Discover our top choices of the best restaurants in Milan. From Michelin-star dinning to casual trattorias & osterias to enjoy the best food of Milan.
Milan, the heart of Italy’s fashion and design, is not just about chic boutiques and stunning architecture. It’s also one of the best places to visit in Italy to experience multiple culinary approaches from traditional cuisine to contemporary innovations. In this blog article, we have introduced you to the 7 must try dishes in Milan, so now let’s discover together the best restaurants in Milan.
Table of Contents
Firstly, let’s firstly clarify the different types of the restaurant classifications in Italy. We know that it can be very confusing. What is the difference between trattoria and osteria?
Different types of food & beverage locations in Italy
- Bar in Italy is totally different compared to the concept of bar in the rest of the world. Italian bar is the cafe shop where you socialize at any time of the day, starting from early breakfast, when you can order coffee and also some sweeties such as croissants & cakes for breakfast. Most of the famous pastry shops in Italy will have their own bars within the stores.
- Enoteca or Cantina is traditionally the place you go to in order to buy wine or have wine tasting sessions. Nowadays, sometimes they also offer food such as snacks or cold cuts to pair with wines.
- Osteria was originally a place that served wine and simple food. Recently, it gradually shifted to a more enriched food menu, making it similar to trattoria.
- Trattoria is usually a small Italian restaurant that serves local traditional symbolic dishes.
- Ristorante basically means restaurant, so it is the most formal type of eateries in Italy.
- Pizzeria, Pescheria, Panineria: In Italian language, the ending “-eria” indicates the store that specializes in one type of food products, so if you see these signs, it is the eatery that offer only one type of dishes, such as: pizza in pizzeria, seafood in pescheria and sandwiches (panino) in panineria.
Now that you know the basic categories of Italian eateries, let’s go straight to our top choice of the best restaurants in Milan.
Best pizza in Milan. Milanese contemporary pizzerias
To taste the contemporary pizza in Milan, Da Zero is our most beloved choice, with many excellent pizza topping combinations (remember to try the Menaica with salty alice fishes and sweet yellow cherry tomatoes). The name “Da Zero” means “from zero”, or more correctly: “from scratch”, which means the pizzeria sources everything from the farms to ensure the highest fresh products.
Other excellent places that we are also absolutely in love with is Pizzum with outstanding topping mix that represents each region in Italy, Cocciuto – the best pizzeria for a delicious lunch/dinner in the fashion show area, and Marghe with cozy vibe near the area of Central station.
Traditional Milanese dishes. Trattoria with risotto, pasta, cotoletta and ossobuco
If you are searching for an authentic local cuisine, you will find the best food in Milan in the local trattorias and osterias.
For risotto, it is impossible to find any place with a more complete risotto menu than risoelatte. The restaurants also displays a particular design that recreates a typical house of Milan of the 1960s.
To taste a real Milanese cotoletta and ossobuco, our top options are Osteria Mammarosa, Osteria del Binari, Tratorria Damm-atrà with warm, welcoming vintage design and of course, top quality cotoletta, moist and crunchy at each bite and melting ossobuco. For travelers who are willing to adventure to the outskirts of Milan, Al Garghet and its green oasis is a perfect option.
Best Michelin-starred restaurants. Upscale atmosphere for special memories of Milan
Milan is the Italian city with the highest number of Michelin star restaurants, so there is no doubt that it is one of the best places in Italy to enjoy a special dinner.
Enrico Bartolini is the only 3-star restaurant in Milan. Located inside the MUDEC museum, it provides a journey not only to the land of gastronomy but also art and design.
Any traveler in Milan will fall in love with the magnificent beauty of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, but you can also admire its beauty from the terrace of Cracco restaurant, the only Michelin-starred restaurant within Galleria.
How about a lifetime experience observing starred chefs preparing the most beautiful decorated dishes in an open kitchen? Then Verso Capitaneo will not disappoint you.
