makes this a perfect choice on a sunny day, although it is closed for dinner on sundays.
Biffi
Opened in 1867, it is an old fashioned restaurant/cafe in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, surrounded by a plethora of interesting shops, which serves drinks, and foods such as spaghetti, veal, steak, fish, and desserts such as chocolate Sacher, Tiramisu, ice cream and fruit salads. The waiters serve in the formal white gloves.
Pizza
Pizzeria Da Giuliano
Nice and cozy pizzeria with great, quite thick and large pizza slices. You can choose your toppings and after a few minutes you'll get your slice. Wood burning oven and loads of Mozzarella.
Pizzeria Spontini
Nice pizza in a small restaurant with very economic prices.
Although Milan cannot claim to be the birthplace of pizza, that claim belongs to Naples, you can still find good pizzas in Milan. The best areas for pizza are near Marghera street, at the end of Vercelli Avenue, and on the Navigli, on Brera. Expect to pay â¬8-15 for a pizza and a beer.
If you are in the Northeast area, there are many little pizzerias on viale Fulvio Testi the northern extension of viale Zara in the Greco area, of which an excellent choice is Pizzeria De Pino. Ask for John Luca, and don't miss the lasagne. Here you may also get homemade Mirto as you can at many other places. The prices are very reasonable in these establishments; expect to pay about â¬4-5 for pizza and â¬3-4 for beer. These places are where the locals eat, they are very friendly and helpful but few speak anything but Italian. Take the phrase book with you.
Another restaurant on the viale Fulvio Testi that is a real recommendation is Pizzeria De Bassié. They offer really good homemade pizzas and especially their special "Adriano" pizza is a really good option!
In Milan, pizza is often eaten with a knife and fork, but of course eating with one's hands is possible and welcome. Most people do both.
Watch out for frozen pizza in Milan it usualy states it on the menu. Always check the restaurant has a wood burning oven and that they are using it.
Pizza Fashion near the Centrale train station is good choice and they also do takeaway dessert if you're running to catch your train.
Although Milan is a city that changes its mind as quickly as fashion trends come and go, it remains one of the strongest bastions of traditional Italian cooking, where homemade elements are still very much praised and appreciated. There are trattorias, enoteche wine bars and restaurants including luxury ones everywhere that offer traditional Milanese and Italian dishes to eat. This city's traditional cooking is based on filling dishes like osso buco braised veal shanks and risotto alla milanese chicken-broth risotto made with saffron.
Dining times tend to be a shade earlier than in Rome or Florence, with lunch generally served between 12:30PM and 2:30PM and dinner from 7:30PM to 9:30PM. Dinner, and sometimes lunch, are usually preceded by that great Milanese institution, the aperitivoâa glass of sparkling wine or a Campari soda in a sophisticated hotel bar.
Chinese restaurants are mainly located around via Paolo Sarpi, the heart of Milan's Chinatown.
Avoid the restaurants around the Duomo, they tend to be tourist-only spots, with low quality food at inflated prices. Be aware that most restaurants charge an extra "serving tax", approximate 2 Euros per consumer. Also avoid restaurants or cafes around the central station, where it has been reported that hidden serving tax can be up to 5 euros per person with cheap quality food.
The city also features an excellent cafe called Brek with several locations throughout Milan, including one near Piazza San Babila. The food is very good, the prices are fair, and it's a good place to stop for a quick bite.
For an artistic dining experience, try Lacerba on via dei Orti, 4, which serves dishes inspired by the early 20th century art movement, Futurism.
fast food
Milan, as a big city, is filled with several different forms of fast-foods, from the foreign giants and national chains, to independantly-owned take-aways and sandwich bars. Most fast-food restaurants are found in the Duomo, Buenos Aires and central station areas, as these are the most crowded and busy ones in the city. In the Piazza Duomo and Galleria, one can find international fast-foods such as McDonald's and Burger King, but Italian chains such as Autogrill are found too. Such Italian fast-food chains, such as Spizzico, Ciao and Autogrill can be found all over the city. There are several Ciao outlets in places such as no. 12 Corso Europa or no. 54 Via Montebianco, and for McDonald's, you get a restaurant in the Piazza del Duomo and Galleria, and also some in the Corso Buenos Aires, plus some others in places such as Corso Vercelli or Piazzale Lotto. Other fast-foods which can be found in Milan include Garbagnati Cordusio metro station which is a self-service restaurant and bakery, which has several vegeterian courses, or the Luini Duomo metro station which is a restaurant which is famous for making Southern Italian-style pieces of dough with mozzarella and tomatoes inside.
snacks
In summer enjoy gelato, an excellent Italian ice cream. The quality mark "gelato artigianale" indicates gelaterias that produce their own ice creams, without industrial processing.Bakeries are open every day, you can enjoy great and inexpensive bread-related food, such as pizza and focaccia. You can find a bakery almost everywhere in Milan, even in the Duomo area, and is a good alternative to bars for a fast lunch.
breakfast
In bars you can enjoy great caffè espresso, cappuccino and a brioche for as little as â¬2. At bars in the Duomo and San Babila areas, breakfast can be very expensive if you sit down. If in doubt go to the bar and eat there, you'll pay what the Italians do- and they will admire your audacity too.
tipping
There is much confusion regarding tipping in Italy. Italians do not typically leave tips anymore at restaurants. In touristy locations there will often be a line a recent trend left blank for a tip to be added. Just draw a line through it and leave a few Euros. Never leave tips at bars counters.
aperitivo
In the last several years, Milan has established a local version of the Aperitivo or Happy Hour. Italians drink very moderately and "happy hour" is not a drinking, but a social event.
Roughly from 7PM to 9PM, many bars offer drinks and cocktails at a fixed price â¬5-8 each, accompanied by free all-you-can-eat buffets with snacks, pastas, and many other small appetizers. But be careful not to confuse "aperitivo" with "free dinner". It's a snack to be enjoyed with a drink. Italians will immediately see you as a buffoon- and it's seen as tacky to fill up on finger food for dinner, although it's common to spot them doing so.
A great place to go is the Straf Hotel (http://www.straf.it/conce...) near the Duomo. A whole lot of these places can be found in the area near the Colonne di san Lorenzo and Corso di porta Ticinese, or close by in the Navigli area subway: MM2 Porta Genova Station. You can also take the #3 tram to "Ventiquattro" stop. From Porta Ticinese the large archway, head west into the canal area of Navigli. There are great restaurants for aperitivo in this area, including:
La Ringhiera: Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 5
Slice: Via Cardinale Ascanio Sforza, 9
Mas: Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 11
Another great area for aperitivo, not far from Duomo, is Corso Buenos Aires.
Around this area you can find cool cocktail bars like:
b:free cocktail bar (http://www.bfreecocktailb...): Via Lecco, 21 close to Porta Venezia metro stop
The Eat-Mi guide available on www.eatmi.it is useful for tourists that want to taste typical Italian cuisine.