The Best Places To Eat In Milan
CONTEMPORARY
Contraste
Bright, bold interiors in a historic building. A choice of two quite different tasting menus. There is indeed contrast at Michelin-starred Contraste on the edge of Navigli. Opt for Riflesso and you will get Uruguayan chef Matias Perdomo’s unique riffs on traditional Italian cuisine. Choose Riflessioni and you will be allowing him to cut loose with inventive dishes all of his own.
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Sperimentale
Sperimentale shares a former textile warehouse with the excellent Moebius (see Drink). In a glass-walled room suspended above its sister bar, it seats just 25. Enrico Croatti, a chef with a very starry career, leads the kitchen in creative contemporary cuisine. His eight-course Freedom tasting menu is rooted in experimentation and imagination; Sea and Land options have more obvious themes. Whichever you go for, know the ingredients will be outstanding and their presentation exceptional.
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28 Posti
This pared-back, intimate restaurant in Navigli takes its name from its 28 seats. Using seasonal ingredients from small producers, chefs Franco Salvatore and Andrea Zazzara are forever evolving dishes rooted in Italian tradition. There are blind tasting menus of varying lengths, as well as a small à la carte selection. Natural and biodynamic labels dominate the wine list.
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Bentoteca
Yoji Tokuyoshi spent almost a decade as Massimo Bottura's sous-chef at the great Osteria Francescana. He now runs this welcoming fusion restaurant where izakaya-style dishes are made with fine European ingredients. There’s tuna sashimi and nigiri to start, snacks like an anchovy and shrimp corn dog or a wagyu sukiyaki soup with sweetbreads and foie gras, and mains such as tuna ossobuco.
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CHIC
Pacifico
Pacifico is the Milan home of Peruvian Nikkei cuisine. A small, graceful restaurant in Brera, it puts ceviche centre stage – multiple options might include red prawns in a basil leche de tigre. Look too for anticuchos skewers of octopus, and an array of meat and fish cooked over the grill.
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La Brisa
With old lime trees filling the space beyond its veranda, this garden restaurant is a delightful, hidden retreat in the centre of historic Milan. Since he opened La Brisa more than 20 years ago, chef-owner Antonio Facciolo has built a loyal following with his creative take on northern Italian cuisine.
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Ceresio 7
The great Gio Ponti’s ENEL palazzo is now home to Dsquared2, and the fashion brand has given a corner of its fourth floor over to Ceresio 7. The mid-century-styled restaurant, whose terrace leads out to the building’s rooftop pool, draws a cool crowd from midday through to late evening. Its concise menu could feature tuna tartare with beetroot and cream of bottarga, or lobster with orange, olive, fennel and pink peppercorn.
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Ratanà
Stanley Tucci has called Ratanà one of his favourite restaurants, and who are we to disagree? A modern osteria in a leafy park setting, its open kitchen is headed up by Cesare Battisti, whose slow food ethos sees him gently update classic local dishes. The terrace is a lovely spot come summer; otherwise, try for the counter seats with kitchen views. The ‘business lunch’ is also worth knowing about – €24 gets you one course, a glass of wine, water and coffee.
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Langosteria
Langosteria in Navigli is part of a growing international group whose success is built on excellent seafood and a glamorous ambience. Menus here feature raw dishes, oysters and daily catches from premium suppliers, all complemented by an extensive wine list. The group’s latest addition is set to open within Palazzo Fendi on Via Montenapoleone in time for 2026.
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Cracco
This handsome Michelin-starred restaurant enjoys a prime spot within the landmark Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Tasting menus and à la carte options alike will prove the talent of chef Luca Sacchi, whose contemporary takes on classic local dishes confirm that Cracco is not a place that relies simply on its location to draw a crowd. Ground-floor Café Cracco is a nice place to drop into more casually.
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Paper Moon Giardino
In a 19th-century palazzo within the luxe shopping heartland of Quadrilatero della Moda, Paper Moon Giardino is a bright and airy restaurant with a tranquil garden. Milan is the global group’s original home, and you can still find a classically Italian menu featuring big red prawns, deep-fried artichokes and homemade pastas, alongside a selection of lighter bites.
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Yapa
A chef from Tuscany has studied the cuisines of Asia and South America to create a true Milanese original. Dinner at Yapa might start with a vegetarian ceviche (palm heart, Jerusalem artichoke, baby carrots and coconut leche de tigre) followed by grilled octopus, cauliflower mole, almonds and chocolate. Desserts run the gamut from banana splits to Argentinian flans. Sommelier Paloma has built an exciting list of natural wines, while cocktail maestro Matias has created original drinks that dovetail beautifully with Matteo Pancetti’s exceptional cooking.
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CLASSIC
Joia
Thirty years after it became the first vegetarian restaurant in Europe to win a Michelin star, Joia continues to confound anyone who puts limits on what vegetarian cuisine can be. Luckily, its dining room is a calmly charming place in which to have to recalibrate your views. Across two tasting menus, built around the ingredients of local micro-producers, most of the dishes here are also now vegan and gluten free.
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Il Pescatore
Lobster and crayfish are the stars of the show at this Sardinian trattoria near Porta Romana. Il Pescatore turns 50 in 2026 – so long as it retains the check tablecloths, convivial atmosphere and perfectly fresh seafood, we expect it to be around for 50 more.
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Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone
Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone has been around for more than half a century – its longevity a glowing testament to the charm of its location and the quality of its classic Italian fare. The dark wood-panelled interiors of this Quadrilatero della Moda institution are wonderfully cocooning on one of Milan’s grey days, but in high summer the only place to be is at one of the white-clothed tables in the courtyard.