Another great options include:
- Seta (see the menu here)
- Sadler (see the menu here)
- Joia (one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Milan)
- Contraste
- Berton
- Il Luogo Aimo e Nadia
- Sine by Di Pinto
Casual modern cuisine. New taste of Italian gastronomy
While Michelin-starred restaurants are fabulous choices to enjoy your vacation in Milan, it is not always easy to reserve a table due to the very high amount of requests.
Knowing this challenge, we also suggest you to try some other modern Milan restaurants with an excellent menu and more casual atmosphere.
Firstly, Trippa has been long under the radar of travelers seeking for a pure creativity that elevates a simple ingredient: the cow stomach.
Secondly, if Cracco is not available, you can try Maio restaurant at the top of La Rinascente shopping mall near Piazza Duomo, its epic view to the Milano Duomo is second to none in Milan.
Finally, for a contemporary adventure to different traditional dishes of Italy, try Pianodue inside the Eataly Smeraldo. The restaurant has a constantly updated seasonal menu to ensure the best fresh ingredients.
Asian culinary experience. A journey to Japan and China
Milan chefs lacks no creativity when we think about Asian-inspired contemporary cuisine. It is maybe surprising to know that many visitors with culinary passion come to Milan for its dynamic choice of upscale Asian restaurants.
The two IYO restaurants, one with a modern Japanese tasting menu and one with traditional Japanese tasting menu are the only two Japanese restaurants in Italy that receive Michelin star titles. The quality of its menu is of course undisputable. To accompany with tasting menu, IYO also provides a comprehensive sake and wine list.
Besides IYO, the famous NOBU Restaurant within the 5 star Armani hotel is also praised worldwide for its top level Japanese kitchen and omakase menu.
Moving from Japan to China, Gong and MU Dimsum are the two most famous Chinese-inspired Milan restaurants, both with a sophisticated combination of Chinese traditional cooking approach and Italian gastronomical mindset.
Aperitivo in Milan. Socializing as a local
Most of cafes and bars in Milan offer aperitivo during the happy hour (around 18:00 till 20:00). To experience how the younger Milanese generation socialize, you can head to the areas of Navigli and Porta Nuova.
If you prefer a more cozy, intimate atmosphere with breathtaking panoramic view of Milan, we would suggest the rooftop bar of VIU Hotel, Melia Cordusio Hotel and Hotel Cavalieri.
Finally, we cannot think of Aperitivo without mentioning the iconic Aperol Rooftop bar (Terrazza Aperol) with its marvelous view of Milan’s Duomo Cathedral.
Milan desserts and sweeties: historic patisseries of Milan
Milan most known dessert is panettone (we described in detail in our previous blog) and most of the famous patisseries in Milan will offer their signature panettone during the Christmas time.
However, even if you visit Milan in any other time of the year, remember to give yourself a sweet treat in these famous patisseries of Milan: Marchesi (a very beautiful cafe store inside Milan Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II), Iginio Massari (a famous Italian pastry chef), Pasticceria Pavé, Pasticceria Martesana and Pasticceria Cova.
Best seafood restaurants in Milan
While Milan is not close to any sea, it has the biggest fish market in Italy. Our top suggestions for the best seafood restaurants in Milan:
- Langosteria (there is Langosteria Cafe near Duomo and full-menu Langosteria restaurant near Navigli area)
- Pescetto (casual street food & bistrot)
- Nerino Dieci Trattoria (a wonderful trattoria not far away from Piazza Duomo)
- A’Riccione
Conclusions
With a blend of tradition, innovation, and local flavors, each meal in Milan will tell you a story of the city and its culture. We hope that our extensive list of best restaurants in Milan can help you to navigate better the culinary map of Milan. Pack your appetite and get really to fall in love with the unforgettable world of Milanese cuisine — we are sure that it will be the highlight of your trip!
The journey to explore local cuisine of Milan can also be perfectly combined with many activities we can provide for you. Cooking class, gelato tasting, wine & food tasting and a private tour to learn more about the history of this dynamic and multidimensional city.
If you would like to explore the best things to do in Milan, check our private tour of Milan with gelato tasting, Duomo & Last Supper with one of our top-rated expert guides that will make your experience informative and entertaining and will help you to discover the most important treasures of the city.