Da Giacomo
The Da Giacomo name has been around since the 1950s, but the beautiful old-world interiors of its current home make it feel like it’s been around even longer. The fresh fish display that greets new arrivals confirms what the kitchen’s speciality is – our highlights among many were an amberjack carpaccio with almonds, spinach and lemon dressing, and a crispy grouper with tuna sashimi, friggitelli peppers and datterini tomatoes. When you’re done, slip into the sister Pasticceria next door and try the famous bomba di Giacomo.
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Trattoria Trippa
When it opened in 2015, Trippa was a new trattoria with an old-school approach. It remains true to its founding ethos today, reintroducing Milan’s fashionable foodie crowd to some unfashionable cuts and forgotten techniques. The titular tripe is always there if you want it, but menus also stretch to tajarin pasta with wild clams and black pepper, or polenta with fried lagoon shrimp.
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Osteria del Binari
This neighbourhood osteria near Porta Romana could hardly be more Milanese if it tried. The wine list skews local and so does the cooking – you’ll find virtuoso versions of all the regional favourites here, including ossobuco. There’s a terrace to aim for in summer; the rest of the year, the wood-ceilinged main room is a captivatingly classic spot.
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CASUAL
Bar Quadronno
Open late into the night, Milan’s oldest sandwich bar is both comfort and joy. If you recognise the name, it might be because Bottega Veneta’s ex-creative director, Matthieu Blazy, once named a bag for Bar Quadronno. Elevating simple panini with quality ingredients in pioneering combinations since the 1960s – we loved our Praga Fumé of ham, scamorza, radicchio and ‘pink sauce’ – it deserves every accolade it receives. Take a table beneath its talismanic boar’s head or simply stand up at the bar.
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LuBar
The main LuBar is an all-day garden café close to Porta Venezia. Built on fresh, Mediterranean ingredients, its menu has a Sicilian accent – there are homemade arancini, as well as busiata pasta with pesto alla trapanese. LuBarino is a kiosk on Brera’s Piazza del Carmine, offering a compact and similarly comforting version of its big sister’s menu.
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Mixmi
Near Parco Sempione, Mixmi is a winning combination of café, boutique, beauty salon and florist. The coffee’s good, so are the pastries, and food is served all day – this is a good one to bookmark for a quick, healthy lunch.
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Dongiò
This family-run trattoria near Porta Romana has been serving good-value southern Italian favourites since the 1970s. Décor is timeless Italian – white tablecloths, wooden furniture and warm lighting – and the house-made pasta is excellent. Stay classic with the parmigiana di melanzane or go bold and try the spaghetti alla cafoncello with spicy sausage.
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Da Giannino
Gingham tablecloths and closely packed tables create an authentically jolly atmosphere at this trattoria near Porta Vittoria. Since the 1960s, its menu has celebrated the hearty mountain cuisine of Abruzzo – lamb features regularly and often.
Trattoria del Nuovo Macello
Starting out almost a century ago, this family-owned trattoria in Porta Vittoria served tripe and cassoeula stews to the workers from the slaughterhouse across the road. Today, the same family is in charge, but art-deco Trattoria del Nuovo Macello has refined its traditional offering. Try the tasting menu that begins with a saffron risotto.
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Pasta Madre
House-made pasta and Sicilian home cooking are the twin pillars of this neighbourhood spot in Porta Romana. Handmade serving wares and a small, homely main room create a domestic atmosphere that’s a perfect match for comfort dishes like fettucine, herb butter and black truffle. A well-chosen natural wine list completes the offering.
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Bettola Di Piero
This friendly, tiled-floor trattoria near Porta Romana seduces with an unhurried service style and lunchtime menus of excellent value. Local staples like ossobuco, saffron risotto and cotoletta alla milanese are all offered, alongside some deeper cuts like nervetti.
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Tamo
Fresh buffalo mozzarella is flown in regularly from Naples to this casual eatery in Milan’s university heartland. Shaded by ancient fig trees, its patio is a delightful spot for aperitivi or light meals built around quality charcuterie and that oh-so-fresh mozzarella.
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COFFEE & PASTRIES
Bar Luce
Style-obsessed film director Wes Anderson designed this caffé within Fondazione Prada as a love letter to Milan's classic mid-century bars. Beneath a vaulted ceiling that references the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, pastel Formica furniture spreads across a pink terrazzo floor. Open from morning to evening, it’s a place to linger over coffee and pastries – or a spritz later on.
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Pasticceria Cucchi
Glass chandeliers and marble floors still define this mid-century beauty in Porta Genova. Pasticceria Cucchi understands that panettone is not just for Christmas, producing the pillowy cake year-round, unlike so many others. Each morning also brings an exceptional array of breakfast pastries
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Pasticceria Cova 1817
Pasticceria Cova next to La Scala counts everyone from Verdi to Hemingway among its former clients. Now part of LVMH, its standout panettone is still made according to a secret family recipe, and its grand interiors are a magnificent backdrop for a coffee or even an aperitivo.
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Marchesi 1824
Prada bought this historic pasticceria just over a decade ago and has preserved the art-deco original, where the Milanese ritual of counter service for coffee first emerged. Outposts in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and on Via Montenapoleone have been opened too, but it’s the original on Via Santa Maria alla Porta that will always have our heart – and not just because of vanilla-infused aurora sponge layered with custard and cream.
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